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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you be happy to receive a Christmas cookie box as a gift?

197 replies

PeachRings · 01/12/2025 21:51

I’m planning on making Christmas cookie boxes for friends and family this year in place of plastic tat as gifts. I’m planning for them to include:

• homemade digestives (chocolate)
• chocolate salami (like a rocky road in a log)
• snickerdoodles
• lemon biscotti (nut free)
• triple chocolate peppermint cookies
• vanilla bean shortbread
• chocolate cookies
• stained glass window biscuits

would you be happy to receive these?

OP posts:
Original poster
PeachRings · 01/12/2025 23:07

Pavementworrier · 01/12/2025 23:05

I find homemade a bit disgusting tbh (esp chocolate truffles shudder)

To be fair we’re a quite “foodie” family. I’ve promised various family members loaves of sourdough as gifts too!

OP posts:
Gardener82 · 01/12/2025 23:07

My lovely neighbour makes me a box of biscuits like this every year, I love getting it and think it’s a lovely gift.

OneReasonWhy · 01/12/2025 23:09

No, but I am on a low sugar diet, even at Christmas, so they’d just get binned which is a waste.

Throneofgame · 01/12/2025 23:12

PeachRings · 01/12/2025 23:06

I may end up just keeping them all for myself and eating them all 😁

Show quote history

Good plan! I often batch cook 12 triple chocolate chip cookies. They're about 450 calories each and AMAZING but I can only eat a few before they have to go in the freezer as they'll make me fat. You can either eat them straight from the freezer still frozen (great with ice cream!) or warm them in the oven in some tin foil till soft.

If anyone's interested this is the recipe.
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/recipes/triple-chocolate-cookies

5foot5 · 01/12/2025 23:12

Personally I would love that as a present because I like biscuits and very much appreciate home made stuff.

I think on Mumsnet you might come across people who are weirdly averse to home made stuff. I have only met one person like that in real life. At a school cake sale she bought up all the stuff that was originally from a supermarket and said she wouldn't buy anything baked by someone she didn't know. Meanwhile I was selecting lovely home baked items.

For a few years I used to make Christmas Biscotti for family. It was a lovely recipe and you could do most of the work up to a month ahead - make dough, give it its first bake and cut it in to pieces. Then you can freeze them and do the final bake just before you give them. They last about four weeks so no pressure to eat them immediately.

JalapenoSlices · 01/12/2025 23:13

Yes I have 4 children so it would all be eaten!

IdaGlossop · 01/12/2025 23:13

analysetheintelligence · 01/12/2025 21:55

I’d hate it and chuck it, I don’t see why it’s a binary choice between plastic tat and homemade?

Throwing away homemade food in a fit of pique. Lovely.

tragichero · 01/12/2025 23:14

From what you have said, you are confident your family love your baking and would love these, so go for it!

Why does it matter what a bunch of random people on here think of it?

(In my case, some of it would be wasted - but I would really appreciate the thought.

IdaGlossop · 01/12/2025 23:15

Ambridgefan · 01/12/2025 22:19

I'm sorry no, it would be too much to eat and would probably go off before it was all eaten

Show quote history

That's what freezers are for.

Vaxtable · 01/12/2025 23:16

Yes

shuffleofftobuffalo · 01/12/2025 23:17

I would really appreciate the effort, therefore say lovely things to your face, most likely put them in the bin after a few days as no one in my house likes sweet stuff, and then doubly appreciate it because you didn’t give us STUFF.

IdaGlossop · 01/12/2025 23:20

gannett · 01/12/2025 22:35

I feel I need to point out that I have never turned down any homemade food in my life. Nor have I ever suffered food poisoning. The hygiene worries are really misplaced (and they're probably more relevant to supermarket food packaged on conveyor belts in factories...)

When I was a child, a cousin older than me worked at the Jacob's cream cracker factory one Summer. He told me with delight how much fun he and his mates had spitting in the cracker mixture. Even now, I look at bought food and wonder what's in it that shouldn't be.

Dontlletmedownbruce · 01/12/2025 23:23

Ooh this would be my favourite type of gift in the whole world! It's home made and authentic and thoughtful, not to mention delicious and no extra items left over in the house in January. Big YES from me.

Eggybreadwithnuts · 01/12/2025 23:26

No

JetFlight · 01/12/2025 23:29

Yes it would be lovely. We don’t eat much sugary stuff and treats are things like crisps and cheese and crackers but every now and then someone will say “is there anything sweet?” “is there any dessert?” Then we regret not having any sugary stuff and would be delighted to have homemade cookies.

singmoon · 01/12/2025 23:31

I'd be thrilled

singmoon · 01/12/2025 23:33

Pavementworrier · 01/12/2025 23:05

I find homemade a bit disgusting tbh (esp chocolate truffles shudder)

Funny, I find highly processed biscuits etc a bit disgusting, but lovely homemade biscuits delightful

Beamur · 01/12/2025 23:33

Yes, but not too many as I am already a bit lardy 😄

BauhausOfEliott · 01/12/2025 23:35

gannett · 01/12/2025 22:32

I wonder what it's like to have the kind of brain that automatically goes to hygiene horror when presented with homemade food. So glad I don't have one like that.

Yes, I might not be mad keen on eating something made by a total stranger, but if I know someone well enough to exchange Christmas presents with them, I’m going to know they’re not the sort of person who keeps old newspapers in the bathtub and hoards their own turds in Tupperware or leaves dirty nappies on the worktops.

OP, you’re getting some quite joyless responses on here from the ‘Ooh no, I never eat sugar’ and ‘We couldn’t possibly eat a biscuit at Christmas, we’ll already have shared a whole mince pie between us so we’ll all be stuffed’ brigade. I would be delighted if a mate made up a box of homemade biscuits for me as a Christmas present. And most homemade biscuits keep
pretty well in an airtight tin.

singmoon · 01/12/2025 23:35

gannett · 01/12/2025 22:32

I wonder what it's like to have the kind of brain that automatically goes to hygiene horror when presented with homemade food. So glad I don't have one like that.

Yes, it's a modern affliction, and quite sad

Viviennemary · 01/12/2025 23:37

No I wouldn't like that for a gift. Far too unhealthy with the sugar and fat content.

justgottadoit · 01/12/2025 23:41

Hmm. Lemon biscotti recipe. Thanks OP
I’d love to receive your box for Christmas !

Ariela · 01/12/2025 23:47

Yes, but I saw a Martha Collison recipe today and I REALLY WANT TO TRY her chocolate orange florentines! And her Christmas Pud macarons. If you're making for me....??

Davros · 01/12/2025 23:57

I love biscuits and I love home made things but I would not like this gift. To me it’s rather thoughtless to make something YOU like making and give the same to everyone. Plus there’s so much food and treats in the house and these don’t seem to last long

JetFlight · 02/12/2025 00:01

Davros · 01/12/2025 23:57

I love biscuits and I love home made things but I would not like this gift. To me it’s rather thoughtless to make something YOU like making and give the same to everyone. Plus there’s so much food and treats in the house and these don’t seem to last long

My friend likes to make baklava and give it to friends. I don’t think it’s thoughtless at all and we appreciate it.