Anyone else doing home made foody Christmas gifts this year?

[notjustme]

We're pretty tight on funds this year so I'm planning on putting together a nice little 'hamper' type thing for each person, nothing daftly huge but a nice selection. Going to get some nice ribbon and some cellophane bags and make them all christmassy

Anyone else doing the same? What are you making? My mum specifically prefers savoury nibbles, so planning on making her more cheesy biscuit type things than sweet things, but MIL likes fudge and peanut brittle and that kind of thing so I'll be making that kind of thing for her...not sure what to make for my gran though!, she is the queen of christmas cakes etc so can't even try to compare to those!

Sort of. I've got some boxes of home-made stuff for family. Pickles, marmalade, jam, sloe gin. That sort of thing.

I'm doing this for grown ups in our family. I've bought bags from Lakeland and ribbon from M&S. I'm perfecting my shortbread recipe and have borrowed a recipe from my mum for cheese sables which are really easy and nice. I have a slight problem with the inlaws though in that one is lactose free and one doesn't eat cheese so I was thinking of maybe cantuccini to go with coffee (they have a posh machine). I may stretch to doing some teacher gifts too if I think they will be any good!

I got on the idea too late to make pickle etc unfortunately unless I give it to them and then tell them to age it for a while...but that's an idea! Or make some chilli jam or similar, that would be nice.

I'm categorically useless at making biscuits but i'm going to give it a go - all my attempts recently have turned into puddles of nothing, rather than the nice chunky biscuits they are meant to be! I can make a good cake though :)

I've made Delia Smith's Christmas Chutney, following a recommendation from someone else on here. Have never made chutney in my life, but it worked out OK. Recipe is here.

Also, it says to keep it for at least a month before using, but we had a bit too much for the jars, so kept some "fresh" in a bowl in the fridge. It's only a week old and it already taste pretty good to me with a lump of cheese. So you could probably get away with making something like that now - still three weeks to go.

Thanks ACCK :) Just got a great idea off the home made thread - I was looking at jam jars from a shop online and they were coming out at quite expensive when you consider postage on top, but someone went to tesco and bought lots of the cheap jam type stuff for only 22p each jar, just for the jars - good plan!!

I have made drinks - xmas pudding/blackberry vodkas, damson gin, plus green tomato chutney and a sort of branston pickle thing (old dowerhouse chutney, from Delia!) I am giving these as gifts to a couple of work mates who like a tipple, and some friends who will also make something for me. I love this kind of gift more than any other - last year I got a home made pie in an enamel dish as well as jams and jellies that I remember more than any other present I had.

I will also make fruit cake and gingerbread to give away. Thinking about chilli jam/sauce but need to find a good recipe, anyone got one?

There's a nice sounding one in the tescos xmas mag... hang on I'll root it out - its the one I was going to try myself!

Chilli Jelly (makes 12 jars, keeps for up to a year unopened in a dark cool place)

2kg granulated sugar
500ml white vinegar
200g scotch bonnet chillies (or normal long red ones if you prefer a less hot flavour)
1 large red pepper, deseeded and sliced
250ml certo apple pectin

1. Pour the sugar into a large preserving pan or saucepand, add the vinegar and place over a low heat stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved, turn the heat up slightly and boil for 20 mins until the mixture is syrupy and clear.
2. Meanwhile cut the chillis in half and remove the seeds, pulse in a blender until finely chopped, put aside then repeat with the peppers.
3. Once the sugar and vinegar is ready, add the chilli and peppers and boil over a medium heat for 3 mins.
4. Remove from the heat and then leave to cool for 15 mins, then stir in the pectin and keep stirring until it starts to thicken and the chillis begin to suspend in the sugar mix. Then use a funnel to pour into jars. If the chillis float to the top then pour it back into the pan and stir on a low heat until they suspend.
5. Leave to cool with lids off, then seal tightly.

I've made Chilli Jam, Green tomato chutney, and Picalilli to give as gifts this year. I get my recipes from www.cottagesmallholder.com. The chilli jam is to die for! I really don't want to give it away, but I will - I'll just make another huge batch after Christmas.

Ooh thanks PCM - will have a look at their recipes now This is slowly beginning to take over my life - no work going on, just planning xmas goodies!

I'm planning on doing the same for my grown up nieces and nephews who have far more disposable income than me and therefore are unlikely to appreciate anything I buy .

I'm thinking Christmas pudding vodka for the boys and gingerbread or truffles for the girls.

Is Lakeland the place to go for bottles/boxes etc? I thought if I bought the girls a nice tin to put them in, that would be something they could keep.

Any ideas?

Ive made marmalade, jam, chutneys and chilli jelly which will be used in various hampers. Am making fudge too nearer the time.
Wish I had thought about the cheap jars from tesco before though as my jars cost quite a bit.
I am using old boxes (shoe boxes etc) wrapped in xmas paper cos Im a cheapskate!

Is it too late for Christmas pudding vodka? Is it one of those things that needs to be made months in advance?

Christmas pudding vodka best made at least 3 months in advance, I think, just to allow the flavours enough time to blend - I did mine in September and it went from clear (with bits in!) to a dark golden tea colour, and the flavours definately improved with time.

Christmas pudding vodka sounds amazing!
fluffytowels I get most of my stuff from Lakeland, but there's bound to be cheaper places around. My local market has a lot of stuff, and Sainsbury's has cheap kilner-style jars so it's worth keeping an eye out.
I'm going to make shortbread for presents nearer the day too. I haven't decided how to present it yet though. Anyone seen any nice tins anywhere?

I've just bought some Emma Bridgewater tins from Amazon. They were quite expensive but makes it feel more like an actual present. Will use these for nieces and find some nice bags, gift boxes for teachers etc.

Oooh great ideas. I did something similar a couple of years ago and put homemade chutneys, biscuiits etc in a wicker basket lined with coloured craft tissue paper. I also bought little chocolates from Aldi as they have continental style stuff.

I wrapped my homemade biscuits in tin foil with a plume at the top and then put some coloured tissue over the top and secured it with a bright ribbon.

I also made my own stickers to put on the jars with a little bit of glitter. On the lid I cut out some colourful cotton material, secured it with a plastic band and then covered that with a ribbon.

I've made some jam already and will do fudge the week before Christmas (it'll keep longer, but I know it won't as I'll eat it!). I'm also going to make biscotti again. Not sure what else though.

I like the idea of marmalade is it easy? anyone got a good recipe?

I am making these, struggling to find te tropical fruit medley though!!

tropical fruit doesn't strike me as very festive - could you put dried cranberries in instead?

FessaEst Lidl do bags of mixed tropical fruit - they're in the aisle with the sweets and nuts.

How early does everyone reckon biscuity type things should be made before christmas? Don't want to make them too early but equally don't want to be scrabbling around too late on either.

Oooh Cottage Smallholder is bloody wonderful. I have made loads from there this year, some modified a bit. Pear and lemon jam was a huge hit, but I didn't do very much of it unfortunately.

I am doing a couple of jam/chutney gifts this year, have made loads of different types since August. Flirting with the idea of biscuits but probably won't have the time. PILs don't seem to really appreciate home made things but they're getting two chutneys and two jams. In a way I think they might just notice something in a jar more than biscuits in tissue paper and a tin, something about it being sealed and looking like it took more work, maybe. And lasting longer than one episode of Eastenders a tea break.

Last year I made ginger and almond biscuits, the year before I made apple jelly, cantucci and choc truffles (was on mat leave so mistakenly thought that I had plenty of time to do fiddly sorts of things).

I have made quite a few things this year, for the first time ever. Bought a load of jars, waxed circles, lids and the like from Lakeland and I was off!

I would recommend Sarah Raven's recipes for orange, cranberry, port and red wine compote, her Christmas pudding and her apricot, almond and brandy compote. All very easy.

And also Lorraine Pascale's asian chili jam (this is my favourite out of the lot - I doubled the recipe as I know we will eat it with loads of things) and her apple, cinnamon and blackberry chutney

And I have made mincemeat too - the easiest thing in the world. And it keeps for a year or so, so I don't have to make any next Christmas! And lovely for strudels and things throughout the year.

the recipe I have for christmas pudding vodka says 1-3 weeks, so I'm going to give it a go and hope for the best.

Can I ask, can I make it in an old milk carton or something, or does it need to be a sterilised kilner jar. Does it need to be air tight? I'm kind of thinking the vodka will kill everything off anyway

Thanks Fliss - will take a look.

Bumpy I have bought some cranberries as I thought that too, just thought I should try and follow the recipe if I could. May do a practice batch and see how it goes.