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!

I ordered plain brown cardboard boxes from the Tiny Box Company and tarted them up with green spotted ribbon and a wooden '12 days of Christmas' decoration from Lakeland. Inside I've put either chilli jelly or chilli jam, marinated olives with orange, chilli and thyme, a small tin of olive oil, some nice pasta and a small bottle of either sloe gin or blackberry vodka. I got the jars and bottles online in bulk. Each hamper has cost about £9.00 to make, which I think is a bargain!

TracyK, the sugars and salts are really easy; I used a coffee bean grinder to grind some of the added ingredients with a bit of either sugar or salt and then just mixed them together with caster sugar or rock salt but leaving some nice whole lavender flowers and fennel seeds. The fennel, vanilla and lemon sugar is a Jamie Oliver recipe I think and sounds vile but is really lovely, especially now the flavours have had time to infuse a bit. You need to dry the peel first for the citrus sugar and the lemon salt - which I did on the top of my rayburn - or a really low oven or hot radiator would do the trick too (makes the house smell lovely and christmassy!)

The smoked salt is dead easy too. If you haven't got a smoker (I haven't) you need some smoking chips like you use on a BBQ and put them on a layer of foil in the bottom of a wok. Open all the kitchen windows and take the battery out of the smoke alarm! Get the heat going under it then put a shallow tin of salt on a metal cake rack or wok rack into the wok and put the lid on. Turn the heat off under it and leave it for about half an hour. This was the first time I've done smoked salt but I've used this method for duck and fish before and it works brilliantly, although it's best done in the summer when you can open all the windows and doors!

The little kilners were on ebay and look like these They're not cheap but I just fell in love with them. I'm hoping that my friends and family will make nice things to put in them and give them back to me next year!

I've done picalilli, sloe gin and some kind of onion chutney for my sister-she's a pickle-aholic!
I did the "buy cheapest jars of stuff you can find in Asda" thing too-think it was bolognaise sauce in mine!

Ponyclubmum and fluffytowels, I have every intention of doing some Mumsnet recipe white choc and cranberry fudge and some Nigella's cheese puff bites (cheesy feet but not feet) from here www.nigella.com/recipes/view/cheesy-feet-116, and bought tins for close family members and clear plastic gusseted bags from sainsburys/lakeland for others. There are some gorgeous vintage/retro/sweet different sized tins here www.belleandboo.com/christmas-c-95.html. Not the cheapest but less expensive than what I would end up doing otherwise, and lovely enough to keep.

I'm going to make winter marmalade for friends this year. It's made with dried apricots and cranberries, so should be quite festive.

Having more time than money, I've done this sort of thing in the past but unfortunately I found it didn't really save money! Nearly all the nice indulgent Christmassy things cost quite a lot in ingredients. By all means go for it as a lovely gift, but don't be surprised to see the costs mount up rapidly.

The cheese savoury biscuits in Delias origional cookery course are perfect for this-kids can make them and if you have small star cutters they look great.

I was going to make Baileys truffles , I saw the recipe on here, I bought the Baileys(!) but just read the recipe and it sounds a bit odd uses egg yolk, has anyone tried it?

Where do you get packaging from? Thought dd could make peppermint creams for her nan and put them in a pretty box. Any recommendations for websites that supply boxes, cellophane, ribbon etc.?

How to cook perfect cheese straws was in the Guardian this week.

I love this idea. I love receiving homemade gifts. My only suggestion is that you have a good idea what the recipient likes. I have cupboards full of lovingly made jams and chutneys that I don't eat and no one in my family will either. Such a shame and I feel bad giving away such a personal gift. If it was biscuits, truffles, slices, soaps, scrubs it would be gone in a flash.

thanks for that link breatheslowly

Home made lemon curd is AMAZING and very easy - I've used Delia's recipe. It has always gone down well. Doubt I'll manage anything home made this year though - DS absorbs every spare ounce of energy or time I have and isn't old enough to help yet :( Maybe next year

Celia - try ebay, there are lots of people selling differently sized cellophane bags, and lots of nice ribbon on there (try searching for East of India or Gisela Graham ribbon for some nice vintage cotton type ribbon).

Celia you can make boxes fairly easily using the instructions here.

Falalalalagirl - would love to make your bluberry and mint vodka - any chance of the recipie? Am a disaster in the kitchen so this would be a brave effort (may just drink the vodka and eat the bluberries yet)

startail Ocado have fresh cranberries - I got some for my mince meat for mince pies

Agree with Doozie - for instance

Sorry, marzipananimal, I wouldn't have the foggiest idea what to do with lemon curd. Never liked lemon meringue pie or anything of that ilk, and we don't eat a lot of puds.

I'm doing something like this for my parents this year - have made them panforte and chocolates - glogg flavoured and rum & ginger flavoured

I made some Oreo truffles earlier this year... I got the recipe from a friend who got it from another friend so if anyone recognises it, I don't make any claims as to originality!

• 225g Philadelphia cream cheese (don't go with light, has to be full fat!)
• Each Oreo box packet has packets of 4 Oreos, so I tend to do a box of Oreos plus one packet (which contains 4 Oreos).
• Maybe half a packet of melting chocolate. We used a big packet of 'chocolate covering' rather than cooking chocolate but it would work with either. If cooking chocolate then probably a full packet as this is smaller.
• Greaseproof paper & a tray/large plate

You just break up the oreos (leaving the cream on them) then whizz them through a food processor to make a crumbly mixture, pour into a mixing bowl, add the Philadelphia then mix the two up thoroughly. Take a baking tray or large plate and cover with greaseproof paper. Roll the mixture into balls, place onto the tray/plate and put into the fridge - or if you're rushed for time put them in the freezer. Once they're fairly firm, melt some chocolate in a bowl (I do it over the hob) and then roll the Oreo balls in the chocolate (tip: use a teaspoon to place the truffles on and roll around to save mucky fingers!), place back onto the tray and leave to set in the fridge.

Cellophane - you can get it in a Florist's if you ask them nicely. I go to the charity shop & buy glass bowls/trays etc. Some cellophane and a bow - et voila! Transformed.

Miranda, do you know if the florist's type cellophane is suitable for food use though? I saw it on ebay but didn't want to risk it in case I poisoned someone

Florist's cellophane is fab. I got mine from the florist's section of the garden centre. I've had plain clear cellophane and another sort with gold stars all over it - great for Christmas. You can either buy small sheets, or a whole big roll, which is much cheaper and more versatile.

I arrange the food artistically in the middle of a large square, then draw the edges up and secure with a cable tie above it in the middle as if you're using a hair band on a pony tail. (You could use something like string or a rubber band instead, but it can be hard to pull it tight enough.)

I generally don't even use a bowl or tray - just put the food straight on the cellophane if it's something like biscuits, sweets or cake.

Then wrap raffia / streamers / curling tape / ribbon around to cover it, and use scissors to curl if desired.

A stick-on gift bow can be a nice addition (we often re-use nice ones on presents we've been given!)

I use scissors to snip away at the edges so they are all random & jagged rather than boring looking straight plastic.

Several people have thought the presents have been 'professionally' made and wrapped, not thrown together in a hurry by me!

If I can keep my greedy hands off it, I'd like to make peppermint bark for family and some friends. I stumbled across the idea here. (She has a link to the recipe on that page, I think.) It's amazing - white chocolate layer bottom and top, sandwiching a rich chocolate ganache that's been flavoured with peppermint essence, and you scatter crushed candy canes on the top layer of white chocolate as it sets. Trouble is, that what with nice quality chocolate, cream for the ganache, etc, it isn't a particularly inexpensive thing to make.

I already have my candy canes in.

Percy, I like lemon curd on bread or toast, just like you would with jam. Yum :)