Homemade Christmas gifts?

[freshlysharpenedpencils]

Apologies if this has been done before / elsewhere.

I refuse to buy presents this year - I earn nothing (SAHM). I want to make the gifts. So far I know :

• Mince pies (is there a way of making this more interesting?)
• chutneys and jams
• fudge
• rocky road chic
• chocs
• pickles

Any other ideas please?

Thank you all.

Actually, your list sounds fine. I have made presents previously because I enjoy making them, even though I could buy some.

I make a christmas cake for my cousin, she loves mine and as she does a lot for everyone in the family I like making her one.

I make a cake for us, too, and plan to cook it at half term, as usual. And by the time christmas comes, it's seriously alcoholic!

For your mince pies, you could make the tops different, eg instead of a full lid, why not cut a star out that roughly fits to make them look nice. I've also seen a suggestion of using a crumble style topping instead of pastry.

DD is planning on making cup cakes for her friends, but as one friend is lactose intolerant, we're trying out a few recipes to see which suitable ones taste nicest.

Peppermint creams
Candied peel (the proper stuff)
Xmas puddings (although you might want to let people know in case they get one in).