Christmas gifts

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Posted at 12:02PM, 08 December 2008 by Mary Cadogan - Food writer

Cash strapped and fed up with trudging round the shops looking for the ideal prezzies for family and friends? Me too, so this year I'm getting into the kitchen to make some edible gifts that will add pleasure and real enjoyment to the Christmas table.

Forget novelty socks, smellies or clothes that just mean another trip to the shops to exchange them for another size or colour. An hour or so of mixing, chopping and stirring and you'll have gifts that everyone will enjoy. I've already made a big batch of my Pineapple, fig & ginger chutney.

Packed into kilner jars, tied with raffia and a luggage label perked up with glitter and stars, it looks great and goes perfectly with cold ham or turkey on Boxing day. My husband Mick has started his version of cointreau which couldn't be simpler. He pricks a couple of oranges all over with a fork and puts them in a large kilner jar with vodka to cover (cheap own-brand vodka will do). Seal and give it a shake every day for 2 weeks (so you still have time to make it if you get a move on!). Strain and mix with sugar syrup, tasting as you add until you are happy with the taste. Pour into nice clip-topped bottles, attach a pretty label and you're there. You could even pack the bottle into a tissue-lined box with a few shot glasses.

An hour or so of mixing, chopping and stirring and you'll have gifts that everyone will enjoy.

For those with a sweet tooth there's always Lesley Waters gorgeous Sparkling vanilla Christmas cookies. Make a hole in each and thread with fine ribbon so they're ready to hang on the tree. They look great packed into cellophane bags tied with more ribbon.

If you want to give a fruit cake you could use my Simmer and stir Christmas cake recipe which is suitable for even the most novice cook, with no beating or heavy stirring involved. Make up a batch and divide the mixture between two 1lb loaf tins. You'll need to cut the cooking time to about 1ÃÂ½ hours. Top each cooked cake with a thin layer of marzipan, then drizzle with icing and stud with crystallised fruits and nuts. If you buy new tins the cakes can be packed back into them to form part of the gift. The same idea would work with a batch of mince pies presented in a bun tray.

So forget the shopping and have yourself and those you love a merrier Christmas this year.

Comments

Aelish

8 December 2008, 12:24PM
Aelish

Mary, this is my plan, too! My friends and co-workers will be receiving Dark Chocolate Chunk and Dried Cherry Scone mix. I'm still working on what to give my family members....

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sioden

8 December 2008, 4:33PM
sioden

this is what I plan to do, but I've got to get a move on really....

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Heather

8 December 2008, 5:31PM
Heather

I do so agree. What could be nicer than a gift made and given with care and thought. My 8 year old daughter and I are making a variety of edible gifts - Clementine & Cointreau marmalade, shortbread biscuits and a wicked chocolate fudge (a sample of which was made again today!) As you say, you can always jazz up the packaging. My daughter takes pride in the fact that she has helped to make and give a worthwhile gift.

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Belit

8 December 2008, 9:21PM
Belit

Hm. I always find christmas comes with way too much food as it is, so have turned to knitting and sewing gifts instead. Always stuff that is useful, never decorations. I might make a couple of jars of homemade granola as gifts this year, though... This year I've paired each homemade gift with a "gift with a meaning" donation, a solution I myself think is very clever!

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Jenni

9 December 2008, 8:50AM
Jenni

Crafts generally and making all sorts of gifts at home are surely going to make a massive comeback and those of us who've always enjoyed it can safely come out of the closet now. I like to do gifts of damson gin/rum/vodka for in-laws using the fruit from their childhood home but we didn't get a crop this year unfortunately.

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Rachel

10 December 2008, 4:02PM
Rachel

I've been doing this for the past few years and my family and friends love my tasty treats. This year I've decided on two types of Biscotti, original and white chocolate. Mini iced fruit cakes have gone down well in the past too. I have great plans to make my 5 year old cousin a gingerbread house, however I'm not conviced it'll survive longer than Christmas day!

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Rhian

11 December 2008, 8:00AM
Rhian

My husband and I have decided to do hampers for our families this Christmas - including chutneys, cookies, pickled onions, mustards etc. Also adding hand knitted christmas decorations for that real 'hand made' feel. We'll be presenting it in a proper shopping bag to reduce packaging, and it's something they'll use again. (The Cath Kidson bags in Tesco are fab!) Merry Christmas All.

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