Homemade Festive Food Gifts

I don't know why but Christmas is very much about food, isn't it? Much more so than any other day of the year. We plan for ages in advance what we are going to eat, we do mountains of food shopping and we give and receive hampers. I love all of that, but I think I enjoy the hamper making best - all the decisions of what to make, wondering which combinations to give people and how o decorate it all.

Back in my student days I worked in Magill's delicatessen in Dublin and used to put together dozens of hampers in the run up to Christmas. The days were long and the shop was cold and by Christmas I was sick of the sight of cellophane and sticky tape, but I never tired of the food. Chutneys, relishes, jams, cheese crackers, spice mixes, Stollen, pasta, Pannetone and beautiful marzipan creations passed through my hands into the baskets and made their way under other people's Christmas trees.

The inspiration I gathered in Magills has contributed to my love of making homemade food gifts for friends at Christmas. It is such a satisfying thing to do - to take a jar and fill it with lots of good things, seal it, pretty it up with a ribbon and a label and bring it to a friend. 

If you're not a jam-maker or a chutney lover, fear not. There are plenty of other options - from homeamde chocolates to spice mixes and crackers. I'll be posintg tips, tricks and recipes for homemade food gifts over the next few days. I've even made a little video for you of some of my favourite quick and easy edible gifts. Maybe some the of inspiration I gathered will pass over to you!

Things My Toddler Has Eaten Or Tried To Eat Today

It is 9.54am. Number Three and I been up for four hours. He's going through a phase (or so I keep telling The Bavarian, who is losing his reason will all the recent toddler-induced early mornings). As well as causing incredibly early wakefulness, this phase includes trying to eat anything and everything. 

1. Toilet cleaner - someone, naming no names, left the toilet cleaner on top of the loo and not in its high up hiding place. Luckily the top was well screwed on and I was right beside Number Three when he picked it up.

2. Chalk - this made it into the mouth before I could stop him. He'd been scribbling away happily on the kitchen blackboard before deciding to have a nibble. 

3. The lock on the supermarket trolley *shudders with disgust* - why anyone would want to contort themselves into a suitable position to be able to lick the metal tab that shoves into the trolley lock is beyond me, but Number Three has a liking for it.

4. Maggi - Maggi is the German version of Worcestershire Sauce but tastes worse in its pure form. For days Number Three has been trying to flip open the lid. Today it worked and he took a big swig of it. He coughed, spluttered and winced and just as I thought he'd learned his lesson, a big grin spread across his face. I have a feeling he's going to develop a taste for it.

I, on the other hand, in the four hours since I woke this morning have only managed to eat half a biscuit (Number One bit into it, didn't like and handed it to me). I've passed the toast or cereal time of the morning and am about to tuck into the emergency Mars bar that lives in my handbag. 

The Arrival Of Advent With Its Wreaths, Calendars and Cookies

By now I have made a fair few mentions of Advent and the traditions that go with it here. Since last week I have been busy as a beaver with all sorts of crafts projects as well general making and baking, with the result that the house looks great and smells delicious. 

My Husarenkrapfen - jam-filledhazelnut biscuits

I'm quite content in myself knowing that, come what may before Christmas, the house has a basic level of festive appearance and there is always something tasty to be eaten with a cuppa. The nearer we get to Christmas, the more the scent of a cinnamon and clove candle will fill the house and the flicker of my real-log-fire dvd in the will be noticable in the background. (Oh, how I miss a real fire in Winter!). The Christmas decorations and the tree will be put up, visitors will begin to arrive and those cups of coffee will be replaced with mulled wine. 

But back to the here and now - last week I wrote about my salvaged shutters and how I hoped to turn them into some form of decoration for the house throughout Advent. I was sure, as I am with every project I begin, that I would find the time to decorate in leisure. By Saturday one of the shutters had been dusted, scrubbed and freed from as much dead ivy as possible. Then came the hard part - how to decorate it. 

My head was buzzing with ideas of my own as well as with inspiration from my Pinterest boards. And so Sunday morning saw me sat on the living room floor surrounded by ribbons, wreaths, stars and snowmen, candles, jars and pine cones. I spent a happy hour or so fiddlling about and trying to bring my ideas to life. My original plan to go with a green and silver theme just didn't look right in our red and white living room. The end result is more cosy chalet than sleek elegance, but I like it. It works here. 

The following day, Monday, Operaton Advent Calendar kicked off. Since moving into our house five years ago, we have built up a lovely Advent calendar tradition. I decorate the stairs in ribbons, fairy lights and a garland and, once the children are in bed, on the eve of December 1st I hang the homemade Advent calendar. 

This year the calendar is filled with a mixum-gatherum of toffees, chocolates, Christmas tree shaped pasta, mini bath salts and a few tiny little toys. Other years it has been filled with Playmobil figures and their tiny accessories or with collectable stickers. 

Seeing the boys go to bed excited and wake the next morning even more excited about something so simple is wonderful. It gives me a lovely warm, motherly feeling to know that they love this tradition of ours as much as I do. It is a little like a rehersal for Christmas Eve.