Making inexpensive homemade gifts is a fun and easy way to stretch your budget, get the kids involved in gift giving, or just simplify your giving. Food gifts are a great place to start, and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Your gift can be as simple or as elaborate as you'd like.
Start with what you know. Do you make the world's best chocolate chip cookies? Does everyone swoon over your fudge? Maybe you have the best garden in town, and your homemade pickles make grown men weep. Whatever your specialty is, that's where you want to begin your food gift.
Once you've decided on what you're going to make and give, you need to consider packaging. If you're mailing your gift, you'll need to consider how well the food you've made will ship. Anything foods that are very perishable, or in a container that will break easily, are probably not ideal for shipping to far flung friends and family members. Cookies, cakes, and candies all ship well if packed carefully.
How your food gift is presented is almost as important as the food itself. Everyone loves an attractive, well wrapped, package. Pretty tins, boxes and bags can really dress up your gift, and can be obtained inexpensively year round. Check dollar stores and other discount stores. You may even consider buying after each holiday to stock up for next year's gifts.
If you're giving a basket of homemade goodies, choose a theme based on what the recipient loves to eat. Death by chocolate, hot and spicy, salty and savory, candy express and cookie collections are all good choices that will offer you plenty of options.
In a chocolate basket, you might include chocolate chip cookies, chocolate fudge, brownies, chocolate-dipped spoons for coffee or hot cocoa, and a decadent chocolate cake. A hot and spicy basket could include homemade hot sauce, salsa, spiced nuts, red pepper oil, and some dried red pepper flakes from your garden.
Mixes for cookies, soups, tea, cocoas, and stuffing are a fun, easy gift as well. All you have to do is layer the dry ingredients in an attractive jar, tie a ribbon around it, and include the recipe. You now have a fun, economical gift that's easy to prepare, and can be made days in advance and stored until you're ready to give it to the lucky recipient.
Keep your food gifts simple and tasty, and you'll be sure to please even the pickiest palates on your gift list.
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