Holiday Gifts

There are many ways you can use your cooking skill, or artistic skill as a method of creating beautiful, from the heart, holiday gifts. From traditional baked goods to decorated jarred mixes to more unique gifts specialized for the receiver, gifts you create are sure to impress them and your pocket book.

One classic gift is baked goods such as cookies or other treats. It is important to do your best when making the special treat and dress it up so that your present is memorable. Decorative tins, glass jars or painted plastic jars are all good options for containers. When mailing make sure to wrap carefully with paper or packing products. Also take into account the distance the package has to travel to ensure freshness, during the holidays priority mail may take up to 4 days and express up to 48 hours. Some baked goods like breads and cakes should only be shipped to nearby locations due to how fast they spoil. However, cookies, bars and candies can travel good distances and withstand days still staying fresh. It is never recommended to ship any food that would need refrigeration without hot ice.

Decorated jar mixes have become more and more popular. Almost any recipe can be layered into a jar in a tasteful and creative way. Add a little ribbon to the jar, tie on a decorated recipe card and voila, a cheap and stylish gift. One tip to remember when creating these deliciously decorated  masterpieces is to pile on the ingredients slowly and to place contrasting colors on top of each other. Then pack down each layer to ensure settlement of layers. Try to pack the jar(s) as tightly as possible to avoid the shifting of layers during motion, the last thing you want is all the hard work going to waste.

For a more unique or personal gift, it is best to find out what kinds of food and drinks the receiver likes. You can always make a nice fruit basket and place a bottle of champagne in the middle for an important client. Or perhaps make bottles of flavored dipping olive oils to place in a basket with Italian bread and a small jar of olives or antipasto, for the Italian affectionate. If your receiver loves to cook and you are not the avid cook make a spice basket, load a small basket with several spices, decorate with ribbon and add a side of cooking wine or olive oil. Bachelors will appreciate the meat and cheese baskets, you can mold Velveeta and cheese balls in a small mold or small pretty shaped container, refrigerate, wrap and place in a basket with beef jerky, summer sausage and peperoni or a small bottle of liquor.

All these gifts can be fun to make and easy on your wallet as well, plus they are memorable as they are handmade. Happy Holidays!