Don’t you just find that heartfelt gifts make the best presents.
Christmas Trees decorated with stars and silver cachous
These are the gifts where the cost isn’t taken into consideration but rather the love and the time and the thoughtfulness is what excels in these gifts.
The angel blows her horn
As we are now just four weeks away from celebrating Christmas Day, I thought I’d re-post heartfelt gifts I’ve shared with you on my blog. These are all very Christmasy and many are recipes that have been in my family for generations. I hope you find something here you can make for someone you love.
He won’t melt!
Number 1: Mum’s Christmas Fruit Mince Pies. There is no meat in these pies. They are a fruit pie and in my family, these were eaten every Christmas Eve as we sat in the formal lounge with the Christmas carols belting out from the record player and the lights flickering on the tree.
Fruit Mince Pies
Number 2: Three-Ingredient Cranberry Sauce – well it’s just not Christmas if there’s not a bowl of cranberry sauce on the table. And homemade cranberry sauce is so much more wonderful than what is bought from the store.
Three-Ingredient Cranberry Sauce
Number 3: Mum’s Christmas Shortbread – I don’t think I’ve ever had a Christmas without shortbread and this recipe has been a favourite for generations.
Mum’s Christmas Shortbread
Number 4: Mum’s Coconut Swirls – these are very easy to make and with their holly topping, look very Christmasy.
Mum’s Christmas Coconut Swirls
Number 5: Mum’s Christmas Whiskey Logs – this has been my most ‘gawked’ recipe on Foodgawker. My mother used to make these every year as a gift for neighbours, friends, and those she appreciated like teachers.
Perfect gift for neighbours
Number 6: Mum’s Christmas Sugar Biscuits – when I was growing up we made these every year. Some were wrapped as gifts and others were served at our Christmas drinks parties.
A mixed platter of hearts, angels, Christmas trees, Christmas Bells and stars
Number 7: Cherry Chutney – so good to serve with ham. Easy to make but just a little time consuming as you have to remove the stones from all those cherries!
Cherry Chutney
Number 8: Festive Fruit and Nut Cake – really easy to make. You barely need to do any chopping; most ingredients are added whole.
Hardly any flour in this cake
Number 9: Mini Christmas Cakes that can be decorated in a number of ways.
Christmas trees with stars and baubles
Number 10: A Gingerbread House. Okay, so this is high up there in the ‘labour of love’ category but your efforts won’t go unrewarded – a gift like this will be talked about for years to come.
A gingerbread house
A lot of the recipes shared here have been in my family for generations and are very well loved. I’d love to hear what special family Christmas recipes you have in your collection.
An angel flying in a starry sky
These are wonderful, Charlie. 🙂 I’m especially delighted by the cherry chutney and whiskey logs. Yum!
A gorgeous round up of festive foods, Charlie… thanks so much for sharing xx Not long now!
I made your, or should I say your mums whiskey logs and there were fabulous. Think I will make them again this year.
Lovely gifts from start to finish and I agree its not about the cost but the love and time put into making the gifts.
Have a beautiful weekend Charlie.
🙂 Mandy xo
It is lovely that you have so many family recipes – I regret to say that the family recipe I make the most at christmas is a lime spider! My mum baked lots of things for christmas but I don’t think she had recipes she always made other than the christmas pudding that I still need to get from her. Though I did try her mince pie pastry and then went on trying others, which I guess is just her sort of way of cooking!
I agree that homemade gifts are the best, for the exact reasons you list. I’m sure all recipients of your gifts are grateful.
These gifts look beautiful, you definitely put your heart into it!
Gorgeous assortment of Xmas treats.
I love the idea of home-made gifts and every one of yours looks so delightful. My mother always made a rich Xmas cake, and had it in a tin for a few weeks before Xmas so that by Xmas day it tasted even better – and I loved the almond icing. Being in a sugar-free family presents more of a challenge these days, but you’ve got me thinking now.
Hi Charlie, it’s very clear that you and your family make the holidays special with these wonderful treats, your mom must of been a great baker.
I’d definitely enjoy receiving all of these holiday treats! Gotta check out those whiskey logs.
Well ’tis obvious that your Mum was a practical, innovative and talented lady when it came to Yuletide gifts: lovely to have all these recipes so full of loving preparation. Being a Buddhist I don’t ‘do’ Christmas but absolutely love that gingerbread house . . .
I love that so many your Christmas treats and gifts have been passed down from your Mum. I have to admit when I read your recipe for the cherry chutney last year it reminded me of my Mum’s recipe for cherry sauce – and I must get from her.
Your mum was a fantastic cook and having tasted the cherry chutney and the fruit cake I can definitely vouch that you are too!
What a wonderful collection of fabulous food gifts. I love the look of the shortbread, so smooth and yellow. It must be very buttery. GG
You’ve made so many delicious little treats for Christmas. I remember that fantastic chrisy cake you made for me. x
Love this little christmas recipe round up, I love baking for friends and family and I definitely love baking when it’s christmas themed! I especially love the little coconut swirls, so pretty and festive!
These are all beautiful Charlie. Far more beautiful than store bought food too!
I was impressed at your hot start to the summer (spring!) – what a series of scorchers you have had. I hope things cool down a bit for summer itself.
Stunning.
Creative.
SO utterly Martha Stewart, but you are better.
I want to order EVERYTHING!! WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
This couldn’t have come at a better time, am so going to make some of these 🙂
Couldn’t agree more. The best kids are edible, and even better if they’e homemade!
All your sweet treats and recipes look incredible! I’d happily accept ANY of the above. My mom would make a candy-coated gingerbread house—and we loved to help (mostly to sample the toppings!). Such fun memories come with all those family recipes! It’s so hard to believe that Christmas will be here before you know it.
What a lot of yummy looking treats. I feel like I’m already behind with regard to Christmas and it’s not even quite December yet. Sigh.
You’ve really shared a gift with me to post these heartfelt, homemade Christmas gifts, Charlie. I would love to make several of these for my friends and family. Each and every year I think I will get a bit of a head start on the season and begin baking earlier. I think we place so much emphasis on all the cooking and baking that goes with Thanksgiving and then I need a recovery period! Just seeing the photos of these delicious treats has inspired me to get started! 🙂
I loved every one of these and wouldn’t I love to get hold of Mum’s recipe book! 🙂
Wonderful treats here!!! Thanks for sharing them with us….shortbread and fruit mince pies/tarts are on my list always at Christmas. Last year I started a new tradition of gifting rosemary salt and a few appreciation letters for loved ones (mainly my husband and one of my nan’s) 🙂 Jan x
I just love this round up Charlie, your Christmas goodies are not only beautiful but must be well appreciated too. My dear Mom used to make traditional Hungarian Beigli (both walnut and poppyseed) and a fruitcake (not Hungarian) every year. I haven’t made either for at least 20 years but you’ve inspired me to do a Hungarian Christmas this year! Moms fruitcake was not overly fruity and had lots of coconut in it; it was so good toasted with butter on it!
Loving the coconut swirls and ginger bread house! This year I will definitely need to get my bake on!
Lovely suggestions, Charlie, with each one seemingly prettier than the one before it. You inspire! My mother always, always, made trays of special goodies at Christmas–and fruit cakes as well. Nice memories for me.
All of them are beautiful and anyone would be extremely pleased to receive any one of them as a gift! I think I am going to try to make a version of your fruit mince pies this year. They’ll make a great gift!
I agree… heartfelt, homemade gifts do make the best presents! This is a great collection you have here!
I always give home-made Christams gifts, like home-made limoncello or vanilla extract.
I love those chocolate filled whiskey treats! Yummm! That cake with the yummy snowman that doesn’t melt too & those many yummy cookies! Delightful! xxxx