Homemade Edible Christmas Gifts #PrelovedAdvent
Had Enough of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday madness? The chances are that, in the midst of this four day weekend shopping extravaganza, you’re tired of being bombarded with sales, discounts and offers. Loads of these new products are still too expensive even with the discount anyway! Well, what we say is Cyber Monday schmunday. We’re committed to saving you money here at Preloved, so here are some ideas for beautiful, delicious and cheap treats that you can make for loved ones this year (they’ll probably prefer an edible present anyway, right?).
Sweet Treats
Cookies (of course!)
Christmas cookies are a classic, and make great gifts to give to friends and family if you’re on a budget this year. They’re incredibly easy to make, and baking them, as well as choosing how to present them as gifts, can be fun for family members of all ages.
Why not try Homemade Christmas Jammy Dodgers too?
Homemade truffles
There are few people in the world who won’t enjoy a homemade truffle. Served in a beautiful box and wrapped in delicate coloured tissue, they can come in every flavour imaginable. Orange, hazelnut, red velvet oreo… the list goes on.
Toffee
Another delicious sweet treat guaranteed to be devoured by loved ones this Christmas. Whether you’re thinking of salted chocolate pecan toffee, salted dark chocolate almond toffee or bog-standard English toffee, the recipient is going to be nothing short of delighted!
Savoury Goodness & Quirky edibles
Perhaps not everyone that you’ll be giving gifts to this year will enjoy, or be able to eat, scrumptious cookies, toffees and truffles. So here are some ideas for treats that are either savoury or a bit out of the ordinary. Perhaps you’ll want to surprise an extra special someone with a few different ideas from the list?
Pretzels
Maybe pretzels aren’t the first thing that come to mind when thinking about which edible Christmas gifts to make for loved ones, but they’re delicious (and they must be Cristmassy because they sell them at the Christmas markets...). Most recipes are relatively straightforward, and remember that it’s a good idea not to bake them well in advance as they’ll need to stay fresh.
Flavoured balsamic vinegar/ infused olive oils
Infused oils and vinegars are perfect for food lovers and people you’re struggling to buy for. The only limits to this one are your imagination. From pomegranate balsamic to Thai chilli olive oil, someone is bound to be happy with this for a gift!
Homemade Limoncello
Made with vodka, lemons, sugar and water, this simple recipe makes a brilliant gift. Leave plenty of time to make this as it takes around 4-5 days for the flavours to infuse. Also, remember to give this one to someone that will open it in front of you so you can enjoy it too…
DIY tea mixes
With various leaves, flowers, spices, and a pinch of imagination, you can create all different kinds of teas. Summer teas, winter teas, healing teas displayed in boxes or bags and tied with Christmas ribbons… Our favourite type of tea to make is this simple winter chai tea, made with ingredients that you’ve probably got in the cupboard already!
Preloved Team's favourite
Flavoured Salts
This incredible gift idea is a favourite amongst the Preloved team. It’s perfect for a foodie that you’re struggling to buy for, and these delicious flavoured salts can be used in just about any recipe to add a different taste dimension to the meal. They’re also incredibly easy to make and look fabulous!
• Jars to package the salt once it’s made • A tin or gift box to present them in (you could fill this with shredded paper) • Porcini Salt: 4 oz. dried porcini mushrooms, 1 cup of fine sea salt • Smoked Paprika & Ancho Salt: 4 dried ancho chillies, ¼ cup of smoked paprika, ¾ cup of fine sea salt • Celery Salt: 4 celery heads, 1 cup of fine sea salt • Lime-Ginger Salt: Zest of 6 limes, 3 tsp ground ginger, 1 cup of fine sea salt • Herbs de Provence Salt: ½ cup herbes de Provence, 6 tbsp dried lavender, ¾ cup of fine sea salt • Curry Salt: 12 medium dried bay leaves, ¼ cup of garam masala, ¼ cup curry powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, ½ cup of fine sea salt
Porcini Salt: Using a spice grinder, pulse dried porcini mushrooms until finely ground. Combine the ground porcini and sea salt in a medium-sized bowl.
Smoked Paprika and Ancho Salt: Remove stems and seeds of dried ancho chillies. Using a pestle and mortar, break up chillies. Pulse until coarsely ground using a spice grinder. Combine the ground chillies, smoked paprika and fine sea salt in a medium sized bowl.
Celery Salt: Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place leaves from 4 heads of celery on 2 parchment-lined baking pans and for about 10 minutes or until dry. Let them cool completely. Then, pulse them until coarsely ground using a spice grinder. In a medium bowl, combine the ground celery leaves and fine sea salt.
Lime-Ginger Salt: Spread lime zest on waxed paper and let it dry overnight. In a medium bowl, combine lime zest, ground ginger, and fine sea salt.
Herbes de Provence Salt: Using a spice grinder, pulse herbes de Provence and lavender until coarsely ground. Then combine the ground herbes de Provence and lavender with fine sea salt.
Curry Salt: Using a mortar and pestle, crush bay leaves until coarsely ground. In a medium bowl, combine the ground bay leaves with garam masala, curry powder, ground cumin, and fine sea salt.
For more DIY gift inspiration, head over to our pinterest board!
