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You’ve completed all of your holiday shopping for the year. But then you wake up in the middle of the night in a panic, remembering that one last person who means something special to you and your family. Maybe it’s your child’s piano teacher, an elderly neighbor, or a work comrade. Certainly not someone you would want to forget during the holidays!
Problem is you’re burnt out on fighting the crowds while shopping, along with all the traffic and parking headaches. Not to mention the lines in the store. You could grab a gift card while checking out at the grocery store (and the teachers in my family have assured me that gift cards are one of the presents teachers welcome at this time of year), but that seems a bit impersonal.
Homemade gifts offer a way to give those special people in your life something a little more personal. If you like to cook, it’s lot of fun to make kitchen-crafted gifts: lemon curd, salad dressing, spiced nut mixes and of course, freshly baked goods. Handcrafted cookie ornaments have a special significance; decorated spiced ginger cookies can keep for many years. Homemade granola, snack mixes, or bean soup mix. Decadent chocolate truffles. Or go a little quirky with the Toffee Bacon Bark made with saltine crackers, otherwise known as Christmas Crack. The recipe only takes a few minutes. There really is no end to the list of ideas of homemade gift ideas.
If you know your recipient’s tastes, that will point the way to go. A few years ago, my dad moved to Chicago and discovered a new favorite thing – the blue cheese stuffed olive – perfect for garnishing a James Bond-style martini. But when he visited the east coast, we could never find them, so each year we make him a jar of blue cheese stuffed olives. It’s the perfect stocking stuffer for him.
Handcrafted gifts can complement and personalize store bought gifts too. A homemade popcorn mix with a DVD, cookies with a gift card, homemade nut mix with a gag gift.
If you are feeling particularly industrious you could assemble your own more personalized food gift basket, tote, or tin. I love looking through the catalogs at all the food themed gift baskets available at this time of year, but the prices can be sky high! If you make it yourself you can save a bit of money and make it even more personalized. Try a hearty breakfast kit with homemade pancake mix, maple syrup, slab bacon, and good coffee. Or a teatime box lined with a tea towel and filled with special teas, scones, and marmalade.
Or tailor it specifically to the recipient and fill it with all the things he or she loves best. If you’ve got a bacon lover on your hands, you could make a bacon specific basket with some homemade bacon baked goods, bacon flavored candy, and an assortment of special cured bacons. How about a martini gift with the recipients chosen mixers, cocktail shaker, and special olives?
Now on the other hand, if your recipient is really into healthy living, it can be as simple as filling a gym tote with fresh fruit, and if you have time, homemade granola. But really, almost everyone enjoys a gift of fresh fruit, or an assortment of fine cheese and crackers.
So don’t go into a panic over holiday gifting this year, your loved ones will be more than thrilled to receive a personalized homemade food gift you put together just for them!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1319-homemade-gifts/
Holiday Gifts From Your Kitchen
You’ve completed all of your holiday shopping for the year. But then you wake up in the middle of the night in a panic, remembering that one last person who means something special to you and your family. Maybe it’s your child’s piano teacher, an elderly neighbor, or a work comrade. Certainly not someone you would want to forget during the holidays!
Problem is you’re burnt out on fighting the crowds while shopping, along with all the traffic and parking headaches. Not to mention the lines in the store. You could grab a gift card while checking out at the grocery store (and the teachers in my family have assured me that gift cards are one of the presents teachers welcome at this time of year), but that seems a bit impersonal.
Homemade gifts offer a way to give those special people in your life something a little more personal. If you like to cook, it’s lot of fun to make kitchen-crafted gifts: lemon curd, salad dressing, spiced nut mixes and of course, freshly baked goods. Handcrafted cookie ornaments have a special significance; decorated spiced ginger cookies can keep for many years. Homemade granola, snack mixes, or bean soup mix. Decadent chocolate truffles. Or go a little quirky with the Toffee Bacon Bark made with saltine crackers, otherwise known as Christmas Crack. The recipe only takes a few minutes. There really is no end to the list of ideas of homemade gift ideas.
If you know your recipient’s tastes, that will point the way to go. A few years ago, my dad moved to Chicago and discovered a new favorite thing – the blue cheese stuffed olive – perfect for garnishing a James Bond-style martini. But when he visited the east coast, we could never find them, so each year we make him a jar of blue cheese stuffed olives. It’s the perfect stocking stuffer for him.
Handcrafted gifts can complement and personalize store bought gifts too. A homemade popcorn mix with a DVD, cookies with a gift card, homemade nut mix with a gag gift.
If you are feeling particularly industrious you could assemble your own more personalized food gift basket, tote, or tin. I love looking through the catalogs at all the food themed gift baskets available at this time of year, but the prices can be sky high! If you make it yourself you can save a bit of money and make it even more personalized. Try a hearty breakfast kit with homemade pancake mix, maple syrup, slab bacon, and good coffee. Or a teatime box lined with a tea towel and filled with special teas, scones, and marmalade.
Or tailor it specifically to the recipient and fill it with all the things he or she loves best. If you’ve got a bacon lover on your hands, you could make a bacon specific basket with some homemade bacon baked goods, bacon flavored candy, and an assortment of special cured bacons. How about a martini gift with the recipients chosen mixers, cocktail shaker, and special olives?
Now on the other hand, if your recipient is really into healthy living, it can be as simple as filling a gym tote with fresh fruit, and if you have time, homemade granola. But really, almost everyone enjoys a gift of fresh fruit, or an assortment of fine cheese and crackers.
So don’t go into a panic over holiday gifting this year, your loved ones will be more than thrilled to receive a personalized homemade food gift you put together just for them!
Serves/Makes: 20 pcs
- 50 saltine crackers
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a jelly roll or half sheet pan with foil or parchment paper. Line the crackers side by side in the pan, as tightly as possible, in one layer.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat and stir in vanilla and brown sugar. Simmer for about 5 minutes and carefully pour mixture over saltines, using a spatula to spread evenly to edges.
Bake for 5 minutes until mixture begins to bubble. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate pieces evenly over toffee, letting heat melt chocolate. Spread chocolate over toffee so crackers are completely covered. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon.
Refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes. Break into pieces and serve, or store covered for up to one week.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1319-homemade-gifts/