Once you’ve rustled up your delectable delights, why not add a final flourish and think about some personalised packaging? Reusing and decorating boxes you already own is a great, conscious alternative to gift wrap. It’s amazing what a bit of paint and some ribbon can achieve. Or why not buy a roll of inexpensive brown paper and let the kids go wild with potato prints, or festive messages?
Christmas Cranberry Cordial
Calm Moment
The robin red-breast hue of this alcohol-free cordial simply cannot fail to fuel the festive spirit. Packed with Vitamin C, it’s a great one for warding off winter colds, too. Use the discarded fruit to top a warming bowl of porridge, or add to a fruit loaf for a zingy hit. The cordial itself is perfect with a slice of orange and topped up with soda water for a glass of festive fizz.
Sweet and Spicy Christmas Nuts
Garlic & Zest
These moreish, warm and fragrant mixed nuts are a great hostess gift during the festive season. Why not save old jam jars and fill them with these Christmassy nibbles, topped off with a bright and joyful ribbon? The blend of sweet and fiery spices is perfectly balanced, making them the ideal pairing with a festive cocktail. Warning: they are highly addictive!
Vegan Christmas Cake Biscotti
The Peachick’s Bakery
A great twist on a classic Italian biscotti recipe, this vegan alternative is a great one to have up your sleeve if you have any plant-based guests or gift recipients on your ‘nice’ list this year. They can be made ahead and gifted nearer the big day. Why not eschew cellophane gift wrap in favour of inexpensive squares of cloth, tied up with colourful bio-degradable raffia twine? Scour charity shops or haberdashery departments for off-cuts, to create plastic-free wrapping this year. The biscotti themselves have all the flavours of a Christmas cake in a crisp, dunkable package, plus they’re filled with cranberries, dark chocolate chunks and brazil nuts then topped with white chocolate drizzle and grated lemon zest. Perfect with a cuppa after a mid-winter’s walk.
Christmas Chutney
Olive Magazine
Nothing impresses more than having gone to the effort of a knocking up a homemade preserve – and yet this Christmas chutney is a doddle. The classic spiced-plum recipe is filled with festive flavours and perfect for accompanying cheeses and cold cuts on Boxing Day. The taste deepens and improves over time, so don’t hesitate to get cooking and reap the benefits come Christmas.
Clementine, Ginger and Bay Gin
Olive Magazine
Stand out from the crowd this year and ditch the ubiquitous sloe gin recipe in favour of an altogether more unique flavour combination. This gorgeous clementine, ginger and bay gin is less of a recipe and more an infusion. Simply add the ingredients to a good base gin (one without strong botanical notes that will fight with the infused flavours) and gift with a flourish come the 25th. Perfect paired with Fevertree’s Clementine Tonic Water to further enhance the zesty notes.
Gingerbread Stained-Glass Biscuits
BBC Good Food
Kids love nothing more than a bit of alchemy in the kitchen, and these stained glass gingerbread biscuits are not only fun to make, but make a beautiful and impressive Christmas gift, too. Use boiled fruit sweets to create the colourful panes – and why not add ribbon to each one to transform them into edible decorations for the tree?
Vegan Chocolate Truffles
Delicious Magazine
Don’t tell guests these vegan chocolate truffles are full of anti-oxidants, fibre and healthy fats – just let them appreciate their smooth, intensely chocolatey flavour in decadent delight. Want to make them just a bit naughty? Add a splash of Cointreau for a chocolate orange twist.
Honey and Pine Nut Nougat
Delicious Magazine
Looking to fill your own advent calendar with sweet treats this year? This honey and pine nut nougat is perfect for cutting into individual pieces, wrapping in greaseproof paper and popping into a calendar for a daily sugar fix. Or divide into long, elegant sticks and bundle together for a beautifully fragrant, snow-white gift.
White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies in a Jar
Waitrose
A fun edible activity to gift this year, these ready-to-assemble cookies in a jar give the recipient all the dry ingredients they need for festive biscuits in a clip-top glass jar. A great, inexpensive present idea for teachers – or why not gift to the children in your life on Christmas Eve as a fun activity to leave out for the main man that night?
By Lydia Mansi
Updated Decemer 2022
