2009_12_17-get-cooking-gifts.jpgStop panicking. It's only a holiday and it comes every year. Seriously. Put down the credit card, and don't worry about elbowing your way through a pile of sale sweaters. If there's one thing you know people like, it's food. So why not stay at home and make some edible gifts in your socks? Put on a winter-y mix of music and just cook your gifts.

Nothing to buy here but the ingredients and maybe a few nice jars. Wrap them in newspaper and they'll be bursting with love. I think we can all agree that this is what the giving of gifts is really all about.

Here are some posts from The Kitchn that will help you on your merry way:

Readers Talk About Homemade Edible Gifts

Sweet Homemade Gifts

Savory Homemade Gifts

How to Wrap it All Up


Okay, so you're thinking that's still a lot of work to make BBQ sauce for your seven cousins, the neighbors, and the guy whose name your drew at work. I know your pain; I remember helping my mother make dozens of little cellophane bags of toffee, late into the night in the nick of time, and sure there was some stress. There were also burns and swearing. But at least we were sweating in our socks with good music playing, and not in line at the mall.

Don't forget to enjoy it all.

(Pickled Beets image by Emma Christensen for The Kitchn; Cashews image by Elizabeth Passarella for The Kitchn; Bacon Caramel image by Sarah Rae Trover for The Kitchn; Furoshiki Dishtowel image by Dana Velden for The Kitchn)

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