Make your own Christmas presents

There was a time when there was no way in the world I'd ever consider giving a friend something that I'd made myself. After a disastrous attempt at making a dressing gown when I was 11yrs old that involved sewing my fingers together with a sewing machine, and my mother exclaiming "you made a what?", I buried any thoughts of arts & crafts into the "skills I didn't get" category, along with science and mathematics.

Then I discovered gardening and baking -- with my mother being able to recognise both what I was growing and what she was eating = success. The excitement and pride at the end result, be that a bucketful of potatoes, a trug full of tulips or a platterful of macarons, was huge and it filled a small hole inside.

This year, along with bits and bobs I've picked up from my travels, I might try my hand at some homemade goodies to stick in the stockings.

to eat:

Mini hazlenut and brown butter cakes

Savoiardi

Macarons

to smell:

Potted hyacinths

Pomanders

to grow:

Packets of seeds for a kitchen window box

I have already made a start with the DIY theme...by stamping all my christmas card envelopes letter by letter with old-fashioned stamps. It takes a while and looks like a 10 year old did it, but I enjoyed it so much I found myself eyeing up the dining room walls just for something to stamp the hell out of. I picked up the stamps and ink pads from Paper Source. That's a store I could happily spend 12 hours in anyday...*sigh*