Homemade holiday gifts on LA Times

Here are some lovely ideas from the Los Angeles Times: 50 ways to make your holiday gifts homemade.

Not only are homemade gifts less expensive, they also capture the spirit of holiday giving in a way that purchased gifts simply can’t. And if you consider the ubiquitous traffic and holiday crowds, a leisurely morning spent baking breadsticks or whipping up a batch of homemade marshmallows seems positively Zen-like by comparison.

All of the gifts are food-related, from cookies to a winter soup starter. I love the idea of food as gifts, especially sweets.

Christmas on Flickr

Christmas Lights Regent Street London
Originally uploaded by keithhull

If you are looking for a little distraction, Flickr has so many great Christmas photos to look at, like this one. A good place to start is the Christmas cluster.

Apple Cranberry Stuffed Pork Roast from Simply Recipes

Last year for my family’s Christmas dinner I made this Apple Cranberry Stuffed Pork Roast from Elise’s Simply Recipes. The stuffing is a delicious chutney of apples, cranberries, shallots and spices. I think it went over well.

If you can, do a test run of your Christmas dinner beforehand; it’ll make Christmas day a lot less stressful.

Cookie Recipes on Smitten Kitchen

One of my favorite food bloggers, Deb from Smitten Kitchen, has a fabulous roundup of her cookie recipes, most of which would make a lovely addition to your holiday season.

I’ve been looking to make these peanut butter cookies for a while now and will probably give in over Christmas.

Christmas Ornament Ideas

I’ve always loved the idea of cookie cutter ornaments, because sometimes they are just to pretty to keep in a drawer. Try out this ornament craft from Martha Stewart.

They also have a wide variety of additional ornament craft ideas.