A Home Made Christmas

Each Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.

If you are worried about ruining the surprise feel free to post about something you have made in the past, something you saw or something you have received.

When planning home made gifts you need to consider a number of things:
How long the item will take to make? How far ahead do I need to plan?
How long will it keep?  What is the shelf life?
Does it need time to mature like Christmas Cakes/Puddings?
Can I make more than one at a time and give them to a number of people?

Strawberry Jam

This week I want to talk about preserves.  These days it is not as common as it used to be for preserves to be made which makes them a great gift.  Well made preserves are streets ahead of their store brought equivalents plus there are so many varieties most of which you will never see on a supermarket shelf.  They are also perfect to have on hand for when you need give something small that you had not planned for like when some one drops by unexpectedly with a gift for you or you find out at the last minute that there will be an extra person on Christmas day.  With a few different preserves on hand all you need to do is add a circle of Christmas paper or fabric tied with some ribbon and you prepared for any unexpected situations.

In the past I have made Cherry Chutney, Coriander Pesto, Tomato Relish, Basil Pesto, BBQ Sauce and a few other things.  I have also been on the receiving end of home made preserves as a gift including Chilli Plum Jam, Worcestershire Sauce and Apple and Mint Jelly all of which were divine.
I will be sharing some of the recipes over the coming weeks and will be looking at what other new recipes I want to try.

Mustard Pickle

What have you made or been given?
Please link up below and leave a brief comment as well.