Compiled by Ruth of Makey-Cakey

Homemade edible Christmas gifts are always a joy to receive, and knowing that someone has taken the time and care to make you something beautiful and delicious can be a welcome antidote to the over-commercialisation of Christmas that seems to be all around us.

However my enthusiasm for them conceptually is often outweighed by my lack of forward planning – I’m sure I’m not alone! Instead of busily preserving the best of the summer’s bounty so that come Christmas, I have a stash of nicely matured chutneys and jams to give, I generally find myself in late November with nothing more to show for my plans than a bookmarks folder on my laptop full of interesting pickles and a packet or two of labels and lids bought in optimism in August that this year would be different.