Just like my feathered friends in the yard, I have focused on gifting food this year over gifting store bought stuff gifting. I brought in 5 extra turkey pullets on my own order for the year and I raised them as the big gift for certain friends. I knew that with the bird flu issues we had in 2022 across the whole country would effect the costs and availability to Christmas turkeys this year.
I just gifted out my first one last night and ” the joy and the I love that this gift was how long in the making, me five months lol) I am going to enjoy knowing that there will families gathering around the table that will be enjoy well raised healthy birds on their table.
Other meat gifts this year include Leg of Lamb, Duck, Chicken, and Grass Fed Beef and Farm Fresh Eggs.
While I am not doing any baking this year (I was planning on doing some but my health at this time will prevent me from doing so) but thankfully I can still offer up some jams, jellies and other canned goodies.
I am only doing this with folks who I can trust to bring me back my jars! or in some cases, they just hand me empty jars of the same kind and size when I gift them. This works for me as well. Jars are very costly these days and the new ones are not comparable to the good ones, I did point in fact buy a case or two of the smaller jam jar sizes of the cheaper walmart golden brand, just for gift giving.
My Thanksgiving, High Bush Cranberry Jelly is a huge favorite. As is my Elderberry or Black Chokeberry. This year I also did a spiced pear jam that is delightful!
I did not “buy” anyone gifts this year, they either got Photography or Food gifts. As for hubby and myself, we have agreed to mainly a foodie christmas and new years, with each of us having a small budget for one gift gotten off the farm if desired.
Given I have just gotten out of the hospital and that I am under strict orders to hide myself away carefully at the farm during my recovery time and to not expose myself in this weaken state, we will not be having many if any guests.
So how is your Christmas plans coming? Focused more on family then gifts? Focused more on really good meals and visiting? then big outings or holiday travel? Did you move to more homemade smaller gifts this year? Are you gifting anything from the homestead or small garden or your pantry?
Do you think peaple are more open to homemade or handmade this year?
Just another Day on the Farm 
A friend of mine expressed interest in making ointments/salves etc this summer, I invited her out to my place to forage. Sent her home with beard lichen, plantain, pineapple weed, red clover, chickweed, nettle…she met up with me last week and handed over a hand lotion bar, salve for cracked heels, lip balm, cuticle cream…
Well that was worth a million to me 😊
I did a major clean out of my office and handed over a pile of different crafting paper (she’s an incredible crafter), and several packages of flower seeds – her yard is full of flowers every summer, she can grow anything well.
Now it wasn’t exactly because ‘Christmas’…we kind of go back and forth all year – last year I gifted her my antique cabbage slicer because she makes dozens of jars of sauerkraut- and I maybe make a half dozen. Made more sense she should have it.
But yes, I love your ideas – I too often gift canning or food as well. I think we should all do more of that.
Giving the gift of food is more personal and means so much more. You’ve put time, energy and love in raising your animals, fruits, veggies and/or herbs. What a wonderful way to tell people how much you love them. Koodos on you.
Homemade gifts for the win!
Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a speedy recovery.
You to crafty!
I knit a cowl with a Star Trek saying on it for my son’s new partner, and she seemed thrilled. He also gave her his hat from last year, which, it turned out, he was allergic to! We did 72hr survival bags (from a bc company that does them) for him and his partner as their main gift. I know he will enjoy researching the items he will want to add to this basic item. Feels good to be helping to support them if the worst happens. They are the only people we really buy for. I found a “decide once” for an old friend in the UK, which my husband also adopted for his aged Mother in the UK. We bought, and are going to keep buying, the Hallmark pop up Christmas cards. They look quite special and help to avoid sending unwanted items at great cost and all the problems we have had with that. His Mum seemed quite pleased with hers, and his sister took a photo of her with it, so that was nice.
Those handmade gifts mean so much and I love the idea of the cards, they sounds just lovely, I got three cards this year and they are all on display with my teapots. I like the idea of the 72 hour bags. We are coming into a freezing rain event and often lose power with them.