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It’s Christmas! If you are looking for an extra special homemade gift that is guaranteed to make someone smile, you are in the right place! I have curated five special recipes straight from the Mini Chef recipe box that make unique and fun edible Christmas presents for everyone on your Christmas list. These gifts are perfect for teachers, friends, coworkers, or anyone who would appreciate a foodie present.
Cute packaging really polishes up a homemade gift and makes it extra special. So guess what! I’ve made some beautifully designed printable labels you can print off for free! Keep reading to discover the best 5 edible foodie Christmas gifts you can give this year. Grab your present labels and get gifting! Merry Christmas!
The 12 Days of Gift Giving
As a teacher, my sweet students love to gift candy…problem is, with two teachers in the house, you get overrun with chocolate! It really is a wonderful problem to have! But with the amount of sugar, much of it can get wasted. It’s almost Christmas time and we haven’t even finished the chocolate from last year!
I feel like lots of teachers could sing this song every year.
“On the 12th day of Christmas my students gave to me…Twelve kinds of cookies, Eleven types of chocolate, Ten sugar crashes, Nine peppermint candies, Eight pretzel sticks, Seven chocolate bars, Six Christmas cards, Five ornaments! (Homemade!) Four cozy drinks, Three coffee mugs, Two coughing colds, and an axolotl joined our family…”
Yep! My husband’s students gave him a live axolotl. While we love the weird creature very much, I highly recommend the following list for any last minute gift as opposed to giving salamanders as Christmas presents. π
So, if you are in the giving mood and are looking for some fun homemade alternatives to Christmas cookies or candy, here are 5 edible foodie Christmas gifts for neighbors, teachers, friends, and more!
Foodie Gifting Criteria
Before we dive in, I thought I would share a few helpful tips to keep in mind when making foodie gifts!
- Shelf Stable is Best!
- Consider giving gifts that don’t need to be refrigerated immediately. Not all teachers have access to refrigerators…and if your student forgets to give the gift right away…food poisoning is not the best way to spend Christmas break. Plus! I would hate for you to go through all that trouble and then the recipient can’t enjoy your delicious surprise!
- Savory is AWESOME!
- Chocolate is literally exploding out of my pantry! Some of the most exciting and fun foodie presents we get as teachers are savory! Think outside the realm of sweets. What if you got a couple of popcorn bags and wrapped them up? Maybe homemade party mix or a homemade spice mix? Speaking of homemade spice mixes, keep reading! I have a few in mind. π
- If Sick, Stick to Cards!
- I had a lovely student once make homemade popcorn balls for each teacher. It was incredibly thoughtful and sweet! Unfortunately, she made them when she was out sick with whooping cough… So if in doubt, gift cards or a note are absolutely lovely! π
- The Sentiment is Everything!
- It doesn’t matter what you give. It might be a card or maybe homemade smoked cheese! You could give a gift card or a homemade ornament. Any gesture of appreciation or encouragement is going to brighten your teacher’s day! I have enormous respect for teachers. I may be biased, but the Christmas season is one of the busiest seasons in the year. The burn out is REAL! Who knows, that simple gift might be the biggest part of your teacher’s day!
Grab Your Free Christmas Gift Labels!
Below, you will be able to download some beautifully designed ready-to-print labels. Print them on printable sticker paper or printable label paper, cut them out, and add them to jars, bags, or containers! They bring an elegant polished flair to your homemade edible gifts.
So, are you ready for my foodie Christmas list? Here goes!
Hot Cocoa Mix
My top favorite gift to give is instant hot chocolate mix. It’s fun, DELICIOUS, and perfect for the holidays! Mix up a big batch, divide them out into cute bags or jars, attach the label, and voila! The perfect gift everyone will be sure to enjoy. You can find my recipe for The Best Instant Hot Cocoa Mix here. Don’t forget to grab your free labels!
Helpful tip: I like using resealable food bags. I purchased 100 bags for under $15. Each bag ended up being about $0.13 each! Make sure you order bags that have food grade plastic film on the inside so you don’t have any leaks or moisture leaking into your hot chocolate mix.
Candied Cranberry Snowballs
As a teacher I would LOVE this as a Christmas gift! This has been the most popular recipe on my blog. Candied cranberry snowballs are incredibly unique, beautiful, and delicious! This tangy, jewel-colored candy hides a bright popping surprise inside! Inspired by a cranberry candy in Latvia, these candied cranberries are going to be a huge hit! They package up well, look super impressive, and are way easier than making sugar cookies! They do need to be refrigerated eventually, but don’t be worried if they sit out for a while. It’s ok! Grab the recipe here! Candied Cranberry Snowballs.
Taco Night!
Meal planning can be daunting during the school year. Give the gift of easy dinner ideas! Taco night is the perfect present to give anyone! Make homemade taco mix, throw it in a cute spice jar or bag, and voila! It looks super fancy, but only requires ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. If you want to go a step further, make a taco basket by adding some classic toppings!
- Homemade taco mix
- salsa
- avocados
- tortillas
- beans
To Make a Festive Taco Night Basket:
- Layer the bottom of the basket with brown paper or tissue paper.
- Arrange the taco ingredients in your basket.
- Jazz it up with evergreen boughs and pine cones interspersed between your taco ingredients.
- Give it a cute ribbon, and you will be left with a gorgeously festive Christmas basket that is charming, unique, and delicious!
Who knew food could make such an incredible festive offering!
Helpful tip: If you want to make several batches, consider getting the majority of your spices from Costco. I have found that this is the most budget friendly way to make lots of spice mix packets while keeping it very economical.
Stir-Fry Basket
We eat udon noodle stir fry almost every week. This is the perfect way to enjoy some restaurant style udon stir fry from the comfort of home. If you have a foodie on your gift list, this is a great present! Make some Easy Soy Sauce Sesame Stir Fry Oil. Print out this recipe, attach the gift label to the jar, and you are good to go!
If you want to make it a bigger present, consider adding these to your stir fry gift basket!
- Easy soy sauce sesame stir-fry oil
- Printed copy of the Shoyu chicken udon noodle stir-fry
- Udon noodles
- Whatever veggie you want to add. Carrots, an onion, bok choy, or broccoli are all hardy options that you can add to the basket.
To Make The Cutest Christmas Stir-fry Basket Ever:
- Arrange the basket with an adorable Christmas cloth napkin.
- Fill it up with your stir fry goodies
- Finish it off with a cheery Christmas bow.
Again! It’s such a unique foodie gift that is easy to bring together, budget friendly, and very impressive looking!
Helpful note: Udon noodles can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores. Trader Joe’s has some really good shelf stable ones called Thai Wheat Noodles. I always have those on hand whenever I’m looking for a quick and delicious dinner!
Homemade Coffee Syrup
Coffee syrup is incredibly easy to make at home but sounds impressive! I guarantee that you will make your coffee addicted teacher very happy! If you are looking for a unique take on salted caramel syrup, try this one out. Made with a hint of white miso to bump up the caramel and bring more dimension and depth of flavor, my Miso Caramel Coffee Syrup pairs wonderfully with coffee or chai tea lattes. It’s the perfect gift for anyone who likes a cup of cozy.
I love gifting this syrup because simple syrup is very budget friendly. It’s essentially just sugar and water with a teensy bit of flavoring! The bottle is the most expensive element, but you can even store this in a mason jar. I purchased a set of syrup dispensers off of Amazon for less than $17. That’s about $4.25 per bottle. Overall, that’s a pretty good price for anyone who wants to give something fancy but needs to stay within a budget.
No matter who is on your Christmas list, I hope you have fun making these fun foodie gifts this year! Don’t forget to download your free printable labels! Merry Christmas!!
Happy eating!
~Anna
