You see all those jars in that picture? Don’t the contents of those jars look sweet and delicious? Although I wish I could say I was that ambitious, I am not the one who made all that beautiful Jelly and Jam. It is the work of my boyfriends parents. I am, however, usually lucky enough to get some in my Christmas stocking each year and I love it!

Another gift of sorts that I look forward to each year are from a co-worker. The gift is really for the entire department, but we all get excited when we get the email that the package has arrived.   What is this gift? Well, every year, one of the developers in our department brings in about a dozen assorted breads that his wife makes–zucchini, banana, banana chocolate-chip, pumpkin, lemon, etc…  I’m telling you, these breads are way better than donuts any day.

Just as much as I enjoy receiving these gifts, I bet there are people on your list that would too!  I’m not saying you should go out and buy some berries to make jam; but, if your pantry is over-flowing from an abundant harvest, why not share the fruits of your labor in the form of a gift?  And even if you don’t have a cupboard filled with jelly, baking a few loaves of bread is not only fun to do with the kids, but another gift that anyone would love to receive.  If you’re feeling ambitions, you could even make multiple mini-loaves for each recipient and package them up with a couple of jams or jellies.

People have closets filled with things. Things that, many of which will eventually be tossed, donated or they are just never used.  So, why not give a gift that tingles the taste buds and fills the belly instead of just another thing?

Happy Holiday Family Cooking Everyone!

Kelly, Alex and Sophia