I did a Christmas with everyone getting handmade stuff, never again - I was up til about 2am Christmas morning finishing my stepsister's "Mamma Mia" (the one they wear when they're singing at the end of the DVD) inspired dress (with one still image from the film to base it on and having never made a dress before!). This year it's generic gifts like chocolates and deodorants

I can probably bring some of the sloe gin on the 27th if you want to try it?

When my sister & I were children my mother excelled herself with home-made Xmas presents. We weren't well off & obviously as kids we wanted all things our friends had & things we saw advertised.

One Xmas we wanted a Cindy doll (that ages me!!!) each with all the outfits. My mother made some fabulous clothes for the dolls, even down to underwear from lace trimmings, rain coats from bits of PVC, ball gowns from scraps of velvet & fur trim, Chanel-type suits like Jackie Onassis used to wear with pill-box hats. We had the best dressed dolls in the neighbourhood & all for a few pence!

I think this came from my grandfather as my mum came from a family of 10 & times were hard, so he couldn't afford to buy them much for Xmas. Instead he used to make each child a "shop" out of old wooden boxes, & stock them them with hand-crafted goods. One child would have a sweet shop, another a bakers, another a butchers etc etc.

I think it's a shame in some ways that Xmas has become so commercialised that presents are judged by how much they cost, rather than the thought & time that goes into making & choosing presents.

That would be incredible!

I'm also very keen to have your pickalillililililiiiiii recipe please. I love it and what a lovely compliment your friends gave you!

Sloe gin ~ no problem. Piccalili recipe......I just googled some recipes, got the general idea, then sort of made it up as I went along. I'm worried that I won't be able to repeat it this year! It didn't help that I don't like it & don't really know what it was supposed to taste like!

But I'll have a look & see if I can remember what I did. Last year I made an extra jar & asked a piccalili-loving friend to try it & see what it was like before I dared include it as Xmas pressies. She said it was lovely, better than Haywards ~ so they all got some!

I made Nigella's Christmas Chutney a few years back and it went down a storm. I followed the same recipe this year and ended up throwing it all away

Oh blimey, a staggering bunch of women, drunk in control of a dog. Cant wait!

I've been making jam and chutney since June, ready for Christmas! I've still got a freezer full of fruit to process!

So far I've made:

Plum Chutney
Apple Chutney
Rhubarb & Vanilla Jam
Summer Berry & Juniper Jam
Damson Jam
Chilli Jelly
Red Plum & Cardomom Jelly
Rhubarb Vodka
Elderflower Cordial

I've still got rhubarb, blackberries and blackcurrants to do something with before Christmas, and can probably do another load of apple chutney or similar...

We'll also do fudge and honeycomb as well.

We buy some nice recycled gift-bags and then just package everything up as little hampers.

Simples!

How lovely ! i think you are right a lot of the meaning has gone now, especially for kids presents

And then we all drive home !!

I'd better bring black coffee too