A great way to cut down on your holiday expenses is to bake treats for people on your list. My husband’s grandmother has 34 grandchildren. When they were growing up, they always got a treat bag from Memaw at Christmas. They loved getting baked goodies from grandma and she loved not having to spend a ton of money on 34 gifts. And to this day, my husband says that is one of his fondest childhood memories.
If you bake for Christmas, I’d love to hear some of your favorite food items to give.
Be sure to check out the Couponing to Christmas category for all the hottest coupons and deals for this Holiday season. You can also read through my planning articles here.
Siobhan says
Since so many people give baked goods, I avoid doing that.
Instead I love to give frozen cookie dough. I made the dough as normal, but instead of baking it I freeze it, and then give it as a gift. This way after the holidays have died down and all of the other baked goods are gone whoever I gave the cookie dough to can then bring out as much as they want and bake it whenever they want over the next few months.
Kelly says
I like to make the Andes Mint Cookies on sixsistersstuff.com. Only 4 ingredients! I’ve also made the rolo cookies from that site, and the fudge from the back of the Fluff container. You can change the fudge flavors easily but changing the flavor of the chips (chocolate, white chocolate, Peanut butter) that you stir in
Kelly says
I make Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter with Hershey’s Kisses in them for my kids teachers. Then for family I make Snickerdoodles and thumbprint cookies. Every year we get our family pictures done and we buy a frame and that is what they get with a tin of cookies!
Wendy says
My grown son has recently been diagnosed with wheat and rice allergies, and baking for him is what I have always done, it’s our thing. I found recipes for peanut butter bars and tweaked other recipes so he could enjoy his Mom-baked stuff on a recent visit. I think if people are aware and just google for recipes, you can still give treats people can eat.
Lll says
This is true. But as mom of kids with multiple food allergies. I discourage this, because even a small amount of contamination can make someone sick and ruin their holiday. Not to mention buying the correct ingredients isn’t cheap.
Sorry to be a killjoy.
Asimina souders says
I have a book that I use to make Christmas presents baked goods from a jar, love it!
Amy says
My giveaway treat is the “foolproof” fudge recipe that’s made in the microwave using semi-sweet chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. I usually stir in dried cranberries, and it tastes so good and looks very festive. Or I’ll add peppermint extract to a batch for those who like mint chocolate.
Katie says
I love to bake pumpkin bread! It is my grandma’s recipe… It allows us to reminisce in our fond memories before alheimeer’s set in.
Dana says
Chocolate dipped pretzels always taste great and are so easy to make. You can roll them in sprinkles or crushed peppermint. Homemade toffee is always a hit at our house too.
Amanda says
Last year I made homemade jams and jellies for all my inlaws. We have a crab-apple tree so we harvest the crab-apples in the fall and I freeze them and them made the jelly when I’ve got the time to invest as it takes a good weekend to make it. I also make my favorite strawberry-pinapple jam.
This year I am debating on what to make for the inlaws since everything has to be shipped. Cookies wouldn’t be the best idea. So I’m still debating.
Bree says
This is my first year attempting the baked goods to give away so this post and the comments are much appreciated. So far on my list I have:
Scratchy Banana bread (its not itchy, but it is my favorite baked from scratch recipe)
sugar cookies (cut into christmas shapes and decorated)
fudge (Im going to make an entire pan and then separate between the recipients since my husband doesn’t care for much of it)
Along with each baked good pack I’m going to use the leftover halloween candy (we usually have leftovers anyway) and send candy sacks for the kids (one for each of them, names included so they’re not fighting)
Jean C. says
I usually bake double recipes of 3 different cookies: sugar cookies decorated by the kids, candy cane cookies, and snowballs (aka russian tea cakes). I send them to work with my husband and we deliver them to the neighbors. I like giving cookies because it is homemade, inexpensive, fun for the kids, and it is a small gift that does not make the recipient feel like they need to reciprocate.
Amy West says
Just a thought…
Keep in mind, if you can, those who are diabetic or have allergies.
If you don’t know, maybe you can find out in a round-about way. (ask the kids?)
My DH is diabetic ( but will eat them anyway) and my older son is gluten-free.
It is heart breaking to see your little boy so sad that he cant have the treats the neighbors give him. I usually whip something up and he has a good attitude about it.
Anyway,not trying to discourage anyone. Just something to be conscientious of.
:)
Vickie says
I agree. I’m diabetic and have made a commitment not to each sugar. I’m on Weight Watchers now, and since no one in my family needs any sweets (two of them are also diabetic but eat tons of sugar anyway – grrr), I will not be making any baked goods this year, except maybe a batch for work. I love to bake cookies and everyone loves them, but now that I’ve lost 25 pounds, I don’t want to gain any back, and those BLTs (bites, licks, and tastes) add up!
:-)
Lll says
Thank you for pointing this out. As a mom of kids with multiple food allergies, I totally agree with you! The sad faces, are heartbreaking!! However I do discourage people from baking for those with food allergies. Its is too easy to contaminate, and watching those people suffer through an attack is heartbreaking. Not to mention the toll on them!! Sorry to be such a Scrooge.
Lll says
Oops I attached my post to wrong one…sorry.
Danielle O says
OREO TRUFFLES!!!
Yepp. I get that excited about them, as does the recipients.
Cyndi says
I make these treats every year. I send a tray to work with my husband, and I we pass a tray out to the neighbors. They have all begun to request my chocolate cherries cookies, and buckeyes. Making these treats is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.
robyn says
i make cookies for everyone for christmas my mom always did too so i do the same and when my son was overseas in the military i asked him which cookie he liked best and he told me he would rather i sent him the sugar coated chex cereal mix you know the one with the chocolate i think someone said puppy chow …mmmm i dont know if my son would agree to that
Tara says
Well I do make Christmas cookies for my father & grandmother. It is a tradition that I have been doing for over 20 years! They look forward to them every year, but I don’t look forward to it as much as I used to. It just gets hard & tiring since I make about 15 dozen or more. I usually make 3 batches (of 15 dozen each time) between Thanksgiving & Christmas. But it makes me happy to see my father so happy to have them! So I don’t mind too much! =)
Kandi V says
It’s not baked goods, but we are going to do flavored popcorn for our friends this year. We have quite a bit of popcorn thanks to having 2 boy scouts in our family, so we thought it would be fun to make a couple of different flavors and give them out as gifts this year.
Mandy says
I gave home made peanut butter fudge and buckeyes to a couple family members a few years ago. Now every holiday i get requests for everyone’s own personal tins because they like them so much they don’t want to share. It can be a bit time consuming doing all that preparing but i get alot more satisfaction out of giving them since its something i made.
Hannah says
My friend and I usually bake a couple types of cookies, and some type of bread for our kids teachers. They always appreciate it!
Kristen says
Every year for as long as I can remember myself, my mother and my aunt get together a few days before Christmas and make several different types of cookies, candies, and brownies. After ever thing is made we “bag” them up for our co-workers, childrens teachers, kids friends at school and our other friends. It is a simple gift but they always love it and we love it as a family tradition that bring all of us together. Our children and husbands all wait to see what they can get their hands on.
We do they chocolate covered pretzel/ pb crackers
chocolate covered cherries
7 layer bars
the chex, pb,chocolate, powdered sugar
all types of cookies
peppermint bark ( to name a few)
Julie H says
I usually do a cookie tray for friends. Cyclops (peanut butter cookies with hershey’s kiss on top), Candy cane cookies, Spritz, gingerbread, and chocolate crinkle cookies are typical of what I’ll make. My mom always made lots of different cookies for us for Christmas and I just love having them all.
I’ve had a friend bring us over a bag of puppy chow (the chocolate and powdered sugar covered chex cereal thing – not dog food) and I’ve also gotten homemade truffles from a friend before too.