DIY Holiday Food Gifts for Everyone on Your List

Customize this breakfast favorite to surprise all your friends this holiday season.

To Package: Place the granola in clear plastic gift bags and seal with a sticker. Pack the bag of granola in a box with honey or other favorite toppings if you like. We used handsome compostable wooden boxes lined with tissue. 

Elevate anyone's favorite cocktail (or just her seltzer) by stirring up and bottling one of these deliciously bright homemade syrups. The Fennel-Orange blend borrows its flavors from Italy, while the Hibiscus-Ginger delivers a tropical punch, and the spicy cinnamon adds depth to hot drinks. Give one bottle to every home on the block -- or all three of them to the people you really love.

Pair one of our mouthwatering homemade sauces (Gingerbread Caramel or Mandarin-Orange Lime Curd) with a pretty spoon for the ice cream lover in your life (that's everyone, right?).

Stack Lemon Spice Butter Cookies and other sweets inside store-bought clear tubes, then add crepe paper and ribbon to make fabulous (and affordable!) Christmas crackers.

It doesn't get more sophisticated than these French fruit jellies! We used plum puree, but blackberry, raspberry, or even a combination of the three would be wonderful.

Turn syrupy, aromatic Luxardo cherries into adorable truffles with a little tempered chocolate and some green cloth-wrapped floral wire for the "stems." Package with gold candy inserts and boxes.

Four kinds of seeds -- pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, and poppy -- give this crunchy candy extra oomph.

You only need five ingredients to make these festive truffles -- roasted cashews, shredded coconut, white chocolate, heavy cream, and salt. Package in paper candy cups, and if you really want to lean into the winter wonderland theme, add some paper snowflakes.

These fresh, pure flavor boosters are made by pouring vodka over citrus peel, scraped vanilla beans, or chopped toasted almonds. Let them sit at least three weeks before giving or using.

You don't have to be a fruitcake lover to fall for these oh-so-elegant bites covered in chocolate and edible gold leaf.

Give everyone reindeer food for Christmas this year! Also known as muddy buddies, our grown-up version calls for doctoring toasted rice cereal with Nutella, bittersweet chocolate, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. Box'em up in gold takeout containers to make the treat feel extra-special.

Want an edible gift that feels extravagant? These buttery, salty, and deliciously chewy confections are just the thing. They're easy to make and fun to give away -- that is, if you can stand to part with them!

Molasses, buttermilk, vanilla, candied ginger, and a trifecta of spices -- cinnamon, allspice, and cloves -- give this holiday quick bread its complex flavor.

Get the Gingerbread Packaging How-To

How adorable are these? Our turtles have cashew legs, hazelnut heads, and a delicious shell made of chocolate, caramel, and pecans. Package in colorful paper cupcake liners, then box'em up and add some festive baker's twine.

Crafting these intense cocktail elixirs is like undertaking a fun science experiment. Vodka, citrus zest, spices like fennel seed and coriander, and the bitter root gentian steep in a jar for a few weeks, resulting in a heady, complex flavor.

To Package: Pour bitters into dropper bottles and garnish with citrus zest. Label with a white paint pen and tie at the neck with a ribbon.

An individual serving of apple-raspberry pie wrapped in a square of cotton makes the ultimate parting gift! Even if your guests are too full from the holiday feast to partake, they’ll still get to enjoy a homemade dessert later.

See How to Package Mini Parcels of Pie

A heavenly sweet-savory mixture; brown sugar, bourbon, maple syrup, shallots, and vinegar help transform a pound and a half of bacon into approximately 10 gifts. Add a gift tag with serving suggestions: spread on a burger, stir into a dip, or eat straight off a spoon!

Get the Bacon Jam Packaging How-To

Once you master tempering chocolate (it's easier than it seems, we promise!), all you have to do is add almonds, marshmallows, and pretzels to make these crowd-pleasing treats.

Fruitcake doesn't need to be the only spirit-soaked holiday gift. If someone loves martinis, prepare a jar of vermouth-soaked olives. Make some bourbon-drenched cherries for your friend who drinks Manhattans, and she'll never look at a store-bought maraschino the same way again. You can even make a bottle of flavored vodka (we used tangerine peel, but we also love less-expected flavor combinations, such as vanilla and cardamom, or pine and juniper). Include a bag of sweet-and-salty nuts for snacking.

Vermouth-Soaked Olives

Bourbon-Soaked Cherries

Infused Vodkas

Sweet and Salty Pecans

Use any variety of nuts that tickle your fancy -- or even a nutty combination -- to make this family-size slab of brittle.

To Package: Wrap the brittle block with cellophane and include a small hammer and bow.

We can't think of anything more festive for your hot chocolate than these peppermint marshmallows. They're also delicious on their own -- pack them in clear bags with red string for a crowd-pleasing holiday gift.