A Handmade Christmas

I love Christmas, but I used to find the run-up to the day extremely stressful - gift shopping can be expensive, time-consuming and anxiety-inducing, all while schedules become more hectic.  To prevent this I started to look out for potential Christmas gifts year-round (with a clear budget in mind), and for several families I started to make gift baskets filled with a mixture of homemade and Canadian-made foods.  

Since a lot of our friends and family have dietary restrictions or a food intolerance or allergy, we like to prepare and buy a selection of different items to choose from.  This year we made gingerbread cookies, stewed apples, and wild mushroom cheese spread, and bought hot chocolate from Soma Chocolate, cider from Parenteau's Gourmet Foods, birch syrup from Canadian Birch, caramel apples from Bruce County Nut & Fudge, and a variety of jellies from Dave's Hot Pepper Jelly.  Most of these we found at Christmas markets like the Festival of Crafts or Spruce Meadows Christmas Market, though many are also available at different local food stores or online.  

The lid is laser cut with a topographical map of Banff circa 1902

The different shapes and sizes make wrapping the gift baskets a little tricky when we're trying to cut back on plastic and/or paper waste.  In the past we've reused cardboard boxes covered in old wrapping paper, or purchased reusable fair trade baskets in multiple colours and sizes from Ten Thousand Villages.  This year we decided to do something special when we discovered Calgary-based Rocky Mountain Vintage with their laser cut decorative crates.  Not only are they well-made and reusable, they can also be customized with specific designs as well as a Christmas greeting!  

"C-A-double hockey stick-I-N"

We spent zero time fighting crowds in a mall and made something meaningful and useful while supporting local businesses.  A winning combination in our books!  

#homecooking #homebaking #shoplocal #buylocal #supportlocal #belocal

#wearecanadian