Nothing quite captures the spirit of the Christmas season like a homemade gift basket.
A homemade gift basket filled with pasta sauce and home-grown garlic
In a world that moves way too fast, there is something incredibly special about receiving a gift filled with the care and love of home-grown or homemade food.
Maybe its knowing that someone took the time and effort out of their day to create something just for you.
Or perhaps it’s the ability to bring back incredible memories from those special people in your past.
For me, I still remember as a child having my Aunt Sis and Uncle Eddie come to our house for a Christmas visit – with a plateful of her famous Santa Claus Cookies in hand.
It was all my mom could do to ration the cookies from being devoured before my Aunt even left. What I wouldn’t give for one of those cookies today – and one last visit from two wonderful people from my childhood.
It’s a tradition we have tried to carry on in our own unique way with a homemade gift basket from the farm.
Creating A Homemade Gift Basket From The Farm
Starting back with our very first garden at the farm in 2011, we try to create a few baskets each year for friends and family filled with the goodness from the year’s harvest.
The popcorn is always a big hit in the homemade gift basket
That first year, we created a few wooden crates from wood left over from building our old barn. We then filled them with fresh pasta sauce, salsa and hot pepper mustard made from the garden’s first harvest.
As the farm has grown, so have the baskets. This year’s crates will have their own unique touch, made from the cedar left over from the building of our house.
We try to put a little of the farm in every basket. Home-grown popcorn, salsa, hot mustard, ketchup, pizza sauce, hot pepper flakes, fresh garlic and even a few seeds from our plants for others to start their own plants next year.
The crates are actually simple to make, and a great way to leave a lasting gift from the farm once the food is long gone. See: How To Create Garden and Gift Crates
With just a few nails, the homemade gift basket crates are ready to go.
So here is to celebrating this Christmas season with a little something homemade. Whatever your specialty, whatever you talents, this year, give a little of you to your friends and family for Christmas. You might be amazed at how much it really means to those you love!
Merry Christmas! – Jim and Mary
To receive our Recipes, DIY and Gardening articles each week, sign up to follow the blog via email in the right hand column above, “Like” us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. You can also check out our new book, Growing Simple, now available on Amazon.com.