There are lots of things you can make that will give a lot of pleasure. These ideas might take a bit of your precious time but won’t cost much in dollars The time spent will be really appreciated by the person on the receiving end.

Some of the ideas here don’t actually take long to make either and you can involve other household members, including children and flatmates.

Truffles

See our chocolate truffles recipe.  This is a lot of fun when you have some ‘help’ with rolling the mixture into small balls.

If you’re feeling a bit stressed, then this is an ideal stress buster – take some deep breaths first and accept that it will be messy fun and there’ll be a bit of cleaning up afterwards.

After the mess comes the fun of wrapping these little beauties in festive style.

1. Use a festive small paper plate or cover a plain paper plate with a festive paper napkin.
2. Arrange the truffles on the plate, preferably in one layer.
3. Place the plate on a large sheet of coloured cellophane or festive wrapping paper.
4. Cut the paper ina large circle so that you can pull it up around the plate, draw it in and tie it with red, green gold or silver ribbons at the top.

1. Make or buy small cardboard boxes that will hold 6 -12 truffles.  if the boxes are plain white or brown you can decorate them yourself with stickers or paint.
2. This can be a job for the youngest members of the household, especially when the gift is for a grandparent , aunt or uncle.

Mini Christmas cakes

When you make or buy a large Christmas cake, this is an easy way to make  mini Christmas cakes that will be just right for people living alone.

Christmas cake

If you know someone who loves a good fruit cake but doesn’t have time to make one, try one of our Christmas cake recipes and give them a whole cake, iced and decorated or left plain depending on what you know of their preference.

This is also a useful gift to take with you when you are visiting others over the holiday period.

You can try our very easy Christmas cake or the gluten free fruit cake.

Are they irrelevant today? Not at all.

Good behaviour at the dining table, at home or in a cafe or restaurant, shows that you respect those around you. Parents can decide on the set of manners they pan to teach their children. and stick with these rules consistently so children know what is expected of them.

 Here are a few basic things that you can teach your children so they become lifetime habits. 

 Eat with your mouth closed. This includes not talking with your mouth full.

Keep bites small. Make sure you cut meat and large pieces of vegetables into small bite sizes so you don’t have bits of food hanging out of your mouth.

Don’t gobble your food. If you eat at a leisurely pace you will help your digestion. Try to wait about 5 seconds after swallowing before getting another forkful.

Don’t wave eating utensils in the air, especially knives or if there is food on them. No-one wants to have bits of your food flying into their face.

Keep your elbows off the table and close to your body when you are eating. Mothers tend to nag about this one but it is vital when you are sitting close to other people at the table.

The person next to you doesn’t want food knocked off their fork when your elbows get in their way when they are eating.

It is OK to rest your wrist on the table with elbows tucked in close.

Don’t stuff your mouth full of food.  It is not appealing to those around you.

Sit up straight when eating. It helps your digestion and looks more attractive to others eating with you.

 Don’t reach over someone else to get something. Ask a person sitting near you to pass the item to you.

 And most importantly

Remember to say “please” and “thank you”. These are really handy words at the table and show your appreciation for the time and effort that went into presenting food for you to enjoy.

If there are children around, offer them the chance to set the table with place mats, cutlery, napkins (paper ones or even a segment of paper towel each) and glasses for water.

From the age of 4-5 years on, children are capable of setting the table and will even enjoy it.  It makes them feel important.

Making it a habit to eat together at the table doesn’t take much more time and can make the meal a sociable time where everyone can catch up on the day.