Today, I’ll show you how to make the 10 best homemade Christmas gifts. They are all easy to make, and your lucky recipients will be thrilled to receive any of them. And if you’re also interested in helpful kitchen tools and products, I share seven of my favorite gifts for traditional foods cooks. So either way—homemade or store-bought—I’ve got you covered and with a few bonuses too! (And best of all, I have many discount coupon codes for you too.)
I’d like to receive more tips and recipes from Mary’s Nest.
Homemade and Store-Bought Gifts
I took the best of two of my previous blog posts and videos about Christmas gift-giving, and I expanded on them with new content for this marathon video. The two original blog posts are listed below, but be sure to watch my new 10 Best Homemade Christmas Gifts video, where I added additional helpful information.
- How to Make Homemade Traditional Foods Christmas Gifts
- Seven Best Kitchen Tools for the Modern Pioneer Kitchen
Note that this is not a sponsored post or video. I bought and use everything I show you.
Affiliates note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My content may contain affiliate links to products and services. If you click through and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay.
Table of Contents
- Homemade and Store-Bought Gifts
- The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
- Really Easy to Easy to Make Homemade Gifts
- Make Ahead Mixes Make Great Gifts
- Easy Homemade Dessert Gifts
- Easy Homemade Jams for Gifts
- Easy Gifts with More Preparation
- Bonus Homemade Gifts
- Store-Bought Gifts for the Home Cook
- Baking Kitchen Gifts
- Fermentation Kitchen Gifts
- Culturing Kitchen Gifts
- Bone Broth Kitchen Gifts
- Water Bath Canning Kitchen Gifts
- Food Storage Kitchen Gifts
- Clean Up Kitchen Gifts
- Bookshelf Kitchen Gifts
- Bonus Kitchen Gifts
- Bonus Kitchen Garden Gifts
- Bonus Kitchen Board Games
- Christmas Recipes and Gifts
- Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List
- The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
- Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy
- Kitchen Academy Videos
- Shop for items used in this blog post or video
Order YOUR COPY Now!
The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
Seasonal ingredients, traditional techniques, and nourishing recipes. Over 85 traditional, from-scratch recipes! Discover for yourself how you can use simple ingredients and traditional techniques to cook the modern pioneer way.
Really Easy to Easy to Make Homemade Gifts
I divided my homemade Christmas gifts into three categories to help you select the gifts you can make based on the time you have available. Plus, if you have been with me for a while, you know that I always like to throw in a few bonuses for you! Here are the categories:
- Really Easy Homemade Gifts – Including Make-Ahead Mixes
- Easy Homemade Gifts – Including water bath canned jams
- Easy Homemade Gifts but with Additional Preparation – Including Marmalade and Boullion
- Bonus Homemade Gifts – Including non-edible gifts, like tallow balm
Make Ahead Mixes Make Great Gifts
Some of my favorite really easy gifts I like making and keeping in my pantry are make-ahead mixes. They make life so easy! And I have a whole host of make-ahead mixes to share with you, from a hot cocoa mix and cake mixes to soup mixes and more. Pick out a cute mason jar to store your make-ahead mix, and tie up the jar with a beautiful bow for a welcome gift.
- Baking Mixes
- Pancake
- Cornbread
- Brownie
- Biscuit
- All-Purpose (Bisquick Copycat)
- Cake Mixes
- Chocolate
- Spice
- Yellow
- Cream of Soup Mix
- Cookie Mixes
- Soft Cut-Out Sugar
- Chocolate Chip
- Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin
- Peanut Butter (or other “nut” butter)
- Snickerdoodle
- Hot Chocolate Mix
Homemade Creamer for Your Favorite Coffee Drinker
Some of my most popular make-ahead mixes are healthy powdered coffee creamers. You can ditch all those artificial ingredients and make these easy natural alternatives. And one is even Keto friendly!
Make-Ahead Mixes are really easy to make, and as you see, they make ideal gifts.
Easy Homemade Dessert Gifts
Everyone likes a sweet treat, but they are even better when you make them with whole grain flour and whole sweeteners! Here are some easy homemade dessert gifts you and your recipients will enjoy.
Easy Homemade Jams for Gifts
I can’t resist homemade jams, and they are even more desirable when made with no or low sugar. I’ll show you how to make and water bath can your jams in the easy recipes below.
- Low Sugar Strawberry Jam
- No Sugar Strawberry Jam
- Strawberry Jam Without Pectin (Sugar-Free Jam and Low Sugar Jam Options)
Your homemade jams will be welcomed by all, but they are an especially thoughtful gift for a family member or friend who you know is sensitive to sugar. You can make your jam gift with healthy ingredients and low- to no-sugar ingredients. They’ll know you were thinking of them every time they enjoy your jam!
Easy Gifts with More Preparation
These gifts take a bit more time to prepare, but once you start, you’ll see how easy they are and what welcome gifts they will be.
If you have someone in your family or social circle who loves marmalade, surprise them with this Three Citrus Marmalade. I love marmalade, and this one is my favorite!
For the home cook who is tight on time, gift them some homemade bouillon. Both the vegetable and beef or chicken versions make evening meal prep a breeze!
After making marmalade or bouillon, you’ll also have given yourself the gift of knowledge in the traditional foods kitchen. Knowing how to use a water bath canner or a dehydrator will help you make more canning and dehydrating recipes in the future.
Bonus Homemade Gifts
I promised you bonus gifts, and these are truly a treat: Face cream and foot cream made with beef tallow. If you have never had a cream made this way, you will be surprised at how easy it is to make, but more importantly, how absolutely luscious it feels on your skin!
If you have a friend or family member who has been spending a fortune on creams, this is the perfect gift for them. It’s like nothing they have ever had, and they’ll never want to go back to buying over-the-counter beauty creams again!
Store-Bought Gifts for the Home Cook
If you want to add a few store-bought gifts to your selection of homemade Christmas gifts, I show you an amazing selection of gifts for the traditional foods cook. And these are not limited to gifting to others. Be sure to add a few to your wishlist as well. Santa will be happy to make more than a few stops on his list! 😉
I know I said seven, but you know me…I am full of ideas and bonuses for you!
- Baking Kitchen Gifts
- Fermentation Kitchen Gifts
- Culturing Kitchen Gifts
- Bone Broth Kitchen Gifts
- Water Bath Canning Kitchen Gifts
- Food Storage Kitchen Gifts
- Clean Up Kitchen Gifts
- Bookshelf Kitchen Gifts
- Bonus Categories
Baking Kitchen Gifts
When it comes to storing whole grain and baking traditional breads with fresh flour, every kitchen needs these five essentials:
Grind Your Own Flour with the Mockmill
When it comes to electric grain mills, after I did A LOT of research, I decided to buy a Mockmill. And am I so happy I did! The Mockmill is a very affordable but beautifully crafted German-made mill that stone grinds grain with settings ranging from 1 to 10—fine to coarse ground grain.
Learn more about Mockmill electric grain mills for making fresh flour and their Flake Lover’s Flaker that flakes whole grain in minutes.
- Mockmill 100 Grain Mill unboxing
- Get the Mockmill 100 Stone Grain Mill (This is the same product I show you in my unboxing video.)
- Flake Lover’s Flaker from Mockmill in action
Fermentation Kitchen Gifts
Have you already tried your hand at fermentation and want to introduce others to it too? Then be sure to check out the Masontops fermentation supplies that are perfect for the traditional foods kitchen:
- Masontops Fermentation Equipment
- Masontops Pickle Pipes
- Ball Wide Mouth Quart Mason Jars
- pH Strips (I talk about how to use them to check your ferments in my recipe videos and new book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.)
Note: Be sure to use the MARYSNST promo code for a one-time 15% off Masontops and Breadsmart products on Amazon.com.
Masontops Mason Jar Fermentation Kit Discount Coupon
Although you don’t need any special equipment to start making ferments, the Masontops kit can help you simplify the process and enable you to create your ferment successfully. In my Masontops unboxing video, I show you my Masontops Complete Mason Jar Fermentation Kit and go over everything the kit includes.
Culturing Kitchen Gifts
Are you making your own yogurt? Maybe Kombucha or kefir? Then, these supplies are indispensable:
- Glass Bowls with Lids
- Kombucha Jar
- French Working Glasses
- French Working Glass Lids
- Cultures for Health Starter Kits (Be sure to use discount code MARYSNEST to get 15% off your purchase.)
Cultures for Health
If you’re looking for starter cultures from Milk Kefir to Cheese, see the products Cultures for Health offers for making homemade cultured and fermented foods. And if you order from their website, be sure to use my MARYSNEST discount code for 15% off your purchase.
- Cultures for Health – Make Real Cultured Foods at Home and use discount code MARYSNEST for 15% off your purchase on the Cultures for Health website.
Bone Broth Kitchen Gifts
If you have been with me awhile, you know I often say, “Bone Broth is the backbone of the traditional foods kitchen.” And it is so true. If you want to level up your bone broth making with items that many of you have told me were game changers, you’ll find helpful supplies that make great gifts below:
- Fat Separator (What an amazing device!)
- Spider Strainer
- Flour Sack Towels
- Colander
- Mesh Strainer
- Fourth Burner Pot
- Glass Tea Kettle
- Slow Cooker
- Instant Pot
- Stockpot
US Wellness Meats
If you can’t find grass-fed beef or beef bones to make bone broth in your neighborhood supermarket or farmer’s market, check out US Wellness Meats.
- Use discount code MARYNEST and my link to save 15% off regular-priced items on your US Wellness Meats order. You can shop for a variety of products, including:
I’m a long-time customer of US Wellness Meats because I have always been impressed by the quality of their products. Check out my US Wellness Meats unboxing video to see the types of products you can get, including bones for beef bone broth!
Water Bath Canning Kitchen Gifts
Learning how to become a home canner is essential to being a prepared home cook. Once you know how to can some of the food you may find at the farmer’s market or even that you have grown in your kitchen garden, you are well on your way to being more self-sufficient.
The good news is that home canning is not difficult, and the best place to start is with water bath canning. So look through the supply list below and see what you may want to add to your traditional foods kitchen supplies to get started on your home canning journey:
- Water Bath Canner
- Water Bath Canner for Glass Top Stove
- Regular Mouth Canning Jars
- Wide Mouth Canning Jars
- Regular Mouth Canning Lids and Bands (Rings)
- Wide Mouth Canning Lids and Bands (Rings)
- Spring Loaded Jar Lifter
- Colorful Wax Papers
- Colorful Twine
If you’re not sure how some of these kitchen items work, watch my water bath canning supplies video for a tour of the different instruments.
Food Storage Kitchen Gifts
As traditional foods home cooks, we always want to make sure we have multiple streams of food, which means we want foods prepared and stored in a variety of ways. One such way to store food is through vacuum sealing, and you can’t go wrong with the sealing systems below:
Clean Up Kitchen Gifts
Every traditional foods cook knows that eventually, it’s going to be time to clean up. And when that time comes, it’s best to call in reinforcements. You can make cleaning up fun with a selection of delightful, fragrant cleaning dish soaps and brightly colored dishcloths.
- Mamaforest Dish Bar Soap
- Swedish Dish Cloths (solid color)
- Swedish Dish Cloths (multi-colored)
- Swedish Dish Cloths for Pets
- Best Microfiber Cloths
Bookshelf Kitchen Gifts
I can’t pass up the opportunity to share with you some of my favorite books that adorn my kitchen bookshelf. I have several tried and true favorites, but there is also a new kid on the block!
In addition to favorites like Nourishing Traditions and Rosemary Gladstar’s books on your kitchen bookshelf, I also recommend you add my new book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook: Nourishing Recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. It’s so much more than a cookbook. It’s a manual for how to create a traditional foods kitchen with easy to follow step-by-step instructions.
Bonus Kitchen Gifts
As always, I love to provide you with some easy bonus ideas perfect for gift giving. The following companies offer products and discounts for my sweet friends too! You’ll find the ideal gift to give or add to your wishlist.
Farmhouse Teas
Farmhouse Teas is a lovely family-owned tea company that offers a wide variety of teas, both caffeinated (perfect for making Kombucha) and herbal. They also sell a wide variety of herbs perfect for making a whole host of natural remedies.
- You can also use my discount code to conveniently get the ingredients to make the following natural remedies:
- Herbal Acne Salve
- Star Anise Tincture
- Herbal Elixir
Lehman’s Hardware Store
If you’re looking for an assortment of items to equip your traditional foods kitchen, then look no further than Lehman’s. (I show you some of the Lehman’s equipment I use in my Northern Italian Spinach Ricotta Pie Recipe video.)
- Lehman’s for grain mills, pressure canners, and more! (Use this link and promo code NEST15 for 15% off orders at Lehman’s.)
Redmond Real Salt
When it comes to using salt in my recipes, I always like to use a real salt that has not been processed and does not contain any extra added chemicals or anti-caking agents. Redmond real salt is perfect! (Also, they’re one of the Best Salts with the Least Amount of Microplastics.)
- For Real Salt and other products, use this link and discount code MARYSNEST for 15% off your purchase. (Discount will show at checkout.)
Bonus Kitchen Garden Gifts
If you or a friend want to start a kitchen garden, check out my recommendations below. No matter how small your space, there is something for you or the person you want to share a gift with! (Survival Garden Seeds and GreenStalk planters are perfect together!)
Survival Garden Seeds
In my research into the best vegetable seeds, I discovered Survival Garden Seeds and their extensive collection of heirloom seeds. If you’re looking for high-quality, open-pollinated, non-GMO, and non-hybrid garden seeds, be sure to use my special MARYSNEST discount code to be able to get 10% off any of the three following products:
- Home Garden Collection (30 Pack)
- Homesteader Collection (50 Pack)
- Farmers Seed Vault Collection (100 Pack)
GreenStalk
Small space? Suffering under a drought? No problem! GreenStalk vertical planters will allow you to grow a whole host of fruits, herbs, and veggies in about a square foot! Be sure to check out the video below, where I walk you through the process of putting a GreenStalk together and planting seeds. It couldn’t be easier!
- Get $10 off orders $75 or more with my link and promo code Nest10
- Video: Create the Best Kitchen Garden with the GreenStalk Vertical Planter
Bonus Kitchen Board Games
As you’ve seen in my previous videos, my family enjoys playing board games, especially at our kitchen table. There’s something special about physical board games that brings people together, talking, laughing, and sharing. Here are some of the board games we enjoy playing and that you and your family will love too!
- 7 Wonders
- Everdell
- Settlers of Catan (They also offer a beautiful 3D version of the board game.)
If you have to choose only one board game, I recommend Settlers of Catan. It’s a worldwide bestseller, so other board game enthusiasts you meet will likely know how to play this game too. That’ll make it easier for you and your friends and family to start playing games right away since everyone will already know the rules and remember how much fun they had playing the game before. (And you can harvest wheat in the game too!)
Christmas Recipes and Gifts
Festive Recipes: Holiday Cooking Marathon
This holiday cooking marathon brings together my best holiday recipe videos for you to enjoy in one sitting
Seven Best Kitchen Tools for the Modern Pioneer Kitchen
Discover the best kitchen gifts for your favorite traditional foods cook.
How to Make the Best Roast Goose with Sage and Onion Stuffing and a Port Wine Cherry Sauce
Make this holiday meal like Mrs. Cratchit did in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List
For an extensive list of the traditional foods you can make and purchase to stock your pantry, be sure to download my free 36-page Traditional Foods Pantry List. This comprehensive eBook is full of links to recipe videos, helpful articles, and more!
And if you’re looking for a printed book full of my traditional foods recipes that shows you how to create a traditional foods kitchen, be sure to order your copy of my new bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.
Order YOUR COPY Now!
The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
Seasonal ingredients, traditional techniques, and nourishing recipes. Over 85 traditional, from-scratch recipes! Discover for yourself how you can use simple ingredients and traditional techniques to cook the modern pioneer way.
Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy
Are you looking for more traditional foods videos? If so, I invite you to join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy. Members of this optional paid YouTube community get access to exclusive videos, live streams, and other members-only perks. Plus, your YouTube comments include a special members-only badge.
Kitchen Academy Videos
Discussing the Secrets to Perfect Green Herbal Oils
Let’s talk about the popularity of flavored herbal oils.
Are You Salt Sensitive or Salt Resistant? Get the Latest Salt Intake Research
Learn how your body may react to salt intake differently from others.
What Is the Best Time to Eat Dinner?
Find out if eating dinner early or late is best for you. You might be surprised!
Stay in Touch with Maryโs Nest
- Subscribe to My YouTube Channel for Traditional Foods Videos (Free) - When you subscribe, be sure to click on the notification bell that will let you know each time I upload a new video.
- Subscribe to Maryโs Traditional Foods Newsletter (Free) - Get a free 36-page eBook for signing up: How to Stock Your Essential Traditional Foods Four-Corners Pantry.
- Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy (Optional Paid) - For more detailed videos and exclusive members-only perks, join my YouTube membership community.
- Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook (Optional Paid) - Get a printed book of Mary's nourishing recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. This bestselling cookbook is published by Penguin Random House with their DK imprint.
I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!
Shop for items used in this blog post or video
More Favorite Kitchen Supplies
- Favorite Aprons
- Spice Grinder
- Countertop Burner (On my kitchen island in many recipe videos.)
- Magic Whisk
- Silica Gel Packets (Helps keep moisture from building up in your mix)
- Cast Iron Dutch Oven
- 8-Quart Slow-Cooker
- Flour Sack Towels
Amazon Shop and Shopping Guide
- Visit Maryโs Nest Amazon Shop
- Visit my Shopping Guide page
Get up to 15% off for stocking your Traditional Foods Pantry and equipping your Modern Pioneer Kitchen, including discounts from US Wellness Meats, Farmhouse Teas, Lehman's, Masontops, Cultures for Health, Survival Garden Seeds, Redmond Real Salt, Plan to Eat, and More!