homemade christmas season

each year i contemplate homemade christmas gifts.
three years ago i vowed to have canned jams for everyone. two years ago...same vow. wait—okay, i contemplate canning for christmas gifts, and have since i started canning about three years ago.

each time, the christmas season comes around and i (sorry to say) become intimidated by the thought that people will not love and cherish and coo and smile over my simple homemade gifts. and then i run off and participate in america's favorite past-time, shopping.

this year the contemplation started as early as this summer, and here we are on december 3rd, no jam gifts to show for it...yet.

yes. this is the year i follow through.
initially i thought i would move away from the jams that always vexed me, and was considering textile gifts—canvas bags and simple cotton napkins to be exact. sadly, i found textiles more overwhelming, bringing more and more questions to light: what would i stamp on them? does everyone use cloth napkins? does everyone use canvas bags? how many napkins are an appropriate gift? what materials do i need? will they be expensive?

so i returned to culinary treats and made up a list that sounded manageable.
while i cannot promise any sort of theme, perhaps as i continue creating, one will emerge.

so far i have set my sights on: strawberry jam, applesauce, rosemary salt.
additional items may include: candied citrus peel, flavored syrup, pear butter, onion marmalade.

oo, and paperwhites may be thrown in for good measure.

the weekend of the 11th will be my big christmas project weekend, so i will report back then. even just typing this list out now gives me ideas of more items and appropriate themes, so perhaps things will change.

i have to say, this year i am really excited about this and am not feeling any of the insecurity i had previously. perhaps because this year this sounds like the most excellent gift i can think of?