Be honest - Do you eat all the gifts you receive at Christmas?

[FriedClams]

Before I go through the effort of making stuff for people - I want to know if you actually eat the stuff people make for you or does it go to waste? I know that taste, scheduling (just getting busy and forgetting), dietary needs, etc. all get in the way. I've been known to skip eating a homemade gift or two. So for all of us getting ready to make stuff - is it really worth the effort??

[OnTheBrink]

I do, but I'm a piggy like that. LOL

 

I make fudge, cookies and breads for friends for Christmas. I make small goodie bags and they all seem to appreciate them. I think giving a smaller amount goes over better than a huge loaf or entire pan of fudge, because it can be overwhelming to get tons of goodies.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes! At least if it is cookies or homemade jam or something like that. The only thing we haven't eaten has been some (to us) weird stuff like pickled tomatoes (not stewed but pickled). Oh, and the Oregon grape vinegar. I was a bit leary of that one.

[BMW]

Well... I don't know because I haven't received any... sniff... sniff...

 

But, each year I make a once a year treat or two and they go over SO well and these are given in baggies with Christmas ribbon tied at the top and every one gets eaten... they are given to teachers and friends and I hear back about how good they are that they were enjoyed.

 

I made home made peanut butter cups... 2 ritz crackers with peanut butter in the middle (I do it all myself, don't do the premade stuff), then dip those into chocolate almond bark and they dry on foil, then into baggies they go. They are SO loved. Easy.

 

And I make a homemade toffee, but this stays in the house for anyone who stops by... :D

[gandpsmommy]

It depends on who made it and how much weight I'm trying to lose at the time. In the past, when I was not trying to lose weight I absolutely loved homemade treats. My mil would make us fudge and chocolate chunk pecan pie bars, which are just delicious. My Grandma would make fudge and buckeyes. I ate up all of their offerings. But, if someone I didn't know very well gave me a baked-good gift, I might not eat it. If I don't know much about their personal hygiene habits (e.g. washing hands after using the restroom) or if they have cats that might walk all over the counter while they're baking, etc., I'd probably politely accept the gift, but dispose of it later.

[eternalknot]

I don't.

 

And I feel badly about that.

 

But I do bring them to parties and such to share with my family and friends. I don't think I've ever had to toss anything out in full.

 

I prefer smaller portions - an individual serving or two that I can enjoy right away, pretty much. It feels like less of an indulgence, too, which is where so many people have their minds during the holiday season!

[Crissy]

Yes. We love homemade Christmas goodies.

[Carol in Cal.]

I love jams and preserves, and fudge, cookies, and soup mixes. Liquers are good, but I have only gotten those ones. Vinegars and oils are great.

 

Not so much seasoned nuts (what do you DO with 2 lbs of seasoned nuts???), jalapeno jelly, fruit cake, or anything else involving dried fruit except chocolate-dipped dried apricots.

 

I don't like most artificial scents, so usually those gift sets with perfumed powders or bubble baths just gather dust. But I do have one relative and one friend who both make soaps with natural ingredients, and those are very nice to receive!

[Kate CA]

We are blessed not to have food allergies so if someone is kind enough to make us something, it will get eaten here in our house with five children! :D

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

If it's yummy, we eat it. :001_smile:

[LibraryLover]

Only the brick fruitcakes.

 

They are the first to be devoured.

 

:001_huh:

 

I often re gift even the nicest food. There always seems to some unexpected guest I don't want to be left completely empty-handed.

 

I try not to re-gift the wine.

[Garga]

If it's something I can grab and eat as a quick snack, or just a bite for flavor, then I'll eat it. But if it involves even a tiny bit more work, then it's more likely that I just won't eat it. (I guess I'm just lazy that way.)

 

Examples:

 

Fudge and chocolate covered pretzels: Pop open their container. Eat in a bite or 4.

 

Muffins: Take out of the freezer (or fridge if I eat them all fast enough.) Put on a plate. Microwave. Stand or sit over the plate while eating. Takes more than 4 bites to eat. Put the dish in the dishwasher.

 

Fudge and pretzels get eaten faster than the muffins.

[BikeBookBread]

The closer it is to Christmas (or after), the less likely we are to eat it. By then, we are just SWEETED OUT!

[Mrs Mungo]

I voted other. It depends on how much stuff we receive. There have been times that we received way more baked goods than we could eat. When that happens, hubby takes them to work.

[Daisy]

Homemade gifts = YES!!

 

I think my favorite though is a co-worker of my husband's who ALWAYS makes us tamales. Yummy.

 

Store-bought stuff gets recycled to neighbors and friends. I literally put out a display and tell them to haul it off. How many .99 cent boxes of chocolate covered cherries can one have? It's gotta go.

[Plucky]

I'll be honest. I don't want any goodies. I know I'm a grinch. I'm trying very hard to not gain weight this holiday season. I still have to make goodies with my own kids that I'm hoping not to touch. It's frustrating.

[angelmorris]

Yes with 6 kids I'm lucky if I get a taste before the treats are gone ;)

[gandpsmommy]

I'll be honest. I don't want any goodies. I know I'm a grinch. I'm trying very hard to not gain weight this holiday season. I still have to make goodies with my own kids that I'm hoping not to touch. It's frustrating.

 

This is sort of how I'm feeling this year. Usually I'm the first one in line for sweets, especially homemade ones. But I am desperately trying to keep off a few pounds that I had lost before Thanksgiving, not gain any more during this holiday season, and lose a few more after the holidays. I was doing so amazingly well at not eating sweets, exercising, and eating lots of salad, raw/steamed veggies, and fresh fruits. Then came Thanksgiving. I did really well on Thanksgiving, but the day after I ate a couple of pieces of leftover pumpkin cheesecake, and the next day it was Pecan pie. Today we finally got rid of the last piece of dessert, so I feel as if I can sort of breathe a sigh of relief and get back on track. I don't do well with sweets in the house!

[mazakaal]

I had to vote other. Usually the only food gifts that we get are chocolates, which we of course eat. I mean, hello!, it's chocolate. Occasionally we get other pre-made food products that we don't like, so of course we don't eat those. I haven't gotten baked goods since we lived in the US, but when we did, we ate them. And I'll use mixes if they're easy. I've gotten specialty food mixes that were way too much trouble, so those didn't get used.

[bunnytracks]

Someone in our house will eat it. :)

[Cera]

We do a lot of baking together around the holidays so we have plenty of our own sweets. We will generally eat one or two (pieces, cookies, muffins) out of each gift to get a taste of it but then it gets tossed or sent to my husband's office. If I don't know the giver well it gets tossed without being tasted.

[Penelope]

We do a lot of baking together around the holidays so we have plenty of our own sweets. We will generally eat one or two (pieces, cookies, muffins) out of each gift to get a taste of it but then it gets tossed or sent to my husband's office. If I don't know the giver well it gets tossed without being tasted.

 

This is pretty much us. And I feel so bad about it. But because of how we are, I don't bake much for people. I might make the mini-loaves of pumpkin or banana bread, at the most.

 

I'm also very picky about ingredients for the kids, and I watch my intake of white flour and sweets carefully.

[Karen_OK]

I agree with "If it's yummy, we eat it":001_smile: I have two teenage boys who will eat almost anything. I must admit that I am sometimes leary of eating homemade goodies from someone else if I know the person is not big on cleanliness. That may be judmental, but I just can't do it.

[newlifemom]

If you want, I'll pm you my address.:D

[Night Elf]

Other: We don't give or receive edible gifts.

 

Ever. Maybe sad, but I don't have to worry about temptation to eat too many sweets.

 

Oh, I did give a stocking of candy to my nephew as a gift when he was 16 yrs. old. I couldn't think of a thing to get him so I bought his favorite candy. He liked it better than the shirt my mom gave him. :tongue_smilie:

[Tree House Academy]

Heck yeah! As long as we know the person who made them! I am pretty particular about not eating goodies when I don't know who made them. I mean, if we got goodies in a package in the mail, I wouldn't eat them either. But, if someone we know brings us cookies or something, then absolutely!

[Dawn in OH]

I'm the one that gives out the edible gifts. Although Grandma will send over a few things I don't have the time or space to make.

 

I wonder if I would eat an edible gift from someone other than my Mom? Of all the people I know, it's unanimous that I am the best baker in the group.

 

My brother's girlfriend made a few delicious things one year. I think she gave up because she found out that my mom and I both bake a lot.

 

I think if I got edible gifts from someone with a reputation for making good stuff and they didn't send anything too strange I would definitely eat it!

Edited December 2, 2009 by Dawn in OH

[rookie]

We eat it if its GOOD! :001_smile: That's our only requirement.

[Rosie_0801]

Ha! It's fun reading all these tasty things you guys make! We don't do that over here.

 

:)

Rosie

[Impish]

We never get edible gifts. Heck, the only gifts we've gotten in the past several years is what Wolf and I buy, so its not even a consideration.

 

Yes, my parents don't even send my kids a card the last several years. Apparently that's changing this year, but since we haven't seen anything yet, I'm not counting on it!

[Audrey]

Before I go through the effort of making stuff for people - I want to know if you actually eat the stuff people make for you or does it go to waste? I know that taste, scheduling (just getting busy and forgetting), dietary needs, etc. all get in the way. I've been known to skip eating a homemade gift or two. So for all of us getting ready to make stuff - is it really worth the effort??

 

Is it chocolate? Because if it's chocolate I will hoover it down like a pig. And if you get me on "that" week of the month, I'll be doubly grateful.

[Mommyof4ks]

Yep, if it makes it to the house someone eats it. My dh will eat anything, so people know it will not go to waste lol.

[OnTheBrink]

Yes! At least if it is cookies or homemade jam or something like that. The only thing we haven't eaten has been some (to us) weird stuff like pickled tomatoes (not stewed but pickled). Oh, and the Oregon grape vinegar. I was a bit leary of that one.

 

Pickled green tomatoes are delicious! They're especially good on burgers. You should try them some time. You might be surprised! :001_smile::001_smile:

[Jean in Newcastle]

Pickled green tomatoes are delicious! They're especially good on burgers. You should try them some time. You might be surprised! :001_smile::001_smile:

 

OK - if that person gives us some this year, I'll be brave and try some on a burger.

[Guest Katia]

I voted yes - we'll eat everything! And since dh is a pastor, we've certainly received our share of goodies over the years. I really appreciated all the cookies, fudge, fruit, and crackers/meat/cheese gifts when the kids were little. I like to bake, but with so much going on over the holidays, it was nice to have all those 'extras' to serve when folks dropped over.

 

Some of the girls in our church youth group made those mixes in a jar for several years in a row. I love having those on my shelves for when I need something 'now' but don't have time to get to the store.

 

However......we've also gotten some, well.....different.....things that we have completely eaten, or have eventually tossed. Like:

 

Deer meat chili

Frozen pheasant

canned meats

canned tomato relish

 

We tried the chili but couldn't stomach it. I gave it to the neighbor's dogs; they really appreciated it!

 

We kept the pheasant in the freezer for over a year, but couldn't figure out how to cook it (this was before internet access; yes, I'm old!).

 

I looked at and admired the canned meats for several years, but I couldn't make myself fix them. My mom canned all the time when I was growing up, but she would never can meat because of the high chance of botulism, and I just couldn't get over the fact that those lovely meats could poison our family.

 

And the tomato relish? Dh loves it! None of the rest of us can stand it, so one jar will last all year in our frig. The rest seem to go bad, so I have to toss them.

 

But, we do eat and enjoy the large percentage of food gifts we receive. And we make and give goodies as well.

[Ritsumei]

I usually eat it, especially if it's chocolate or if it's baked! Though I have had a few just sit.

[Danestress]

I do feel guilty about it, but we get a lot of baked goods. I appreciate the gesture and would never want anyone to know that we can't actually eat all that stuff, but we can't. I do baked at the holidays myself, and between what I bake and what we receive, we can't eat it all. The people at DH's work give us a lot of cookies and fudge and other goodies.

 

I always send DH with non-sweet goodies at Christmas to give in return. One year I pickled Okra. This year I am giving coffee from Rwanda from a widow's co-op. I know everyone just gets too many sweets! The people who give wine? I love those people!

[MamaT]

Everything that comes in our house will get eaten. If no one else will eat it, dh will.

[danybug]

I voted no, but this is if it is not from our immediate family. I am very particular about what we eat and cleanliness and so for the most part we send it to my husbands work or toss it. This probably sounds terrible to some.

[nono]

Oh my goodness YES! We are 100% organic family about 48 weeks a year, and the Holidays are our SUGAR/PRESERVATIVE/FOOD COLORING frenzy! (Hey, consider it our "socialization" chit to the real world :tongue_smilie: )

 

I find it so wonderful that folks will actually make things they like and share them with us!!!! Holy cow that's awesome!

[Dawn in OH]

I must admit that I am sometimes leary of eating homemade goodies from someone else if I know the person is not big on cleanliness. That may be judmental, but I just can't do it.

 

Oh no, not judgmental at all. I'm the same way. I can't eat food prepared by unclean people. That's just gross!

[Anita in NC]

It depends on who made it and what it is.

 

If it is something from say my SIL it would go into the trash. I've seen her kitchen and it isn't a pleasant sight.

[Holly IN]

Had a really hard time answering this. Years ago, we would eat anything that comes into our house. :) However now, NO!! It really depends...

 

If the item is flour free (gluten free) then yes we will eat it.

 

 

If it is food coloring free, yes we will eat it.

 

My dh though is in a totally different ballgame. He refuse to eat anything made by anybody but me.

 

There are several friends that I will accept food from knowing that they cook with butter and wheat flour (I will accept anything with wheat flour but it will have to go into the freezer for future snacks as we can't eat too much in one sitting) and the REAL sugar not the fake stuff. We will accept anything with Natural Sugar (like stevia or sucanant variety).

 

Everything else gets thrown away.

Holly

[OnTheBrink]

Homemade gifts = YES!!

 

How many .99 cent boxes of chocolate covered cherries can one have? It's gotta go.

 

Many. Very many. :D

[Slartibartfast]

If it is homemade I eat it!

 

Even if it is not...I generally eat it. I don't like those cookies that come in the tins but dh eats those.

[Mrs Mungo]

Be honest - Do you eat all the gifts you receive at Christmas?

 

Upon reflection, I do not eat all of the gifts I receive at Christmas. I'm not a goat! :D

[OrganicAnn]

We eat most of what we get. The few things that we don't is a real hodge-podge of things. Some weird stuff like tomato jelly. I love tomatoes, I love jelly, but I just don't know what to do with tomato jelly. Some times for mixes it takes us a really long time to use them up - bread machine mixes or bean soup type mixes. We usually make them eventually.

 

I make and give lots of things like homemade cookies and quick breads. So I appreciate the time and effort when someone gives those to us.

[tricia]

Fruit cake?? No way. :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie:

[Dobela]

No one in our family gives food gifts - not even cheap store bought varieties. My parents and siblings are very particular about what they receive and rude if it doesn't meet current tastes. Occassionally my dh will receive homemade gifts from customers and I might or might not eat them. It really depends on what the gift is. Cookies and small things I will eat. I just finished off those big peanut brittle patties someone sent (and they were delicious! Plus not something I typically make). I prefer cookies though that are not chocolate chip, mostly because that is what my kids want to make at home and well, some other flavor seems more special or indulgent. I don't like pumpkin (or zucchini or whatever) breads but my dh loves them so it works out.

 

Honestly, we don't make gifts to eat because we know too many people that just throw them out. Instead we have been making pet treats for friends with pets. Homemade dog and cat treats seem to go over much better in general it seems.