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When it comes to giving gifts of home made food, it isn't just the quality of the recipe that counts. Extra care should be taken with the presentation, so that there is a gift to keep as well as a gift to consume.

Home baked cookies make lovely gifts, and no one would refuse a delicious batch of chocolate chip cookies, shortbread or Italian biscotti. But why not dress it up a little? Package your chocolate chip cookies in a clever cookie jar, choosing one that echoes your recipient's interests. Put your shortbread on a layer of tissue on a layer of greaseproof paper on a new serving plate, perhaps one with a Scottish design. Add an expresso coffee mug and mix to your biscotti for an elegant invitation to tea.

If your speciality is beautiful cakes, you can present it on a metal or china cake tier that can be used again and again for special occasions. You could pack it in a cake box and add a set of little cake forks. Add gingerbread man ornament to a ginger cake, or or a cup and saucer to a tea cake.

Home made pies are always welcome. Present on a pretty pie plate, or with a fancy serving slice. Think right outside the box and pack your pie in a straw hat, or wrap in greaseproof paper, and enclose the lot in a new tea towel or tablecloth.

You will find lots of ideas at Chinatown for presenting home made food as gifts, especially if you love cooking Asian food. Present home made sweet and sour or honey soy sauce in Asian sauce bottles, or pack home made rice cookies with Asian cups and jasmine tea bags.

Infused honey is a lovely gift for someone who loves Winnie the Pooh - or just honey! Warm the contents of a honey jar in a pan over low heat, and add the herbs or spices you wan to use, such as lavender blossoms, cinnamon sticks or ginger. Keep it on a low heat until the fragrance of the infusion has steeped into the honey and strain while it is still hot. Pour your infused honey into a a beautiful ginger jar or a jar decorated with Winnie the Pooh (especially lovely for lavender honey). Cap and allow to cool.

When it comes to presenting gifts, you don't have to buy new. Scour charity shops and thrift stores for cake and cookie tins and jars, old bottles and lovely old plates from English china sets. Clean the bottles thoroughly and fill them with olive oil or good quality wine vinegar and slide in sprigs of our favorite herbs, such as thyme, tarragon and oregano, or red hot chilies.

With a little thought and a lot of imagination, you can make your home made food gifts extra special - and without a great deal of extra cost!

Learn more about this author, Gail Kavanagh.
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