Looking for the best food gifts for Christmas? Here are some of my favorite ideas for the perfect gift for the person who has everything.

Can I ask you a question?

Have you ever noticed in all the Christmas movies that someone is showing up with a handmade gift?

The girl that owns the coffee shop is having a holiday party and her best friend shows up with a Christmas basket of cookies made from a recipe handed down for generations. Or the innkeeper hosts a meet-and-greet with Santa and the local ice rink owner brings in an ice sculpture that looks like a miniature version of the inn. Or the guy that’s in charge of his family’s Christmas tree lot invites everyone over for hot chocolate and the local restaurant owner brings homemade marshmallows.

The perfect gift every time.

I don’t really know how to make homemade marshmallows or create an ice sculpture and I don’t have a Christmas cookie recipe that came over on the Mayflower.

But I do have a few ideas up my sleeve.

Ideas for some of the BEST (and easiest) food gifts for Christmas.

Simple ideas.

Personalized ideas.

Creative ideas.

And so today on Day 9 of “12 Days of Getting Ready For Christmas” with my amazing friend Leslie from My 100-Year-Old Home, I’m sharing all the ideas with you.

Here are five of the BEST food gifts for Christmas and the most amazing part?

They can’t wait to party with you.

5 Of the BEST Food Gifts For Christmas

1. This DIY Gingerbread Village

ISN’T IT THE CUTEST?

And the best part?

It only took me about an hour and it was kind of foolproof (especially after I give you all the tips on how I made this). I’ve showed you how to make the house before, but it was so easy that I went and bought the village, too.

I put the entire village on a charcuterie board and gave it as a gift yesterday to my nieces and nephews for helping me decorate the house for Christmas.

I think I’m going to make it for Thanksgiving, too. It’s SO EASY and I just used a mix to make it.

// gingerbread house bundt pan//

Here’s the gingerbread house bundt pan.

I ordered off Amazon and it’s on sale for the cheapest price I could find it (and it’s on sale right now for 34% off).

The bundt pan is three-dimensional and it’s the same on both sides.

And look at this. There’s an entire village that goes with this house, too.

You can see the village here.

If you want to make this food gift, here are all the things I figured out.

• I used this gingerbread mix from Betty Crocker
• I did not use spray Pam. The directions on the bundt pan packaging said to brush on butter
• I brushed butter into every crevice of the pan. There are chimneys and trees and windows and I used a brush to coat them with butter.
• The directions also said to flour the inside of the pan after you finished with the butter.
• Then I added two boxes of the mix, 2 eggs and 2 1/2 cups of water.
• I used another box of mix for the village.
• Next I added the gingerbread mix to both bundt pans.
• Make sure you only fill the gingerbread pan 3/4 of the way full so the gingerbread can expand
• I also used a spoon to coat the remaining top sides with extra gingerbread mix so there was already a coating of mix on the sides before it expanded
• I baked the gingerbread at 50 minutes (you can adjust for your oven temperature)
• Then I let the pan cool completely and then lightly sliced around the edge of the top of the sides of the bundt pan and flipped it upside down

Why make a gingerbread recipe from scratch?

I got this round cutting board from Walmart and the village fits perfectly on it.

You can see the cutting board here.

2. Dessert Charcuterie Tray

This is such a simple idea that I wish I would have thought of it years ago.

Before I showed up empty-handed to my first party.

It’s a simple gift that lives big.

Step 1: Purchase assorted cookies from a local bakery (or you could make them yourself).

Step 2: Wrap them in wax paper inside gift boxes.

Step 3: Wrap gift boxes with paper and ribbon.

Step 4: Stack boxes on a tray.

(I LOVE this wood tray from the same place I got the circle cutting board above. The brass handles truly set it apart and it’s the perfect tray to layer cookies on at a party.

Step 5: Wrap the entire tray with ribbon.

Step 6: Add a tag explaining this is a dessert charcuterie tray in a box. All the hostess has to do is unpack it and set the dessert assortment out on the tray.

3. Layered Hot Cocoa Mix

This gift takes minutes to make and is a perfect gift for all the cozy afternoons ahead.

It’s hot cocoa mix layered with all the fixin’s.

And it took only five minutes to put together.

Step 1: Start with an air-tight container.

I used this one from Walmart.

It has a lid that seals when you open the handle at the top and then reseals again when you push the handle closed.

Step 2: Add in the hot chocolate mix.

I just used a store-bought hot chocolate mix and filled it about halfway up.

Step 3: Add in mini marshmallows.

Step 4: Add in a layer of mini chocolate chips.

Step 5: Push the handle closed to seal it.

Step 6: Top with a box and candy canes.

4. Gift-wrapped Walnut Cranberry Bread and Platter

This recipe is so yummy.

My best tip? When baking this—make one loaf for your friend and one loaf for you.

It has bits of apples and walnuts and cranberries and tastes like the holidays.

Step 1: You can find the recipe for the apple walnut cranberry bread here.

Step 2: Bake the bread and let it cool.

Step 3: Wrap the bread in plastic and then wrap in gift wrap and tie with a ribbon.

Step 4: Add the bread to a pretty bread plate.

Step 5: Tie the bread with a ribbon and add a personalized tag.

// tiny gingerbread cookie cutter set //

5. Tiny gingerbread houses

Look at these mini gingerbread house cookie cutters I found on Amazon.

You can make your own mini gingerbread house for a cup of coffee.

What a fun gift to wrap up a mini house and tuck it inside a coffee cup and give it as a gift.

You can see the cookie cutter set here.

And look what I found to make it even easier.

This refrigerated gingerbread cookie dough is so easy to roll out. Check your local grocery store to see if they have it.

Just roll and press and bake and give.

That’s it.

I hope these ideas inspire your gift giving this season.

I hope your holidays are happy and bright and merry.

I hope you take a moment to enjoy friends and family and all the joy the season brings.

But most of all? If you know the coffee shop owner? Tell her she can bring those cookies to my next party…

…along with her recipe. 🙂

And now?

For more fun?

Leslie from My-100-Year-Old Home is sharing make-ahead desserts that you can freeze.

You can see all the recipes here.

disclosure: affiliate links are used in this post.

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