text and photos by Allison Carroll Duffy

I’ve always aspired to be one of those people who get their Christmas shopping done and their Christmas cards mailed all by the beginning of December.  However, I simply am not.  And I’m finally coming to realize that I probably never will be.  One of the good things for me about writing this post on holiday gifting is that it has required me to draw up my gift-giving list a little earlier in the month.   So, hopefully I’ll be able to finish up a little earlier this year and minimize the rush.  The less last minute rushing, the more time to relax enjoy the holiday season! Though, the cards still probably won’t all get sent out until New Years…..ah, well.:-)

For our extended family, Ben and I and our boys (ages 2 and 4) are giving gift baskets of various preserves that I’ve made throughout the year.  Each basket will include an assortment of the following: orange marmalade, apple-maple butter, strawberry jam, rosehip butter, maple-vanilla-peach jam, spiced pears, spicy tomato salsa, and bread and butter pickles.  I’ll also include some of my homemade granola, and my scone or cookie mix.

Ben has been making gorgeous spoons and spatulas out of maple, and so along with the edibles, we’ll be giving these to family as well.

For our boys, Ben and I seem to be leaning towards giving books, art supplies, and games this year (where as last year was much more outdoor/sports oriented).  We are getting our two-year-old Stockmar beeswax block crayons, and we’re giving a set of Lyra Ferby colored pencils to our eldest.  For books, we’re giving our boys A Pot of Gold: A Treasury of Irish Stories, Poetry, and (of Course) Blarney by Kathleen Krull, The Original Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright, Greek Myths for Young Children, by Heather Amery, and The Pooh Library original 4-volume set by A.A. Milne.

So, I think that’s it for now.  It’s not yet a complete list, admittedly, but this is as far as I’ve gotten.  After all, it’s still early in the month!

Happy holidays to you and yours!