Give homemade gifts from the kitchen this holiday season.

Don't Miss the Recipes Below:

(ARA) - Buttery chocolate cookie dough with chocolate chunks, nuts and marshmallows. Creamy caramels with apple cider and warm spices. These are just a taste of some of the irresistible sweets you could be gifting this holiday season.

Homemade holiday gifts deserve special presentations, but these finishing touches don't have to mean a lot of extra time or money. Break out the crafting supplies, hit up a vintage shop or venture online to gather an inspired collection of packaging materials. With a few simple tips, you can create a memorable presentation worthy of the sweet, buttery goodness inside.

* Create a candy cone. To package small, individually-wrapped candies such as Spiced Apple Caramels, find some festive paper at a craft or scrapbook store. Roll it into a cone and tape it shut at the seam. Add ribbon or other decorations and then fill the cone with candy.

* Think outside the cardboard box. Consider packaging your gifts in a simple wooden box with a festive bow tied around it. Visit your local craft store for interesting containers to help you break free of the typical cardboard variety.

* Take and bake. A ready-to-bake treat such as North Pole Cookie Dough is the perfect hostess gift. Consider presenting it in disposable pint-sized ice cream containers. You can find them online or simply ask for a few from your local ice cream shop. Just don't forget to add a festive tag with baking instructions.

Celebrate favorite memories with keepsake gifts this holiday

(ARA) - As the holiday season approaches, you're starting to think of gift ideas for everyone on your list - from family and friends, to those people who've touched you or your family's lives in a special way.

You would like to give each one on your list a truly personal gift that will be remembered and cherished long past the holiday season.

One way to do this is to create custom photo gifts online using your own digital photos or artwork. Think of a special photograph that captures a fun memory or important milestone and use that image to create an affordable gift that they will use and treasure every day. Whether you choose a puzzle, a deck of cards, keepsake box, or coffee mug, you're creating a one-of-a-kind gift that celebrates a unique memory that you share. You don't need to have special design talents to be creative; you can use online tools like www.jostens.com and click on photo gifts to quickly and easily add your treasured artwork or photos to a great keepsake gift.

Everyone loves receiving gifts during the holidays, but even more special than a gift you buy at the mall is a gift you make yourself. Many crafty folks whip up a homemade ornament or other decorative item to give as gifts, while others head to their kitchens to create delicious homemade food gifts such as quick breads, marmalades and jams in festive jars, candy and cookies wrapped up in holiday tins. Ideas for holiday food gift giving are boundless, so get your apron and rolling pin ready and make your kitchen into 'Holiday Central' and prepare some yummy gifts for your family and friends.

Need some ideas for getting started? Here are three easy to make recipes that you'll enjoy making as much as giving:

Decking the halls: Holiday ambiance is more than just decorations

(ARA) - The holly boughs on the front porch railing and the evergreen wreath on the door may be visible signs of the holidays, but to really savor the spirit of the season, you need to engage all your senses.

Just like a romantic dinner where all your senses are involved – soft music, gentle candlelight, enticing aromas, mouth-watering flavors and the soft touch of holding your sweetheart’s hand – celebrating the holidays also can be a feast for the senses … all season long.

Each sense you engage adds a layer of appeal to your home environment, creating a complete and satisfying holiday ambiance. Follow these helpful hints to enhance the holiday season in your home in a special way this year:

Handmade crafts are the ultimate customized holiday decor

(ARA) - Here’s another silver lining to the dark economic clouds still on the horizon this holiday season: handmade holiday decorations are not only less costly, they’re perceived as more meaningful as well.

From spending more time with loved ones to an improvement in our overall health, stories abound on the positive side effects of the shaky economy. Increased enthusiasm for handmade items may well be the latest good by-product of troubled economic times.

“Social science experts tell us that tough economic times realign people’s priorities, and we’re certainly seeing that all around us,” says Riddi Kline, vice president, marketing of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, a leading craft supplies retailer. “People are placing greater emphasis not just on cost-savings but on the meaningfulness of a decoration or gift. Nothing is more personal and customizable than something you make yourself. And this year, you can find craft ideas to fit every holiday decorating theme.”

Where Did the Tradition of Santa Claus Come From?

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Santa Claus started with a real person, Saint Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century: Poor St. Nick lived a difficult life. Born in the ancient Lycian seaport city of Patara, he was imprisoned during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians but was released under the rule of Emperor Constantine the Great.

His reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor and persecuted. People from all over the world honored him. He became the patron saint of Russia and Greece. The legend of St. Nick came to the United States when Dutch colonists brought the traditions and folktales with them.

Where did Holiday Traditions Come From?

Do you hang Christmas stockings by the fireplace?

According to legend, a kind nobleman in despair over the death of his wife, squandered his fortune and left his three daughters without dowries, which meant they faced the life of a spinster.

St. Nicholas, yes the one and only, heard about the girl’s problems. He rode his horse by the nobleman's house and threw three small pouches of gold coins down the chimney where they were miraculously captured by the stockings the young women had hung by the fireplace to dry. They awoke to find stockings full of gold and their problems were solved.

Do you hang mistletoe?

The ancient Celtics believed mistletoe to have magical healing powers and used it as an antidote for poison, infertility, and to ward of evil spirits. The plant was also seen as a symbol of peace. It is said that among Romans, that enemies who met under mistletoe would lay down their weapons and embrace.

Do you place Poinsettias around your home?

The poinsettia is a native Mexican plant named after the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Joel R. Poinsett, who brought the plant to America in 1828. Poinsettias were likely used by Mexican Franciscans in their 17th century Christmas celebrations. One legend has it that a young Mexican boy, on his way to visit the village Nativity scene, realized he had no gift for the Christ child. He gathered pretty green branches from along the road and brought them to the church. Though the other children mocked him, when the leaves were laid at the manger, a beautiful star-shaped flower appeared on each branch. The bright red petals, often mistaken for flowers, are actually the upper leaves of the plant.

What about the ever present candy cane?

Perhaps you might be familiar with this strategy…legend has it that candy canes were given to children to keep them quiet during religious ceremonies and the custom worked so well that it rapidly became a custom throughout Europe.
Urban legend tells us that the candy cane's symbolism hold that the color white represents Christ's purity, the red the blood he shed, and the presence of three red stripes the Holy Trinity. There are also stories that indicate the candy cane is actually a letter J to represent Jesus. There is no evidence to support either of these stories but it doesn’t really matter to families who enjoy them year after year and adorn their Christmas tree with the sweet treats.

Do you send Christmas cards?

Sir Henry Cole is purported to have s credited the first Christmas card. As the story goes, Sir Henry, the first director of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, was too busy to create individual greetings for his friends so he commissioned an artist, John Calcott Horsley, to illustrate a card and inscribe it with a holiday greeting.

Do you have a Christmas tree?

While a decorated Christmas tree can be traced back to the ancient Romans who during their winter festival decorated trees with small pieces of metal in honor of Saturnus, it is really credited to Martin Luther. Luther, after an inspiring evening walk through a forest of evergreens, attempted to describe the starry scene to his family. Unable to express in words what he had witnessed, he brought a tree into his home and decorated it with candles.

Holiday Traditions

Christmastime is a time for children, right? Well yes and no. It’s true that as parents we don’t get the same type of joy from the holidays that children do. As adults our joy often comes from watching our children enjoy the holidays. However our joy of the season doesn’t begin and end there. We each have expectations attached to the holiday.

Whether you live in a tropical climate or the picturesque traditional snowy scene greets your door every holiday, everyone has their own picture of Christmas. Christmas trees, angels, wreaths, caroling, hot chocolate, silent midnight church services, candles, delightful cookies, rich eggnog, Figgie pudding, lights, and of course the jolly St. Nick and presents wrapped in colorful paper.

We also expect to follow certain traditions. Maybe they are traditions that we grew up with – like cutting down a tree every year. Maybe they’re traditions that evolved due to circumstances – like going to your local Christmas Eve church service. Maybe they’re traditions that appeal to you for other reasons – like the desire to educate your children about other cultures. So…
How do you celebrate Christmas?

When I was a child Christmas meant following my mother and my sisters around for hours until the ‘perfect’ tree was found. Then my poor dad would cut it down and haul it back to the car. Christmas also meant midnight church services, caroling with friends, my father reading us “the night before Christmas” while my sisters and I sat around him in matching red and white flannel pajamas and of course the wonderful Christmas morning where presents were opened. In retrospect it was the perfect “Norman Rockwell Christmas.

My best friend from Finland had different traditions. Her family feasted on pickled herring and boiled cod and opened their presents on Christmas Eve. A beautiful friend from the Philippines, her family spent much of the day in church and the day ended in a pageant. As a child I quickly learned that everyone celebrates Christmas differently. As an adult I can look back and see that the traditions my family followed weren’t just for their benefit, they were for us – the children.