I’m from the South and in the weeks leading up to Christmas everyone I know gives small portions of specialty homemade foods to everyone else they know. Every family has their own thing and it’s a huge tradition.
When I mentioned this to my friends from other parts of the country they thought this was strange, and had never seen it occur, at least on this scale. It’s by far my favorite Christmas tradition so I’m wondering if it’s as common outside of the South? Thanks!
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Examples include chocolates, butter mints, baked goods, biscuits, brittle, country ham, Bloody Mary mix, cheese straws, coffee cakes, sausage rolls, relishes, and pickles. Everything is homemade and usually families give out the same treat every year. My family gives out about 90 bags and we drop them off on people’s doorsteps. In the two weeks leading up to Christmas every time I come home there will be 5 little gifts waiting on my doorstep.
Edit: I should mention that this is separate from regular Christmas gifts that you might give to your closest friends, although you might drop them off at the same time for the people who are getting both the food and a gift.
Christmas cookie (and other baked goods) give aways and exchanges are suuuuuper common.
Giving out baked goods and sweets is very common in every place I know of.
See my flair for every state I have made Christmas cookies in and given them out. Then add Oregon and California.
I wouldn’t say what you do is common, but people certainly have their own special recipes that they bring to parties and give out as gifts. I don’t think a lot of people or families make dozens of packages to hand out to the neighbors and such, though.
Yes in Mass —Cookie swaps are a big thing. For example 20 friends coordinate and make 20 dozen of one kind of cookie, then give a dozen to each person. Then each makes cookie platters with the 20 different kinds of cookies.
This Christmas this I can remember getting [but often part of the gift is the fancy packaging, like cookies on an antique plate or pretty jar] —- Bailey Irish cream, my aunts homemade fruit cake (which is insanely laborious but amazing), flavored salts, homemade vanilla, and an infused vodka, homemade macarons.
An ex and I made peppermint bark and we gave a small bag to each family at family Christmas, so I’d say it definitely isn’t unheard of and is actually pretty common
I’ve lived in Cali almost all my life. We don’t do that here.
The older women on both sides of my family (One side from upstate NY the other from MN and MI), so grandmas, great-aunts and now my mom and aunts, will make cookies and other treats for family as gifts, like siblings and close friends. Maybe not to the extent you’re talking about, but it happens.
I make 2 things to give away every christmas, christmas salsa and rice christmas treats.
Well, you already mentioned it’s a thing in the south. We’re the weirdos that hand out tins of Pfeffernüsse cookies. I have my grandmother’s recipe and everyone around us loves them but can’t pronounce them 😂😂😂
I have lived on the east coast and west coast. In my personal experience this is way, way more common on the east coast. I’m not sure if I’ve ever encountered it here, other than one coworker in California who gave everyone homemade limoncello at christmas.
Baked treats are pretty common amongst my friends and even coworkers.
I absolutely hate baking, so I give out goodie bags of other homemade stuff. One year, my kitchen looked like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory after making homemade hot cocoa bombs and peppermint bark. Other examples are spice mixes, mason jars filled with pickled veggies, and dried fruit. I usually make a batch of 20-30 of everything to easily grab and give to friends that I might see around the holidays but am not close enough with to exchange a real present with.
I’m in the Midwest. Some do, some don’t. I have a few friends who bake cookies. When I was a kid I had a couple great-aunts, one of whom made cinnamon hard candy and the other made peanut brittle. My sister sometimes makes peppermint bark. It’s not universal by any means, but nobody thinks it’s strange to get a gift of homemade goodies from friends or family.
I make the best browned butter pecan pie you’ve ever had at Christmas. I usually make 8 or so and give them away.
We do this Georgia. I make apple butter, mama makes butter pecan turtles, uncle James does a garlic cheese that is an old family recipe, my sister makes candied pecans, auntie Terri gives baggies of hot chocolate mix with a note calling the marshmallows “snowman poop”, cousin Zach makes peanut butter balls…I could go on and on. Friends and family all make the exact same thing every year and give them out at holiday gatherings.
Some people do it but it sounds more common where you are. I’m not really into baking personally so I wouldn’t bother.
Pennsylvania here. Yes we are a food state all year lol. If you are lucky you get some homemade eggnog 😋
My moms side would give out friendship cake and friendship cake starter around christmas time, but they haven’t done it in years.
I have never heard of this, at least not the way you’re describing.
It sounds awesome and delicious, though.
Pretty common, yeah. I’m in the mountain west.
Yup!
Like to give to neighbors and friends? Not really. People do make baked goods but usually to give to their family members. At least I haven’t seen that in New Jersey.
It’s not a big thing as it seems it’s down in the south. It really is so different from here.
It’s common to give biscochitos (little cinnamon/anise cookies) to neighbors around Christmas.