So I suggest,  if you are still panicking about all those small gifts for friends or neighbours that have become tradition over the years, that you consider the wide choice of home-made gifts on offer today.

There is something for all ages and tastes from an unusual rhubarb and orange jam, pickled prunes or cherries, to accompany the Christmas and Boxing Day meats and scrumptious marbled cheesecake brownies.

You also have the choice, depending on your needs, of either selecting one item for all  (by tripling the quantity of ingredients) or selecting individual items as specific gifts. They are all desirable and will show that you care.

Makes 1 litre (about four cups). Use dried apricots for this recipe. Great with the cheese platter or cold meats. 

3 lemons

250g dried apricots

1 onion

1 Granny Smith apple

1 clove garlic

½ cup raisins 

1½ cups white or brown vinegar

1 1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1½ cups white or brown vinegar

1 1/3 cups brown sugar, firmly

Chop the washed unpeeled lemons roughly, and remove the seeds. Chop the apricots roughly. Peel the onion and cut into wedges. Peel and core the apple, chop roughly. Cut the garlic clove in half and chop the raisins.

Place all these ingredients with the vinegar in a food processor, and process until coarsely chopped.

Place in a saucepan with the raisins and sugar, and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. 

Bring to the boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat, simmer gently uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes until the mixture is of a good thick chutney consistency. Watch carefully to avoid burning.

Pour or spoon into sterilised jars and seal.

These cherries go wonderfully with cold meats and will certainly add chutzpah to holiday meals.

2kg cherries

3 whole cloves

2.5cm piece bruised fresh ginger

1 cinnamon stick

1½ cups sugar

1¾ cups vinegar

Wash the cherries and prick them once or twice with a needle. Put the spices in a muslin bag.

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a saucepan over heat and add the bag of spices. Simmer for 20 minutes, then pour this syrup over the cherries in a bowl. Leave to stand for 24 hours.

Drain off the vinegar into a pan, reheat it and again pour it over the cherries. Leave to stand for another 24 hours. Now reheat the vinegar with the cherries, bringing it slowly to the boil. Bottle the cherries with the vinegar, cover and seal.

Makes about 40. No cooking is required for this absolutely delicious Middle Eastern sweet. Pack in jars or small tissue-lined boxes as gifts.

500g stoned dates, fairly finely chopped

250g walnuts, coarsely chopped

250g almonds, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

juice ½ lemon

4 tablespoons icing sugar

extra icing sugar

Mix all the ingredients except the extra icing sugar together in a large bowl. Mix and knead with your hand until thoroughly combined. Lightly dust a board with extra icing sugar.

Roll the mixture into small balls, and dust with extra icing sugar. 

Makes 1 litre (about four cups). Delicious served with duck or chicken, pork or ham.

4 oranges

1½ cups sugar

½ cup white vinegar

¼ cup water

5cm cinnamon stick

5 whole cloves

Wash the oranges, trim the ends and cut the unpeeled oranges into about 1cm slices. Place in a saucepan, cover well with water, cover the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, simmer gently, uncovered, for one hour or until the orange slices are tender.

Meanwhile, in another pan combine the measured sugar, vinegar, water and spices. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and boil for five minutes.

Drain the orange slices, add them gradually to the vinegar mixture, reduce the heat, and simmer very gently for 30 to 40 minutes. 

Baste the orange slices with syrup about every 15 minutes. Cool, pour into sterilised jars, cover and keep refrigerated.

This lovely jam is easily made in the microwave. It is very good.

1.5kg rhubarb, washed, trimmed and sliced across finely

grated rind and juice 1 orange

4 cups sugar

Place the rhubarb in a large microwave cooking bowl with the orange rind and juice, cover and cook in the microwave oven for 16 to 20 minutes on high, until very soft.

Add the sugar, remove the cover and continue to cook on high for 20 minutes, until a little jam jells when tested on a cold saucer.

Cool slightly, ladle into small, hot, sterilised jars and seal. Label and store in a cool place. 

Makes 5 x 250g jars.  A classic Christmas treat, these are perfect served with pork, cold meats and terrines.

500g dessert prunes, pitted

1½ cups cold tea

1½ cups sugar

2 cups white vinegar

4 whole cloves

8cm cinnamon stick

Soak the prunes with the tea to cover overnight. Add the sugar, vinegar and spices, tied in muslin, to a heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the spices.

Pour the prunes and tea into a saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes until soft (take care they don't become mushy).

Drain, reserving one cup of tea. Pack the prunes into hot sterilised jars.

Add the tea to the vinegar mixture and pour over the prunes. Seal and store in a cool dark place. Leave for 24 hours before using.

Makes about 25 squares. These brownies have a marvellous fudgy texture: cheesecake with a crispy top, marbled with chocolate and studded with pecans. The mixture is baked in a square tin  then cooled and cut into smaller squares.

60g butter

125g Philadelphia cheese

3 tablespoons caster sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon plain flour

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

For the chocolate mixture:

125g dark (semi-sweet) cooking chocolate, roughly chopped

90g butter

2 eggs

¾ cup caster sugar

½ cup plain flour

¼ teaspoon each baking powder and salt

½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180°C and butter a shallow 25cm square cake pan. Cream the butter with the cream cheese. Gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat in thoroughly. Stir in the flour and vanilla essence and set aside. 

To make the chocolate mixture: Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over hot water, stirring constantly, then cool.

In another bowl, beat the eggs until thick and pale, gradually beating in the sugar. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, then blend in the cooled chocolate mixture and pecans.

Measure one cup of chocolate batter and set aside. Spread the remaining batter in the prepared tin.

Top with the reserved cheese mixture, then drop spoonfuls of the reserved chocolate batter on top. Swirl a knife through the batter to make a marbled pattern. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan before cutting into 5cm squares.