7 Homemade Holiday Food Gifts You Can Start Right Now

Imagine yourself a month and a half from now: You're rushing off to the million holiday parties you're obligated to go to because you're so popular (you havesomany friends). You're up to your ears in Secret Santas and White Elephants. You need gifts to thank the many hosts you'll be encountering, and gifts to show your boss you care.

The solution? Food gifts that can be in huge batches—and that you can start right now. Because if you start that vodka infusion—or hot sauce, or pickle project—now, come holiday high season all you'll have to do is grab one of the manyjarsyou have waiting, tie a nice bow around the top, and pass them out to everybody you know. Here are seven ideas to get you started.

1. Vanilla Extract

Making homemade vanilla extract is dead simple, and it makes an elegant gift when you put it in a beautiful bottle. Simply pour inexpensive vodka into a mason jar, and add three scraped-out vanilla beans (you can use the vanilla you scrape out of the pods in one of thesefall baking projects) Let the beans infuse for at least three weeks. (If you've got less time, simply add a few more beans.)

Here's how to do it:

2. Infused Booze

Infuse vodka or tequila for your friends—they like to drink, right? It's as simple as sticking herbs, fruits, etc. in a bottle of alcohol and letting it sit for a while. Thischarred rosemary vodka是节日的季节,这个呢chile-infused tequilawill make incredible margaritas come summer.

3.苦味剂,Other Cocktail Accoutrements

To round out the infused cocktail gifts, make your own bitters (this kitgives you everything you need). Another great idea for cocktail lovers is a batch ofpickled pearl onions—a beautiful garnish formartinis,bloody Marys, andGibsons. Or whip up a batch of themaple-spiced simple syrupthat goes in this Smoky Robinson cocktail. It doesn't technically require any advanced prep, but it can be made three weeks in advance for a grab-and-go gift.

4. Marinated Olives

Theseboozy olivesgive you the delicious flavor of a martini olive straight out of the fridge for snacking. Simply marinate olives in gin, vermouth, and lemon juice. They can be made up to two weeks in advance and placed incute jarsfor grabbing as a last-minute gift. Or, use a good olive oil to make these rich, spicy marinated baby artichokes, which will take two weeks to come together:

5. Hot Sauce

If you've always wanted to ferment your own hot sauce, but lacked the motivation, what better time than the holiday season, when your fermenting will be a gift to everyone around you? Again, make a big batch in advance, order somecute little bottles on Amazon, and have a grab-and-go host gift for all of your parties this season.

Here's a recipe you can use:

6. Preserved Lemons

Have a friend who's obsessed with Moroccan cooking? They'll love a gift of preserved lemons, which are essential to mastering tagines, salads, and chicken dishes because, asPaula Wolfertnoted, "Their unique pickled taste and special silken texture cannot be duplicated with fresh lemon or lime juice."

Here's how to tackle them from Wolfert, the expert, herself:

7. Kimchi and Pickles

"All I want for christmas is kimchi," Mariah Carrey famously sang. Give the people what they want: a big, stinky batch of purposefully rotted cabbage to have with their chestnuts roasting on the open fire. Seriously, though, homemade kimchi is so much better than anything you can buy at the store, and the people you gift it to will be able to keep it as long as they want, throwing it in rice and grain bowls,in noodles, and makingkimchi pancakes galore. Of course, making any kind of pickled vegetable is just as nice. Start letting your veggies ferment now—the holiday season waits for no one.