Eight Ways to Deal with Christmas Food Gifts

It's lovely to receive a basket of homemade cookies at Christmas time, or a box of luxury chocolates. But sometimes, you might end up inundated with baked goodies and giant tubs of candy - and you know that if you (and your family) eat them all, you'll probably have scoffed your entire sugar quota for 2009.

As Charlotte, from The Great Fitness Experiment blog entertainingly writes:

Every year when the goodies start piling up I am filled with conflicting emotions. Joy! All my favorite treats! My friends love me! Bon bons for breakfast! Dread! All my favorite treats! My friends must hate me! Must resist the siren call of the bon bons for breakfast!

I'm sure many of us regularly feel the same at holiday season. So here are eight ways to make sure those Christmas food gifts are enjoyed by those who'll appreciate them - rather than guiltily gobbled by you.

1. Only Open Small Bags

Eating healthily means finding a balance - not completely depriving yourself of holiday treats. So go ahead and open that little bag of chocolate truffles - just steer clear of the giant tin full of cookies. Most of us find that, once the bag, box or tub is open, it's hard to stop...

2. Store Long-Term Items

Many of the edible gifts you'll receive this Christmas will keep well into the new year. Boxes of cookies, tins of chocolates, and jars of chutneys can be stashed well out of reach until long after the big day.

3. Give to Those In Need

Almost every homeless shelter will welcome extra food, especially at this time of year. If you've got a basket of goodies that need eating within a week or two, but you know they'll just be unwanted calories to you, why not take them to a nightshelter or soup kitchen where they can go to people who could really appreciate them?

4. Think of Friends and Relatives

There might even be people closer to home who could use some of the goodies. Maybe all your friends are baking whizzes and regularly drop off their holiday creations at your house - but your maiden aunt lives in the middle of nowhere, and doesn't have many friends nearby. Package up small portions of cookies or cakes for family members who'll be touched to receive them.

5. Take Candies and Chocolates to Work

Even if you've received something that's not quite to your tastes, it's a safe bet that some of your colleagues will enjoy it. Unless it needs eating quickly, keep it until late January or even February next year, then take it into work: by that point, your workplace is less likely to be inundated with sweet treats.

6. Use Gifts for Parties

Wrapped candy will keep for months, so store them out of reach of your kids, and bring them out as party favors during 2009. If you don't have children, how about using boxes of chocolates as hostess gifts in the new year? Large boxes of biscuits could be taken along to pot lucks or Church/community meals.

7. Keep Them Until Easter

Many boxed treats will keep fine until Easter (check use-by dates on packaging). You can repackage cookies and candies into pretty Easter baskets at that stage, and save yourself from buying extortionately priced chocolate eggs.

8. Avoid Giving Candy and Cookies Yourself

Unless you're sure that someone will really appreciate a baked gift or a box of chocolates, try to choose something different as a present. Many of us get inundated with candy at Christmas, as it's a cheap gift and an easy one to give to people you don't know very well. Try to find something that will be a bit more meaningful: if you don't know the recipient's tastes, how about donating money to charity instead? You could even buy an appropriately foodie gift from Oxfam Unwrapped...

Do you receive a lot of food gifts during December? How do you enjoy them without overdoing it?