I was INCREDIBLY disappointed with this book purchase - especially because I paid FULL PRICE for it. I have absolutely NO USE for it. Why?
Why pay money for a book that simply takes prepackaged cookie and cake mixes, and adds a handful of nuts or dried fruit, (thus, making it "homemade") to give away? Anyone with the smallest amount of natural creativity could do this on their own, without the instruction of a cookbook. Let me give you an example: One of the "recipes" in this book is for lollipops.
You melt down other lollipops or pieces of hard candy and drop a stick in the puddle. WOW. That is CRAFTY. How ridiculous. Even worse, - as you will see by the illustration, - the "homemade" 'lollipop' looks disgusting. The stick is about four times as thick as the paper-thin puddle of liquified old hard candy. I wouldn't DARE give such a thing away as a GIFT.
Only a handful of recipes in this book are actually scratch-made from ingredients. The premise of this book is dressing up premade prepackaged foods from your local grocery store, and slapping some notions from the craft store on a glass jar or paper box. While some of the presentation ideas are original and attractive, in general it will prove a grave disappointment to an experienced cook.
I have given this book two stars because it does present lovely photo illustrations of every "recipe", and may give you inspiration for packaging and presenting your best recipes as gifts...... but if you have any creative talent and cooking skill whatsoever, - I advise you to seek out another book on this subject. It is not worth the cost of the book.
Should you be interested in the simplicity and economical value (the craft notions to dress the package will cost more than the food you are preparing)found in this book, - PLEASE- buy a USED copy, - it isn't worth more than $3 bucks. This is definitely a publication for a very inexperienced cook - and it is only for such a one I would recommend this book.

I prepare homemade Christmas gifts every year for my coworkers. I have used this book on several occasions with very good results. I have a collection of books dedicated to homemade food gifts, and this is one of my favorites.

I've made several of the recipes in this book to give as gifts over the holidays & I always got rave reviews. I found the recipes to be very clear, with easily found ingredients. Nothing I made was too complex or confusing. I had never made candy before but got excellent results with these recipes. I would venture to say they seem idiot-proof. I will be using this book again (third year in a row) for my holiday baking/gift-giving.

The photos are what sets this book apart from others. They are large, clear color photos, placed opposite the recipe (no hunting through the book needed here!). There is no doubt what the end result should look like. This is one of my favorite cookbooks, if for nothing else just looking at the photos & salivating.

Great recipes! Could have shown pictures of packaging better.