I love this time of year. The weather is getting warmer, there's lots of fun things to do and Christmas gifts to make. All the cafes and restaurants that were empty over winter are overflowing till late in the evening as everyone takes advantage of the long, balmy nights. There's most definitely a festive feeling in the air.

As well as getting out and about, I've been spending time in the kitchen whipping up Christmas treats to share with our teachers, family and friends. It's so lovely to give the gift of thoughtful, handmade presents that can be eaten and the jars then reused. No useless plastic crap that ends up in landfill around here!

Our honey macadamias are a firm holiday favourite with one neighbour hiding them from her husband so that she can eat the whole jar! This year we've also added homemade dukkah and tamari seeds to our goodies to give away. We made the dukkah largely by hand and Airlie loved pounding the hazelnuts in the mortar and pestle. She was really into doing it all my hand. She's my girl!

I hope you're finding some time to do some Christmas making and baking at this hectic time of year. It's so good for the soul!