Gift guide: What to get food and drink lovers this Christmas

Foodie people are usually happy at Christmas anyway - they're well aware of the idea that food brings people together. And while Christmas gatherings can sometimes be fraught with danger - how are you Uncle Pete? - if there's something we should all take from the past few years is that we need to forget all of that and be grateful for every meal together.

May this Christmas be a special one for all our readers. Just pass this story on to friends and family and drop a few hints. Or treat them to some special gifts of their own.

Merry Christmas.

The Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory is a fun day trip, but get the fun delivered to your door with this Christmas Pizza Wheel. Eight slices, each containing a variety of toppings from rocky road to freckles and marshmallows. Or try the DIY freckles and rocky road kits.

$37.50 for 22 centimetre pizza. Kits from $6.

Three Mills makes it easier to build your own gingerbread house with these clever kits. Contains a 650-gram block of ready-made dough with templates, instruction cards and royal icing recipe. The dough's perfectly spiced with ginger, nutmeg and clove. Too easy.

$25.

Pavilion Dining has just won its first hat so get a little slice for home with a slice of this delicious turkey. The free-range breasts have been de-boned and cured with Australian natives including lemon myrtle, aniseed myrtle and mountain pepper. And don't forget about your Pialligo ham, either.

Turkey Priced from $59.90/kilogram, from 1.2kg.

One of our favourite cooks Julia Busuttil Nishimura has collaborated with Gewurzhaus to create this Cucina Italiano pack. It includes her exclusive Ostro Italian meat rub, garlic lover's spice and a spaghetti alla bolognese mix and three recipe cards. Itt has a cute little box too, capturing a slice of Italian life.

$50.

We tried Mellabella's pavlova gelato at the Handmade Market and have been craving it ever since. Based in Bungendore, Melany Batley uses the freshest ingredients, including local jersey milk from Tilba. Pick up half- or one-litre tubs or hire the cart for your next party.

$15 half-litre. $25 litre.

This pack contains a 700-millilitre bottle of Cointreau, as well as a complimentary salt rim tray for creating the perfect margarita. The salt rim tray comes in Cointreau's signature bright orange, and features a lid so you can store the salt, preventing mess and waste.

$60.

Four Pillars' Australian Christmas Gin is a spice-laden annual release that smells like gin and tastes like Christmas. The gin is made from distilling Christmas puddings and then it's aged in 80-year-old Muscat barrels making the liquid equivalent of your favourite festive dessert.

$105.

Beautifully wrapped in a Christmas cracker-like gift box, each Freixenet Christmas Bon Bon includes a 200ml piccolo-sized bottle of Freixenet Italian sparkling rose or a 200ml piccolo bottle of Freixenet prosecco. Better than a tiny magnifying glass or a paper hat.

$13.

Start drinking Capital Brewing's Alc-Less zero alcohol beer and you'll be the standout player in the Boxing Day cricket match after lunch. A new favourite from a local brewer, this full-flavoured, tropical Pacific Ale tastes like proper beer. We've stocked the fridge.

$44.95 for a case of 16.

This Santa Margherita prosecco superiore from Italy is our sparkling for summer. Vibrant, aromatic, and fresh with fine, lively bubbles that dance in the glass, it's versatile and at an affordable price point. Drink it straight or make a refreshing spritz.

$18.90.

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Named after Brian Tunks' grandmother, this Myrtle bowl is both decorative and practical. The glass collection features beautiful individually blown pieces in a range of translucent colours. Or maybe the Heron-cut glass vessel. Is it a vase? Is it a carafe? Why not both?

$125

Coveting anything from the Crumble range but the shallow casserole is such an all-rounder it will be in constant use in the kitchen. The company's 100 per cent Australian owned and take pride in their cast iron cookware. Aesthetically chic and yet economical.

$429.

The F!NK range is iconic Canberra design and we love these three-point bowls inspired by Japanese origami. Made from anodised aluminium in three different sizes and four different colours. Is matching one to your jug too over the top?

$149.

How cute are these mini milk jugs from glass artist Robert Schwartz? Just 5.5cm in height, they'll look just as good on display as they will on the table, making your morning coffee just a little more fancy.

$55.

Culinary poster shop Food For Everyone collaborated with Canberra's own cookbook author Emiko Davies, turning her summery recipe for tagliolini al limone into a work of art. The ingredients and recipe are incorporated into the design. Made from recycled coffee cups.

Available in two sizes A2 ($100) and A3 ($75).

Kitty Tait who was a chatty, bouncy 14-year-old until she was overwhelmed by an ever-thickening cloud of depression. Her family tried everything and then one day her dad Alex baked a loaf of bread with her and that small moment changed everything.

From Ella Risbridger, the author of Midnight Chicken, this book is a month-by-month chronicle of writing and recipes that explores joy and healing through food. A year in the kitchen and a year of grief and hope and change after her partner's death.

Buy this book now. You'll save money, reduce food waste and eat glorious dishes for every meal. It's packed with waste hacks, storage tips, swaps and shortcuts for more than 150 common vegetables, fruits and kitchen staples, as well as hundreds of suggested recipes.

We know more about pine nuts than bunya nuts, kale than warrigal greens, but there's an edible pantry of unique flavours that First Nations people have been making the most of long before anyone came up with the word "foodie". This is the book that explores it all.

On every page is a recipe that will make your tummy rumble with the spark of a memory. It's a look back at what's shaped Australian cuisine but it's also a journey back through those meals that have shaped our own lives. From pumpkin scones to kangaroo lasagne.

These clever embossed rolling pins from Pastrymade will change your life, from biscuits to pastries. Handmade in Poland, from natural beech, there are so many designs. But perhaps buy a Stand with Ukraine limited edition one, with proceeds of each sale going to those in need.

$52.60.

These tea towels feature watercolour illustrations by Ballarat artist Caroline Keys and printed on high-quality, fast dish-drying 100 per cent pure cotton. From the Adelaide Hills, to the Hunter Valley, maybe we can convince them to do a Canberra District version?

$39.

Ironclad's original heirloom product, the Legacy Pan, is the only Australian-made cast iron skillet with an official 100-year guarantee. Made from entirely recycled, high grade cast iron, it's the perfect sustainable addition to your kitchen.

$280.

The Huski Wine Cooler works off the shelf, so all you need to do is grab a cold bottle from the fridge, put it in your Huski, tighten the lid and you're good to go. It keeps drinks chilled for up to six hours. No ice needed.

$84.99.

For the time poor baker, this Sunbeam HeatSoft mixmaster lets you mix and melt in the one bowl. There's two heat settings so you can soften things like butter and a higher heat that is hot enough to melt chocolate right in the bowl. Brownies anyone?

$499.

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