Gift-Giving and Not-So-Sweet, Sweet Fudge

I met my husband in 2005, relocated from New England to the Mid-Atlantic to be closer to him in 2006, and married him in 2007. This year will be my eighth Christmas with him and his family, the second year I host the "big family Christmas party," and the first year I stop giving purchased gifts to people who neither need nor want yet another pair of novelty socks, penguin change purse, or pop culture trinket.

Before you give me squinty-eyed looks and start denouncing my heart twelve sizes too small (and start wondering where the fudge recipe is), hear me out. Prior to the birth of my son in 2011, my in-laws hadn't enjoyed a "children's Christmas" in a good many years. The youngest guest at the family Christmas party is my sister-in-law, who is well into her twenties, works a few jobs by choice, and frequently complains to me about how much she hates receiving gifts from people. Last year, shortly after Christmas, one of my husband's relatives came by my house with a gift bag full of things other people had given her, to find out if I wanted any of those things. About two months ago, I opened one of those mystery boxes of stuff in my house and found gifts I'd been given at the 2011 party -

grimy with dust.

unopened.

unwanted (however much the thought was appreciated).

Now that I'm a parent, I live in the land of Stuff People Give My Kid, and the stuff has started getting to me. I don't want a can of hair spray or fancy salon shampoos; I don't use hair spray and I prefer to wash my hair with baking soda and vinegar, sulfate-free shampoos, or even plain old conditioner once in a while.

I don't want the stuff people give just so they can say they have a gift for you.

And I don't want to give that stuff anymore, either. Finally, this year, after seven Christmases and one boy-child, I finally convinced my husband that we should scale back on the stuff-giving, and finally, after seven Christmases and one boy-child, my husband finally agreed. This year, my guests will receive something meaningful and something sweet: a small 4x6 photo book of my son's second year and a goodie box filled with hand-made holiday sweet treats.

I think my husband is privately grumbling a little about it all, but I'm content knowing nobody will be re-gifting this precious creature...

and I'm a-OK with the individual decision to eat or re-gift my Dark Chocolate Pecan Fudge, knowing the tasty gift was made and given with love instead of with a need to put on a gift-giving show.

If you need a break from buying - or if you just need a rich, chocolate-y break because 'tis the season for exhaustion - why not try this?

Dark Chocolate Pecan Fudge

Ingredients

1 package (approximately 2 cups) dark chocolate chips

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt (or a few good grinds of sea salt)

1/2 c chopped pecans or other nut

Instructions

Dump everything except the nuts in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave at normal/high power for 30-45 seconds, stir, and microwave another 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Fold in the nuts and pour the mixture into a greased 8x8 pan. Even the surface with the back of a spoon, cover with wax paper or plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for a few hours so the fudge has a chance to set. Cut into small squares or big squares to eat or gift, and give yourself a pat on the back for busting free of that holiday buying obligation.

Tip

Don't do what I did and drizzle Hershey's caramel on top, or you will have a pan of fudge suitable for eating but not for gifting. Or maybe you should do what I did...