Making your own Christmas candy can be a fun way to spend time with family and friends over the holiday season and Christmas candy recipes are as unique as the season. Christmas candies can be prepared days and even weeks ahead of the holiday. Included on this page are recipes for both new and classic versions of Christmas and holiday candy to tempt your taste buds. Sections on fudge, barks, hard candy and more are included.

If you do not have a candy thermometer, or it breaks in the middle of cooking, refer to this chart for another way of testing the temperature of your candy. Drop a small spoonful of the candy in room temperature water to see how it reacts. Is it brittle and super-hard? You've reached the hard-crack stage. Does it barely keep it's shape? It's more than likely a soft-ball.

• Thread stage for syrup 230 to 233 F
• Soft -ball stage for fudge 234 to 240 F
• Firm-ball stage for caramels 244 to 248 F
• Hard-ball stage for marshmallows 250 to 266 F
• Soft-crack stage for popcorn balls 270 to 290 F
• Hard-crack stage for hard candy 295 to 310 F

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive gift to give to friends and neighbors this holiday, why not give them a delicious tray of Christmas candy? Whether you've whipped up a batch of tasty Christmas fudge or even come Christmas candy canes, you can dress your candy up on a festive looking tray or put the candy in a decorated candy tin for gifting. You might also enjoy getting the kids involved - have them help you make your Christmas candy and then make lists of all the gift recipients.