"I love all the different colors and scents and music. My family spends lots of time together, cooking and baking, decorating the house and the tree, and making gifts for each other and our friends," says Ferrare. "My very favorite gifts, to give and to receive, are homemade ones such as Christmas cookies and arts and crafts projects from my children."

One of Ferrare's favorite gift ideas is creating individual gift baskets because they can be personalized to reflect the recipient's personality, hobbies, age and filled with things from a wide price range, such as:

Italian Food-Lover's Basket: green and red pasta, anise Christmas cookies, unusual homemade sauces, mozzarella cut out in holiday shapes with cookie cutters, all in a pasta bowl as the basket.

Grandparents' Basket: the kids make picture frames and a calendar with a different family photo for each month; stamps, stationery and a phone card to keep in touch; and an audio cassette of the children singing Christmas carols.

Christmas Eve Basket: sets the mood for a traditional Christmas Eve by the hearth with incense, a variety of scented candles, cinnamon sticks, mugs, hot cocoa mix, biscotti dipping cookies, and decorative pine cone firestarters-a handy and safe way to create a magical fireplace setting.

To make the decorative pine cone firestarters:

Assemble:

pine cones
paraffin wax
potpourri oil
food coloring
muffin tin
muffin papers
tongs

1. Melt wax in a large coffee can placed in a steaming bath of water. Pour the potpourri oil and food coloring into the melted wax.

2. Place muffin papers in tin and pour a small portion of the wax into them.

3. Dip pine cones into melted wax in coffee can using tongs. Repeat for a second coating.

4. Place one pine cone in each muffin paper and let cool.

This holiday season, Ferarre will be demonstrating a variety of crafts, cooking and gift-giving ideas on her daily, interview/entertainment show "Home & Family," which airs 1-3 pm on The Family Channel. In addition, she has recorded a Christmas album, entitled "25 Days of Christmas," with "Home & Family" co-host Chuck Woolery, plus Kenny Rogers, Debby Boone, Pat Boone and Glen Campbell. To order call 1-800-608-6111.(NAPSI)