I recently made some caramel from scratch to make a warm caramel apple dip, and it wasn't quite as hard as I imagined, and was super tasty, so I'm thinking I might try and make some homemade candy this year.
My immediate family isn't big on gifts, but one of the things I do every year is find the most unhinged or weird mugs at thrift shops and give everyone a mug with some hot chocolate, candy canes, and other treats. Having some home-made treats in there for a change would be fun!