LUCY BURDETTE: Here come the holidays, sprinting toward us again! For some of us, that means we need gift ideas, yikes! I almost always end up giving books, unless the recipient has made it clear this would be unwelcome. (Like one great nephew who opened his present a couple years back, burst into dramatic tears, and said “A book! That’s not a present!” We’re giving him a game this year LOL.) Of course we love to have our own books given as gifts, but this year I have several other suggestions.
The New York Times Book of Games is perfect for a wordsmith who doesn’t have all the time in the world. Next to that is a gorgeous book of poetry by women and girls by Ella Risberger. (Debs told us about this a couple months back and I immediately ordered it for our granddaughter. It’s so lovely!)
And two cookbooks–the newest by my Paris-loving idol, Dori Greenspan, and the Key West Woman’s Club cookbook for fans of history and Key West, which can now be purchased online.
HALLIE EPHRON: My yearly challenge is what to get for my grandchildren. Last year I knocked it out of the park with a personalized soccer ball light for my grandson who regularly scores goals for his soccer team. It comes from ETSY. So there’s a real person out there who makes them to order.
I’ve also found gorgeous silver (earrings) for my daughters on ETSY. (My fave: Liz Blanchflower at Stone and Sterling Design.)
And more. I like that there’s a real craftsperson who made the gifts. And if you read the customer reviews carefully you get a sense of whether the workmanship is up to snuff.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I am so eager to hear what you all have to say! I have nothing, and need help. I saw some slippers (see photo attached) that look like you have monkeys climbing up your legs and was tempted. Because I am clearly scraping the bottom. I used to try incredibly hard to be perfect but there’s no way, so I gave up.
JENN MCKINLAY: When the Hooligans were youngsters, we implemented the four gift rule to mitigate the conspicuous consumption: So it’s something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read for the entire family (Hub and I included) and I really haven’t had to stress about gifts ever since. I await their lists and will shop and wrap in an afternoon and go back to cookie baking - the real holiday joy for me! The only other gift recipients are nieces and nephews and they get a Venmo transaction and we call it a day.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Shopping for my family is easy, because, like Jenn, we have protocols. Santa leaves cold weather necessities (lip balm, hand sanitizer and pocket-sized hand cream), candy, good socks, a book and something small and fun. Now they’re all grownups, everyone gets ONE gift from me beneath the tree. We all exchange Christmas wish lists right after Thanksgiving.
I have two suggestions for hostess/neighbor/I wasn’t expecting a gift from you needs. First, the Bed Bath and Beyond Fresh Balsam candle. I promise this isn’t sponsored; I love this candle SO much this time of the year. It smells just like fresh pine, and it lasts FOREVER.
The other is super cheap and easy. I get a few Christmas-themed mugs at a Dollar Store, a box of fancy Ghirardelli hot cocoa packets, and a box of candy canes. Each mug gets a few cocoa packets, a couple of candy canes, and voila, the perfect last-minute present. I usually tell the recipient it’s a cheap mug and they can recycle it in the new year - nothing to hang around cluttering your kitchen!
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have two books for my granddaughter, the Ella Risbridger-edited volume of poems for women and girls, EVERYTHING WILL BE GLAD TO SEE YOU, which is, as Lucy says above, absolutely gorgeous. I think it is available for less and more quickly from Blackwell's in the UK than from Amazon. Blackwell's does not charge shipping to the US! And Jane Langton's THE DIAMOND IN THE WINDOW, as recommended by some of you here. I also may get Wren her first fountain pen. Lamy Safari now has Hogwarts pens, a different color and badge for each house. So cute!
My daughter will want a book, but she usually gives me a list to choose from.
Here's an idea for cooks in your life: Naomi After Cooking Hand Scrub, which was raved about in Bon Appetit and supposedly smells fabulous and will really, truly, get the smell of onions and garlic off your fingers. I ordered some to try, but if it is as good as advertised it may be too late to order as a gift for anyone else as it is apparently selling out. Bon Appetit recommended Bergamot and Pepper but there are other fragrances.
For the guys in my life, no idea. Hopefully they will have suggestions.
Weigh in please Reds, any gift suggestions from you?
I always ask for [and get] a wish list, so everyone is generally pleased with their gifts. At least one of the grandbabies will ask for LEGOs; one will ask for [and get] something that has to do with dinosaurs. So shopping is relatively simple and, like Jenn, I can get to the cooking-baking . . . .
ReplyDeletesounds like a good plan!
DeleteI just ordered matching flannel shirts for each son and spouse and granddaughter from LL Bean. Corny, but warm, and new flannel is so delicious to wear. Ida Rose is getting a boxed set of Beatrix Potter stories and a toy helicopter (that girl LOVES things that go) and a couple of kitchen implements for children (my d-i-l says they have a knife that cuts food but not fingers). And now I realize I'm overdue in asking the adults for lists!
ReplyDeleteLove the helicopter Edith!
DeleteChristmas is easy. Everybody gets books. With the exception of my 13-year-old grandson, everyone is a great reader He is addicted (that's the correct word) to video games, television, and superhero movies but he will occasionally read graphic novels; so I managed to find a copy of the1967 paperback of THE AVENGERS BATTLE THE EARTH WRECKER by Otto Binder -- the first novel about the Marvel superheroes; I think he'll read it, and I hope he likes it -- if not, my philosophy is, "Suck it up, Buttercup!"
ReplyDeleteIn addition to books, my three granddaughters (all in their twenties) will be getting a pen holder that says, "Girls Who Don't Read Are Skanks." Their significant others are harder to buy for because I don't know them that well; that's where books by Edward Gorey come in handy because everyone deserves THE GASHLYCRUMB TINIES. The only ones who are not getting books are my son-in-law's parents, who are in their eighties and frail, and just moved down here so we can keep a better eye on them -- they will be getting gift cards for local restaurants.
I honestly think everyone will be getting something from me they will truly appreciate this year. The only person in the family who is really hard to buy for is me. I don't need anything and I don't want anything. Selecting gifts for other is my true Christmas present.
You've done such a good job Jerry--surely there's a book you need!
DeleteDeborah, You made my day! I'm a fountain pen geek, and have tried to "penable" some young people. Even though I don't need more pens, I couldn't resist buying yet another Lamy last week during a 5-hour layover in Frankfurt airport. I've seen the Hogwarts pens. The really great thing about fountain pens is all the different inks one can buy. And Lamy is a great choice because the nibs are easily changed out.
ReplyDeleteI also adopted the want-need-wear-read guideline several years ago and now I am down to read plus one of the other 3 which varies. Sometimes that is a gift card and sometimes it is cash. Sometimes it goes with the theme of the book. I’m behind schedule this year in choosing the books for everyone.
ReplyDeleteMy family celebrates with a list of items they want, and we each select one gift off their list, so everyone has at least one present from family members under the tree. Then we do a Secret Santa with all invited guest to Christmas day and again a gift is used and this time you buy one gift for the name you have drawn.
ReplyDeleteSounds very reasonable Dru!
DeleteI have found over the years that giving Christmas gifts was just not my thing. Instead, I listen to folks and when I see something that says "Hank would love this!" I pick it up, stick it in a gift bag and give it to her the next time I see her. To me that says, 1) I was thinking of you, 2) I "see and hear" you and 3) this isn't something the season or a birthday requires me to do, it comes from the heart without expectation or strings attached, I just want to celebrate you and what you bring to the world. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteJulie and I already have all we need and most of what we want, so we don’t do much in the way of gifts for each other. We’ve both donated generously to Foodlink plus other food drives. And we’ve bought winter coats for another charitable drive, vary it each year but this time it’s all for kids, new stuff. I’ve already sent my children checks. Money is always the right color and fits, no matter the size. They like getting their Christmas presents at Thanksgiving, just in time to spend on Black Friday.
ReplyDeleteToday our tree comes down from the attic , along with the yearly conversation about whether we could shrink wrap it and tuck it away so we’d never have to decorate again. Won’t happen. Never does.
My greatest pleasure this time of year is buying presents for my two little great grandsons. Griffin also has a December birthday, and as Sam’s is in February, I end up sending their birthday gifts too. Most of that’s still a WIP although Sam is getting a Tonka dump truck that he could nap in if needed. I got Griffin the same one a couple years ago. He named it “My Dump truck” and even used it for his Easter basket. Obviously I can out do Santa when I try!
Next job is to make datenut bread for Julie’s family, using their mother’s recipe. I suspect by now that I’ve made enough changes in it that we could call it “Ann’s date bread.” I’ve been making it for twenty plus years now.
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Festivus for the rest of us.
Honestly, the gift-giving thing has me just a bit sad these days. Our only son lives in Japan and we have not had good luck with shipping there, so are resigned to just making a deposit in his bank account. On Christmas my much older and not-well sister will join hubby and me for an exchange of gifts and a meal, but we are all at that stage of having all we need and pretty much all we want. So I need to come up with clever gift ideas for both of them and also for my sister to give to us. (As she has always been a big gift-giver and it really gives her great joy, but she is now totally dependent on me to make it happen.) Then the Saturday after Christmas we will have our first celebration with my husband's big family since the loss of his mother this summer. We used to draw names for that gathering, but now only the very littles get gifts there. But in addition to the joy of seeing most of his seven siblings and their offspring, there is one special joy there this year. We just learned that a favorite niece who got married earlier this fall is already pregnant! Ultimately, I guess she and her husband have found the best family gift of all.
ReplyDelete