All I Want for Christmas Is...

 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?

Memorable Gifts

LUCY BURDETTE: Happy New Year's day Reds! Here's wishing a great one for every one of you... now on with the blog.

The science of happiness (and common sense) tells us that spending money on other people makes us happier than spending on ourselves.  I thought I’d share a couple of gifts I gave this year that were BIG HITS. 

First, a couple of years ago on this blog we hosted guest Gail Donovan talking about her middle grade book, Sparrow Being Sparrow. I bought it for my granddaughter Thea, and her father told me it had become her favorite book. So we bought her SPARROW SPREADS HER WINGS for Christmas—you should have seen the joy on her face when she opened it!

I also gave out signed copies of Jeff Kinney’s Wimpy Kid books, acquired when I visited An Unlikely Story this summer. Very well received by kids ages 6 to 10!

And finally, my sister in law Margaret brought her famous and beloved sesame noodles to many gatherings. We miss her and we miss her noodles so I had tea towels made with the recipe written in her handwriting. 

Over to you Reds--did you give (or receive) any particularly memorable gifts this year? Be sure to come back tomorrow to hear about my very favorite...

Reds Gift Guide (or not!)

Susan and Lucy get Barbie dolls, but Doug gets Guinea!

LUCY BURDETTE: I receive a newsletter every so often from Ruth Reichl, usually talking about food, menus, and sometimes foodie gifts. Recently, she described the best gift she’d ever received: a trio of antique kitchen utensils from a friend. That got me thinking about the best and worst gifts I’ve ever gotten. I’ll start with the worst. This happened toward the end of my first marriage. We had a friend who was an amateur potter. His plates and bowls and mugs looked lumpy and brown, not exactly like what kindergarteners might produce, but moving in that direction. I begged my ex not to get me a set of his dishes. But I was too late, he had already ordered them and that was my gift on Christmas morning. The whole set! I do regret that I wasn’t more gracious about it, and I hope that he has been enjoying them over all the ensuing years.

My best gift ever still must be my Patti Playpal doll in about 1960. She was tall with blinking eyes and real looking hair—the perfect companion. I was completely thrilled to see her Christmas morning!

How about you Reds? Best and or worst gifts ever?

RHYS BOWEN: I’ve had to do a lot of thinking, especially about the best as I’ve had some lovely thoughtful presents over the years. I’ve cherished handmade gifts as I feel the love they were made with. The worst was probably from my husband.  I got tired of telling him what I wanted for Christmas and then he’d say “Why don’t you go ahead and order it and I’ll pay for it.”  That was no fun, to wrap my own present and have no surprise.

So I said, one year, “why don’t you surprise me? Get me something I’d never have bought for myself.”

I’m thinking jewelry. Perfume. A scarf. But I open a heavy hard package. It is the biography of Winston Churchill (which I presume he wanted to read). Not a happy Christmas.

The best? I don’t think anything can beat the transistor radio that my father snuck into my stocking when I had no hope or expectation of receiving one. I don’t even know how he knew I longed for one, as I hadn’t mentioned it. My parents were paying my fare to Germany to my friend’s wedding as my big present. But there it was, at the bottom of my stocking. I still get chills when I think of it.

But the most amazing present ever was for my birthday, not Christmas. While I was away for a few days my son installed a complete professional media room for me in the room I’d been using for interviews. Professional lights, microphone, green screen etc. To say I was gobsmacked would be an understatement. Oh, and how much I’ve used that during Covid.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: The worst Christmas present was one I asked for myself–a Vitamix composter. It got great reviews (and it was ridiculously expensive) but it looked like a great way to salve my conscience when I am too lazy (or too hot) to deal with the outside composting. The Vitamix is about the size of a breadbox, so convenient, right? Well, this also means that the actual composting compartment is about the size of a food processor bowl, so it holds only a few cups of the few items that are allowed to go in it. It also takes about eight hours to run, during which time your whole house smells like burning vegetables. And then you have to scrape the dried, stuck, remains out of the thing. It's still sitting on the floor in the dining room if anyone wants to take it off my hands!

Best gift? I think the beautifully bound, illustrated, boxed set of THE LORD OF THE RINGS my parents gave me when I was fourteen. And you bet I still have them.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: The worst gift was given with the best intentions by my father-in-law. He would visit us for a week at a time at least twice a year (yes, I loved seeing him!) and he noticed that either Ross or I would pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to feed our busy, busy family (we were both working in the law at that time, and the kids were in school in Portland, a half-hour drive away.) It was a great deal: $5.99 for a hot, seasoned chicken that was just enough for four or five, and when thrown together with a quick salad and pre-made bread rolls, a nice healthy meal.

Victor also knew I liked to cook the aforementioned nice, healthy meals, so that year for Christmas, he gave me: my own rotisserie!

I could make my own rotisserie chickens at home, and all I needed to do was put them in two hours before dinner, and baste them every twenty minutes!! As a bonus, the machine was bigger than the microwave - which we had already put on a stand in the corner of the kitchen because we had no other room. 

I thanked him profusely, and as soon as he had returned to California, Ross carried the thing down to the cellar, where it remained until the next church white elephant sale.

Best present? The most recent one: for Christmas ‘19, my daughters gave me tickets and a hotel room to see Daniel Fish’s amazing revival of OKLAHOMA at Circle in the Square. Youngest and I went the second week in January ‘20, and we had an amazing three day trip that included eating at a very authentic Chinese restaurant and taking an in-depth tour of the UN. And then two weeks later, I developed a bad cough and fever and exhaustion that lasted for months, but that’s another story…

HALLIE EPHRON: I say with much chagrin that my children could give you chapter and verse on all the gifts I’ve given them that were miss-es. The knock-off MY BUDDY doll looms large. 

Best presents were always the Christmas cards Jerry drew for me and which I found propped up on the bathroom sink every Christmas morning. Of course I’ve kept them all.

Worst … we’re not big into gifts so I have to go back to childhood for the leather jacket that I asked for… and what I got was a bilious green suede car coat with black stitching around the pockets. The thing could stand up without a person inside it. And, good girl that I was, I wore it. And wore it some more…

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, gosh, my best? And sweetest? Maybe from my poor baffled stepfather, who could not imagine why 14-year old me had hacked, er,  cut my own hair into a Sassoon.  He was a lawyer, and gave me an affidavit of Santa Clauses (this was in the 60’s so WAY before any such puns via movies) which included home-made coupons for trips to the actual hairdresser.

The worst? Well, that’s funny, It started out as the worst but became beloved. My husband's office had a Secret Santa gift exchange, for which, of course, I was designated to find the gift. I worked so hard to find something our person would like–and defaulted to a wonderful bottle of wine, and some gorgeous chocolate, and a beautiful book. I was so happy with giving the perfect gift! In “return” Jonathan’s Secret Santa gave him AN APPLE CORER AND AN AVOCADO OPENER. 

I briefly flipped out. HOW COULD SOMEONE…!!! Argh. But them I used both items, and they were so brilliant that I am in love with them now, and mentally thank the Santa every time I use them.

JENN McKINLAY: My apple corer is one of my most prized possessions, Hank! 

Best Christmas gift was hands down my first born. He came on December 15th so close enough that I don’t even remember anything but him on the holiday that year. Worst gift was a very hideous lamp that someone gave me when I got married. I mean this thing was HUGE and I live in a tiny little house. Yes, it took up way too much square footage and matched nothing. I’m pretty sure it was a regift which I, too, promptly regifted to Goodwill. 

Over to you Red Readers--tell us about the best or worst gifts you ever received (or gave!)

And ps, if you asked us what we want, we would say we already have it--your friendship and your presence here are all we need!