Christmas Food Gifts: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

My family is all about giving and getting edible things

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Christmas at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco

As I sit here next to the Christmas tree at 5:23AM on a Monday morning before the chaos of school shuttle service/breakfast/dog tending begins, I think about how my son has been entranced lately by the lights and presents slowly collecting under the tree. I used to do the same thing that he does now—lay under the tree and gaze up at it, just soaking in the peace and associations of family, anticipation of gift-giving and general quiet of the darkness and tradition of the season.

We had a gas fireplace in our little blue house in Seattle; now we have a mantle and fireplace that is non-functional but great as a visual centerpiece to the dining room. My childhood home in New Jersey didn’t have a fireplace, but we did put on the yule log on the TV that played Christmas songs. The visuals of the Lo-fi Girl youtube channel I occasionally put on has the same effect on me; it’s just peaceful and chill, no ads bombarding me, a cartoon girl and cat looping, hypnotically making it easier to do whatever task at hand (read, address Christmas cards, etc.)

Handmade vs Digital

As the years have progressed I’m giving more digital Minecraft or Fortnight bucks than I ever thought I would; I stream my music from Spotify to Sonos, my connections are contacted via text and browsing photos on social media comprises most of my socializing with far-away friends with the exception of an occasional well-timed call.

But what I really love are the tangible gifts, and my family knows that. I usually get a book, a mug, a trinket or necklace. We all also give out food items (that’s the big ticket thing with my family!) and I emphasize quality wrapping paper and the anticipation of the presents slowly piling up leading to Christmas to show the thought and work going into thinking about everyone in the family.

I walked into William-Sonoma for a particular gift I had in mind for someone in my family, and the store was completely packed. I would say it was even busier than most stores. I saw a fancy biscuit cutter. I row of rolling pins. I thought about the nice feel of the biscuit cutter. I have a nice tapered olive wood rolling pin. But then I thought about how I’ve gotten by with cutting biscuits with normal water glasses for years.

Here’s a guide for food gifts… maybe there’s more to add but this is what I thought of in a half hour!

Food Gifts - the very good

• New flavors of candies or chocolates.

• Old favorites - but gorgeously gift wrapped.

• A great cookbook

• Old favorites that have been given every year and are happily accepted. My mother-in-law got everyone in her family a “book” of gummy lifesavers every single year and my husband never gets tired of them. In fact I think he expects them!

• If going the chip or pretzel route, there are also so many varieties to choose.

• Cutting boards - so many different ways to use them!

• Syrups, jellies, jams - they don’t go bad (or take a long time).

• Teas and coffees!

Food Gifts - bad

• A very, very specific appliance for a very, very specific thing. I might be funny, or it might just wind up taking up space. Hard to tell! (thinking waffle irons, presses, mixers, dicers).

• A larger appliance … might be good, if talked about beforehand

• Knives. They’re personal! I would consult! It’s an expensive thing to get wrong.

Food Gifts - ugly

• Try to remember if you gave the gift before. My father-in-law gave my mother-in-law a salad shooter two years in a row and she was offended. I’m still not sure if he meant it all as a joke or truly just forgot.

• Old regifted food items. It’s so easy to tell if it’s old. Context clues. Maybe as I get older I’ll become like one of those older relatives I had that they’re giving something to me because they can’t have it (bloating, indigestion, hate it, etc. etc.) but in general not a favorite of mine to get an earful of negativity with a gift

• Any gift basket that has an endless array of summer sausage

• Candy with cadmium warnings on the label