It seems like there is an awful lot of pressure put on an individual regarding purchasing and giving “the perfect gift” this time of year. Some of us are left wondering where to buy this opulent, fabulous and elusive gift that will never be returned for store credit or re-gifted?
There is one solution that is no-fail: food gifts. Why, you ask? Well, the main drug of this time of year is nostalgia followed closely by indulgence and thirdly by comfort and, since we’re Americans, novelty. Food gifts invariably satisfy all four of these requirements.
For the special lady in your life the focus is primarily on chocolate, the mainstay for any holiday pertaining to your feelings or interactions with her. So, once you’ve found a good local chocolateur or an international chain she digs you’re set for the whole year. Truffles always are your best bet.
You’ll probably find yourself at any number of holiday parties and the tradition of “hostess gifts” gets particularly real this time of year. Good bets are hitting up a good sale on nice wine or those trial-sized packs of fancy coffee. Either works well since each can be incorporated into the celebration thus making you look incredibly generous and exceptionally thoughtful.
This approach works equally well with your parents. At any supermarket or department store are pre-packaged gift baskets with several different themes (heritage, sports teams, food preference, guilty pleasures, fun, alcohol, etc.) and usually include keepsakes like mugs, glasses, plates, or whatever. Incidentally, these are perfect for the “that-guy-has-everything” person for whom you’re obligated to buy a gift.
The best part about this approach is that it’s also more than justifiable to purchase duplicates of any or all of the above as gifts for yourself because, look at you, you gift-giving-machine, you…You deserve it!
