Gift giving...

Yesterday, I was trying to finish up some last-minute gifts before I head out for Christmas. Gift giving sometimes becomes a real hassle when you don't really know the person very well, and a gift of some sort is obligatory ~ like to your boss or co-workers. Even when you know the person really well but have given them practically everything they ever wanted or needed on previous occasions ~ I’m talking next door neighbors and old friends, who are closer to you than family.

Books are a good fall-back for me, as far as gifting my nearest and dearest, but an even better all-purpose gift is something to eat, and I don't mean just a plate of Christmas cookies or one of those little baskets from Swiss Colony with the triangular little packets of cheese-food that taste like a pair of cruddy gym-socks, or one of those lavish and overpriced catalogue numbers. Although I love Harry & David fruit baskets, especially their delicious pears. I mean a carefully constructed food basket, and no, you do not need Martha Stewarts' skills - or her pocketbook.

My favorite gift food-basket starts with a cookbook: any cookbook. Those tiny specialty cookbooks about the size of a Beatrix Potter book, the thin paper-bound books that used to be given away by companies, any of the Sunset cookbooks - really, anything that has some nice recipes in it that would appeal to the recipient. I pick-up cookbooks of this kind at the half price book section of my local bookshop. But caution, you do not want to build a basket around a cookbook of sweets for someone that is a diabetic, or a book of barbequed meats for a vegan.

Pick a recipe out of the book, mark the recipe with a book mark, or a piece of ribbon ~ and measure out all the ingredients for it in appropriate containers, carefully labeled and packaged. I have bought little bottles and cellophane bags, and sheets of labels at the Container Store, or hobby shop, or at the local big-box import place. You can also purchase sheets of shrink-wrap, or shrink-wrap bags— the kind that you can use a hair-dryer to shrink over the basket when it is all finished, and excelsior or finely shredded packing materiel at the same place.

Really, you are only limited by your budget; there is nothing to stop you from building a basket around a whole meal— but if perishables are included, either assemble at the last minute, or keep refrigerated. Include in a bottle of wine, or a loaf of bakery bread, if you like, and any fancy accessories you can afford. I have done baskets based on a recipe for tea bread, and adorned it with a wooden spoon or an inexpensive metal whisk. I did a basket for the head of the firm I worked for many Christmases ago with the recipe for this Lentil soup and a copy of the book it was taken from. The finished basket was trimmed with a bunch of bay-leaves and whole garlic clove, which I knew she loved. She absolutely adored it and early the following year, gave me a raise.

It's not strictly required to stick to items for human consumption, either: I did a basket for some friends moving into a new house in the suburbs, filled with a bird feeder, a pound of bird-seed to fill it, and a little field guide to local birds. I also did a basket for friend who was re-doing their bathroom, which included a spa-style shower head, some aromatherapy soaking salts and various toiletries, and a really nice terrycloth hotel-type robe. It's not even strictly necessary to use a basket, either; just some sort of appropriate container; say, a terracotta pot for a collection of gardening supplies, or one of those big tins for a collection of gourmet popcorns, with a popper and an oven mitt, for instance.

About the baskets, though; this is the embarrassing part. To buy an empty basket at retail price will likely make it the most expensive single element, which is counterproductive to my goal of a high-end one-off gift basket at an affordable price. So, in other words, buy a Neiman-Marcus quality basket at a Walmart cost. And the best place to find a variety of attractive baskets is at the thrift stores and flea markets, even yard sales will do. I usually pay only a dollar or two. They can be washed in mild soap and warm water and hung out in the sun, to give them that new basket look. And it's not like anyone will really be looking at the basket; they'll be looking at the contents anyway, and with luck, salivating slightly.

So there you are: stuck for a gift for someone you only know casually? Food is always gratefully received ~ trust me; it’s a gift we all would want to receive.

Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday and Joyous New Year!