Christmas Wrapped

Time Magazine declared that “Cool Mom Picks has a knack for finding kicky togs for tots” and indeed, tens of thousands of parents, editors and opinion leaders across North America agree, coming here first for what’s hot in gifts, gear, services and websites. The cheeky shopping blog has gained a loyal fan base through a combination of fresh, fun writing and an eye for spotting trends before they hit the mainstream. Editors Kristen Chase and Liz Gumbinner have been seen doling out shopping wisdom in newspapers across the country, on Martha Stewart Radio, and in their own series of on-demand shows on the national Alpha Mom cable network.

This is the time of year I always get completely blindsided by a person or twenty in my life who is deserving of some sort of holiday gift but I’ve forgotten completely about.

Of course I don’t want them to know I’ve forgotten completely about them.

“Oh your gift! I totally left it at home, darn…I can’t believe it, I mean it was just sitting on the front table and I walked right out the door without it.”

(I know, I know. I’ve just outed myself, haven’t I.)

One year it was my beloved dry cleaner, a jubilant little rolly-polly Korean lady who used to look with mock disapproval at my miniskirts and declare, “This skirt? Too short. I make longer.” One year it was a tree-trimming party guest who thought he’d show up with three friends. Just, you know, for fun. (And, presumably free food.)

Often it’s a local shop owner or a forgotten staff member in my building or the girl who washes my hair at the salon. But generally it’s a collection of neighbors and acquaintances who have, entirely unexpectedly, gotten me a gift.

Which is why now, I always keep a bunch of extra goodies on hand around the holidays, wrapped and ready to go.

The basic rules of thumb for emergency gifts: 1. Not too expensive 2. Not too personal 3. Something you can use yourself should it go unused.

 

My favorites:

-Boxes of gourmet teas with a nice tea ball (adding a little something extra always makes the gift seem more thoughtfully considered)

-A set of coasters wrapped in festive ribbon. Seriously, the ribbon makes all the difference.

-A big christmas cookie cutter tied with ribbon and attached to your favorite cookie recipe

-Pretty ornaments – Buy a multi-pack and then individually wrap them in nice tissue and place in a small gift bag. This is definitely one you can use yourself or in subsequent years if they don’t go used this time around.

-An oversized mug with a packet of gourmet hot chocolate tucked inside

-A pack of scented guest soaps or nicely packaged hand lotion – make sure they’re not too cheap; cheap ones tend to be stinky. And get a few more manly scents like eucalyptus so that you’re not stuck giving your cousin Joe some lavender thingie.

-Little pads with a small box of crayons or glitter pens for kids

-A single homemade gingerbread man or big Christmas star – especially nice if you can add the initial of the recipient in frosting

-Jugs o’ hooch (Never underestimate the happiness of a recipient upon receiving a bottle of wine or aperitif)

Are these gifts fairly generic? Of course. That’s what makes them emergency gifts. Which is why wrapping, ribbons, and cards matter; keep a bunch of teeny gift cards around and a nice calligraphy pen and consider yourself ready for nearly any gift-giving emergency. 

I am having the pronounced urge these days to detox from all things electronic, battery-operated, or otherwise backlit. And that goes for my holiday shopping list too.

No doubt Nate would be thrilled with anything with the letters PS and the number 3 in front of it, and my daughters go nutty for demonic dolls imbedded with voice chips that activate when you’re least expecting it. But still, I think there’s something to be said for the good old-fashioned fun found in a classic board game.

I think fondly of the game night we had in my family as a kid, long before there was such a thing as Game Night. We all convened around the big glass coffee table, set up the board, and played until it was well past bedtime while the hot chocolate flowed. As I recall, we never once complained that we were missing some TV show or that our Atari was calling; we were having way too much fun. Unless of course we were playing Monopoly, in which case my dad and my brother always ganged up on me and bankrupted me within like four seconds, then refused to loan me a single white, crinkly dollar bill so that I could stay in the game. Tears ensued.

This is like three years ago, by the way. Monopoly in my house is not pretty.

I’m hoping the friends and family on my list is feeling the same sort of unplugged nostalgia because some of their gifts are going to reflect it this year. Here are a few that I’ve got my eye on:

*If you don’t have a good game of Scrabble (with all tiles still intact) you can’t even begin to call yourself a game-player. Scrabble just came out with a
Deluxe 60th Edition Game although I really am getting all excited and twitchy about the Premier Wood Edition. I’m loving the prospect of sitting down to play an actual game with an actual person, and not some stranger on Facebook who’s claiming to take a phone call while checking his cheating dictionary.

*There is no better $5 gift for a child than Candyland, with Chutes and Ladders a close second. $5! Really! Kids as little as two will enjoy moving their pieces around on the board and playing with the cards, even if they’re too young to really understand the rules. Did I mention $5?

*Okay so Operation doesn’t entirely live up to the no-batteries requirement, but I still love the low-tech fabulosity and the $10 price tag. Kids will love it provided they don’t lose all the pieces under the couch and try feeding the adam’s apple to the dog.

*If your kids are already tic tac toe masters,
Connect 4 is the next logical step. It’s also awesome in that you get to say “Pretty sneaky, sis” every time you release all the checkers, and no one under 30 will have any idea what you’re talking about. That’s okay – just keep doing it. It will be our little secret.

*I didn’t actually discover dominos until I met the inlaws, who were serious domino junkies. Now, I count myself among them. A really nice set packaged in a beautiful burled wooden box makes an original family gift or hostess gift, and will last a whole lot longer than the fruit basket. Similarly, a beautiful backgammon set feels somehow indulgent. Especially when it’s only a backgammon set, and not some multi-game deelio that flips over to become a checkerboard.

*Do you know how hard it is to find just regular old Monopoly? You have to weed through shelves of Bass Fishing Monopoly, Elvis Monopoly, Fantasy Baseball Special Edition Monopoly, Disney Villains Monopoly, the Olsen Twins Goes Shopping on Upper Bleecker Street Monopoly…you only think I’m exaggerating. Traditionalists (like me) will appreciate the time that you take to track down the classic. The new library edition of Monopoly hasn’t changed a bit from your own youth, except that it’s packaged in a more bookshelf-friendly box. To be honest, it’s about time that someone figured out how completely annoying it is trying to fit those old board games on your regular bookshelves.

*Finally, I have to give a shout-out to Risk, which is not only the best ever rainy day killer, it’s also the reason I know how to find Afghanistan on a map. Be warned: It’s definitely not for sore losers. When your opponent is on the verge of world domination, it’s way too easy to slap your hand down on the board and say, “oops!” as all the teeny little armies go flying everywhere. Not that I’d know of such things.

So what am I missing? What are your favorite classic games that I should be adding to my list? And were there any games that made you cry as a kid (or a sensitive adult) or is that just me?

It’s T minus (mumble mumble) days to Christmas and in our home that means the salivary glands are gearing up for some holiday cookie action.

We have the tasks divided pretty well: My sigOth, the true gastronome of the family, seeks out the recipes for the finest sugar cookies, the lightest lemon cookies, the most perfectly spiced gingerbread men and women, while I scour the web for the decorating inspiration.

The food blogs are always a good stop (oh, thank you Tastespotting – thank you, thank you.) but I also find the myriad cookie photo groups on Flick’r are a fantastic resource for inspired design that I myself might even be able to replicate.

Some of the groups totally worth a look include Holiday Cakes and Cupcakes, Pretty Sweets, and The Cookie Jar. (But I warn you, steer clear if your culinary ego can’t handle it.)

From there I start making mental notes about color schemes, cookie cutter shapes, and of course, those shiny metallic edible balls that kids go nuts over. I fantasize about gift tins and big red tartan plaid ribbons; about presenting the cookies on crisp white dishes to visitors, or tucking them into little mesh bags and tying them to bottles of wine as hostess gifts.

And yeah, I think about eating them.

Here are just a few images recently that have sparked some ideas that I think I could actually do. I mean inspiration is nice and all, but not when executing it requires $600 worth of equipment, a professional convection oven and a culinary arts degree.

From Dano: I love how simple and elegant these trees are. Definitely something I could do myself without messing it up too much.

 

Evanrudemi:

I also adore how this baker sprinkled some sparkly clear sugar over top to make the snowflakes glisten. I never would have thought of that and it’s a really smart touch.

 

From Amy_B: It is highly unlikely that I will pull off something like these clever Thanksgiving cookies, but they don’t seem all that complicated, provided you have some pilgrim heads lying around. They’d be great with Santa heads too, swapping in green and red sprinkles.

 

From finna dat: Once in a while, more is more. I think it’s cool how absolutely covering these trees in sprinkles and red-hots works better than sprinkling them on sparsely.

 

From Solyanka: Gingerbread people get so elegant with stark white piping over a deep brown cookie. And I love those little cars! Makes for a speedy getaway when you’re trying to bite off their limbs I suppose.

 

But alas, I have kids. Which means we all know the reality of the cookie decorating situation.

 

Oh well. At least they taste just as good going down.

What are your holiday cookie plans? Is it a big deal in your house? Does everyone get to pitch in or are you all control freak-y and want them to turn out perfect as only you can make them?

Preparedness is definitely not my middle name. (Okay, it’s Susan if you really must know.) I’m the mom who’s often scavenging the store aisles for a birthday gift on our way to the party, or stuck with whatever lame Halloween candy is still available on October 30. But for the holidays, for some reason, I’ve got it down. 

The digital “stickies” on my Mac desktop are my best friend. All year long, as I come across something on the web that I know will make the perfect gift for someone on my increasingly long list, I jot down the url right there on my desktop. Because like most moms, if I don’t write it down, it’s gone. Out of my head. Buh-bye. See you never. 

It’s not high tech or some fancy Excel document. It’s not even all that organized. But it is there. And boy, it helps. Because by the time October rolls around I have a new mantra: If you like it, buy it. 

(Yes, October. The holiday advertising season is just hitting earlier and earlier, isn’t it? Any year now I expect soft, melty chocolate Santas lining the shelves in July.)

If I see something I know is the perfect gift, I don’t leave the store without getting it because I know I’ll never come back. Or worse, I want to come back but I can’t for the life of me remember where it was. Or far worse, I come back and someone else has grabbed the last one. I have kind of bad gift buying karma that way. 

And so, I buy. 

Slowly the colorful shopping bags in the back of my bedroom closet start accumulating-a lens for the sigOth’s new camera, cool cookie tins for home-baked hostess gifts, Wii games that I can pass off as something for the kids. Add that to the stocking stuffers I nab from various travel destinations throughout the year, and suddenly I’m in pretty good shape by the time December rolls around. It takes a minimum of effort too. And I’m all about the minimum of effort.  

And if all else fails? There’s always the regifting bag from Christmas mishaps past.  After all, you never know who’s going to need a Magic 8 Ball.