A Few “Authentically From the Heart” Gift Ideas
I had lunch last week with my friend Jackie, who contributed her Honey Sesame Pork Tenderloin recipe to my cookbook, COMFORT FOOD FROM THE HEARTLAND: Recipes from a South Dakota Farmer’s Daughter. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, and Jackie reminded me of a gift I gave her years ago – long before I published my cookbook. I typed up several of my favorite recipes and slid the recipe cards into an inexpensive photo album where the photos would normally go. There were plenty of empty spaces left for her to add her own favorite recipes later. Jackie had made several of the recipes and enjoyed them.
While I’m no Martha Stewart, her comment inspired me to share some inexpensive and well received gifts I’ve given over the years. This simple homemade cookbook idea is one.
How about a hand-made collage or shadow box, instead of something digitally created? While my divorce was being finalized, my youngest step-son was graduating from high school. One of the items I gave him was a collage I created from several favorite photo memories over the years and slipped into a frame. It brought a big smile to his face. You could also incorporate images snipped from magazines, mementos, etc.
My mother was a highly skilled seamstress. Me, not so much. But I can sew a relatively straight line. One year I pulled out my long unused sewing machine, made a trip to Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest in Salem, OR (I see they have an on-line store now) and made everyone on my Christmas gift list quilted potholders. Yes, there was a learning curve involved, but it was so much fun! If I can make a potholder, anyone with opposing digits can. I’ve received feedback since that people use them, and still have them! You can get fabric colors matching your loved one’s kitchen décor, or holiday fabric for a potholder which may be pulled out every holiday season as part of the annual decorating ritual.
While going through above mentioned divorce, I lived in a small ranch style home in south Salem with a roomy back yard and a plum tree. The tree suddenly bore massive fruit the second summer I lived there. There were so many plums I couldn’t give them away. I found a super easy plum freezer jam recipe on-line, and bought some small Ziploc containers with screw-on lids. I ate lots of delicious plums and jam myself, gave several containers away, and when I moved from Salem to Lake Oswego…I walked over to each of my new neighbors and introduced myself by handing them a gift of homemade freezer jam.
Finally, an idea I got last year from my colleague and friend, Alli, upon a trip to Puerto Rico, a mutual favorite vacation destination. Bring home some sand, double bagged. And tiny seashells. After returning home, briefly boil and simmer the seashells (to make sure there’s no stinky smell) and let dry. George and I brought back both Atlantic, fine and light colored, and Caribbean, coarse and darker colored, sand, along with several small smells we found on the beach in Boquerón. You can find small glass bottles with cork stoppers at craft and florist shops. Fill the bottles partially with sand, top with seashells (small enough to fit inside the bottle opening), voila – a lovely souvenir from a tropical vacation. I made one for myself. It sits on the bookcase in my home office and is a tiny piece of paradise, wrapped up in great memories, I can enjoy any time. I love it.
I hope you love these simple and meaningful gift ideas. If you use them, let me know how your recipient responds, and how you felt about giving this particular gift from your authentic heart.
Support the homeless cats of the Willamette Valley, come see me, and get your cookbook signed at Salem Friends of Felines during their annual open house next weekend! I will be there Saturday 12/5 1-4 pm and Sunday 12/6 2-4 pm. http://www.salemfriendsoffelines.org/
Authentically Yours, Laura