Thoughtful gifts can still be found
Published 4:43 pm Monday, December 17, 2007
If you are still looking for some wonderful gifts to share with loved ones, I have some great ideas to pass along. I just want to say I do not receive a commission, a free airline ticket or any other perk from any company to suggest these things.
I promote these gifts because I have either received them or given them and believe they are fabulous.
If you seek a good treat, send someone sugared pecans. My brother sent me a cone-wrapped bunch of sugared pecans that he bought from a street vendor. I ate the whole bag in an hour and I think of those pecans often. Sugared pecans are widely available in stores and online. The ones I liked are whole pecans, and www.gourmetgold.net has some nice options.
On the subject of food-related items, you could splurge on Emeril cookware. The pots and pans are very sturdy and make a beautiful gift for someone who likes to cook.
A month ago, my husband gave me a Rachael Ray cookbook. Her 30-minute meals are excellent for people who don’t want to spend an hour or more preparing dinner. Her cookbooks offer a variety and she uses some unexpected things for flavoring that work very well. The meals remind of old-fashioned diner foods, warm and filling.
If you have a coffee-lover in your life, my daughter turned me onto Flavorganics syrup for lattes. Their organic syrup has half the sugar of other syrups and it is delicate and smooth in coffee. It blends better with the coffee. I keep it stocked in my house by the case.
Moving past the food suggestions, and onto my favorite thing to give: great books.
If you want to give a book that reaches the heart, and also will help the world, my favorite book from this year is, “There is No Me Without You” by Melissa Fay Greene. In the story’s 427 pages, the reader will meet children orphaned in Ethiopia and the adults who are stepping up to take responsibility for the children. Greene explains how things have come to be the way are and helps us understand how AIDS has flourished while some countries, particularly the United States, have blocked most efforts to get needed medicine to keep parents alive. I learned how the infamous WTO protests in Seattle served to be a true turning point for people in Africa. For those who want to make a difference, this book will start you on a journey and offers many specific ways to help.
If you want to give a book to someone of middle-school age, and start a conversation about Amnesty International, I highly recommend “Click,” which offers the work of 10 well-known authors.
For the high school student on your list, give “One Butt Cheek At A Time” by Amber Kizer, and a journal. Ninth-graders will love commiserating with the main character, Gert, and every page will get them laughing out loud.
Finally, I want to note that my family still loves the handmade gifts we create each year. This year, I knitted hats and scarves, and my daughter said, “This is the best thing you have ever made.” Plenty of love comes from those gifts.
Sarri Gilman is a freelance writer living on Whidbey Island. Her column on living with meaning and purpose runs every other Tuesday in The Herald. She is a therapist, a wife and a mother, and has founded two nonprofit organizations to serve homeless children. You can e-mail her at features@heraldnet.com.
