The Winter Solstice Approaches

The Easy, Cheerful Gift I’m Bringing to Everyone This Year

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This upcoming holiday season is already feeling more hopeful to me. With my close circle of family and friends all vaccinated, I am once again looking forward to safely gathering and sharing meals together. And while this still won’t be the year that my husband and I hop from one holiday party to the next (we’re parents of a toddler now!), my little family will certainly be visiting more people this year than we did last year (when we stayed home and all our “social visits” were entirely virtual).

And with this return to dropping in on loved ones’ homes comes the return of the need for a little gift — just a tiny something to say Hi, thanks for having me over and I’m so happy to be talking to you without the use of a Zoom background!

But also I’m out of practice in the thoughtful gift-giving department. Maybe it was the year off, or maybe it’s the last 18 months of constant decision fatigue in the pandemic — either way, I don’t have the mental energy to hem and haw over the perfect gift for each individual recipient.

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Luckily these super-cute tea towels from Calhoun & Co. exist. They are made from 100% cotton and are screen printed in Brooklyn, New York. At first I was just set on the towel (it makes a great gift on its own), but then the product description gave me the idea for dressing it up a bit: “The perfect re-usable gift wrap for a bottle of something bubbly for the next housewarming party you’re invited to.” Bingo.

For the bar cart-themed one above, I plan to pair it with a bottle of … something. Here I could personalize it a bit to the recipient — their favorite spirit, some non-alcoholic wine , a nice bottle of cider — or just pick something standard to buy in bulk and give out to everyone. Because of the aforementioned decision fatigue, I will most likely go the latter route and choose a case of something non-alcoholic (that would make a great ingredient to pair with alcohol, for those who imbibe) like this Verjus from Wolffer Estate .

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There are plenty of other design options to choose from, too! I also love this cheese-focused towel . Pair it with a hunk of nice cheese (you can’t go wrong with anything from Jasper Hill Farm , Vermont Creamery , or Cowgirl Creamery ), and you’re set.

I hope this upcoming season is feeling more hopeful to you, too. And if you need to conjure a little cheer, I think this easy gift idea will help you do it.

Lauren Kodiak

Copy Chief

Lauren is the Copy Chief for Kitchn. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and their son.

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Source : food