Hello, my friends! I’ve been curled up in bed as much as possible these few days, trying to stave off the cold front that swept through SF. I have been thinking of gift ideas, though, by looking back through this past year’s blog posts. If you are still looking for things to get the cheese lover in your life, let’s go window shopping together! Here are some items that have made an appearance on my blog this past year that you can offer.
Home Goods
The French Farm is my affiliate partner, but that is only because I love all of the products they offer. You can find jams and honeys, mustards, salts and herb mixes, beautiful cutlery, cheese boards from olive wood, dishware, tea towels, aprons, and WAY more . . . all imported from Europe. It’s my first stop for foodie gift ideas!
Maker & Moss is a home goods and furniture company local to San Francisco, but with an online shop. I love visiting them to eye their beautiful candles, unusual dishware, beautiful cheese boards, sleek napkins and placemats, handmade jewelry, and treasures tucked in every corner. They are perfect for the contemporary, stylish kitchen and home!
Make Something
Customize your gift by making your friends something delicious, like paneer! Kirstin Jackson showed me how it’s done earlier this year, and the results were tasty and nourishing. Give the gift of cheesemaking by having her teach you! Or show your friends how to make paneer and other cheeses with Louella Hill’s home cheesemaking book Kitchen Creamery [affiliate link].
If you have friends who like to entertain a lot, offer The Art of the Cheese Plate by Tia Keenan [affiliate link] to light the way towards beautiful cheese boards.
Cheese & Edibles
Cheese. Of course, you can just cut right to the chase and offer cheese for the holidays. My local shop, Cheese Plus, has a cheese of the month club where they select and ship out three cheeses each month to their subscribers. Other shops have them, too!
I first discovered Opera Nuts when my graphic designer friend (who designed Miss Cheesemonger’s adorable logo!) gifted me a box of Opera Nuts made by Rachel Roth. I met Rachel earlier this year, and was able to profess my love for these mixed almonds and chocolate-covered almonds! She makes them by hand, and offers different sized boxes. They’re a wonderful, addictive hostess gift.
Fat Toad Farm goat caramels were, to me, a revelation! I honestly had not really ever felt strongly about caramel sauces before, especially ones with added flavors, until I tasted these. I tried them in my yogurt, with cheese, by themselves . . . their dark chocolate caramel and vanilla bean caramel got especially great use! Fat Toad Farms sells a variety of gift boxes, so you can craft the perfect ones for your loved ones.
Paul & Pippa, a Spanish brand, has got everything in its biscuit line down pat. There are adorable characters associated with each unusual flavor, like Lady Carrot Cake, Don Manchego, Lime After Time, and Me & Grandma (green apple & cinnamon flavored). The packaging is bright and engaging. The biscuits are delicately flavored and delightfully crumbly. I’d love a pack of these for myself!
Meat! Charcuterie, as you probably know, is right at home next to a few wedges of delicious cheese. Olympia Provisions in Washington state offers sausages and gift sets to satisfy all your carnivorous cravings.
Give Back
It sounds so corny, but it’s true. The greatest gifts are those you cannot touch. For the past few years, M. Cheesemonger and I have given to charities in my relatives’ names instead of offering yet another calendar, or copper Moscow mule mugs, or a throw blanket, or whatever.
Oldways Cheese Coalition is working to promote the making and consumption of raw milk cheese, and they can use your support.
I think a lot about the plight of honeybees (did I ever tell you that I consider the honeybee my personal insignia?), and think it is vitally important that we work to preserve them for the sake of our own food and our planet. Groups like The Honeybee Conservancy are doing work to do just that.
I’ve been spending a lot more time outdoors in the past year, and really hope we can work together to preserve our outdoor, natural spaces. Groups like The Sierra Club are helping people enjoy the outdoors and move beyond environmentally harmful fossil fuels.
While at Miss Cheesemonger, we always have the most delicious food to feast upon, that’s not the case in every household. Save The Children works to keep children around the world fed, healthy, and educated. You can even offer farm animals (like goats, donkeys, ducks, sheep, and chickens) to a family in need in someone’s name.
There are so many options for your gift-giving this season! We’ve barely even scratched the tip of the iceberg!
What are you going to offer your loved ones this holiday season? Let me know in a comment below!
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BUY through my affiliate account links at Amazon.com (where you can get nearly anything under the sun), the French Farm (where you can find delicious and beautiful French products for the kitchen, and get free shipping for orders over $75), and Taza Chocolate (maker of some of my favorite Mexican-style chocolates). Bookmark these links for later! You can purchase anything through them, not just what I recommend to you, and I will receive a small percentage of those sales at no extra cost to you! Everybody wins!
