What is a useful gift that you would want to receive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What am I missing not having the real vanilla extract? What are you using it for?

All these mentions are leading me to assume it gets you high somehow.

HA! DC bakes a lot and swears by it over the cheaper imitation stuff I pick up at the grocery store.

I don't understand. I buy real vanilla extract from the Giant. It's expensive but it's not unusual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What am I missing not having the real vanilla extract? What are you using it for?

It's relatively expensive and it's one of those things that is easy to forget to replace one you run out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What am I missing not having the real vanilla extract? What are you using it for?

It’s hard to find, there have been shortages in recent years and costly!

Plus if you want Madagascar Vanilla or Tahitian Vanilla etc...

[Anonymous]

I gave my young adult nieces funky socks the Christmas after their mother died. Had no idea she had been doing that herself for awhile, and they both teared up.

Socks are good (please, I will take wool socks) because of socks' habits of going off by themselves, because if you've ever run out of clean socks you know what a treasure having a clean pair to put on is.

Dishtowels also (please, mine have gotten pretty ratty). Same idea as socks--they do wear out or get unattractively stained and can be either very practical good quality towels or can have cool prints/sayings on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lighted toilet seat !

Like a joke gift but surprisingly useful

We love ours and our kids love it in their bathroom too!

do you guys have a suggested brand? this is growing on me as a gift idea.

I got the Kohler one from Home Depot

https://www.us.kohler.com/us/Nightlight-–-Lighted-toilet-seats-by-Kohler/article/CNT120400001.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A rice cooker is an extremely useful gift. Even people who don't cook very much appreciate the never-fail quality of this item.

That said, I'm not a fan of useful gifts. I love gifts that are unexpected luxuries -- doesn't matter if they're small ones. I'd rather have one delicious chocolate bar than a Roomba (what my BIL gave my sister last year -- it was not a pretty scene).

A rice cooker - one more small appliance that I'd donate as soon as I got it because I don't want to store it. The few times I make rice, I make it in a pot that I use for 1,000 other things.

I used to say that . . . until I got one (not as a gift, but because DS's college roommate, who is Korean-American, didn't want to ship it home to LA). When I used it, I felt like I was witnessing a miracle. It is a very simple appliance that produces perfect rice. Not good rice; perfect rice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Different types of olive oils and vinegars. When I have them, I use them all the time. But it's just not something I necessarily think to buy on my own.

When I've given really good quality olive oil as a hostess gift for anyone who likes to cook, it has been received most enthusiastically -- much more so than a bottle of wine.

[Anonymous]

When I travel, I usually buy a few dish towels -- some for our house and some for gifts. People seem to love them -- the biggest hits have been from Buckingham Palace (image of Andy Warhol's portrait of the Queen) and The Highline (pretty botanical print). Even if we're not traveling now, you can order them from museum shops and they might be especially welcome gifts for wistful travelers dreaming of future trips to those places.

I love the suggestion above for a Bean Boat Tote -- especially if you get it monogrammed. I think anything monogrammed can transform even the most mundane gift into something delightful.

[Anonymous]

My mom is paying to replace the torn linoleum in the kitchen of our new house. It’s the best Christmas gift ever, and the priciest by a factor of ten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A rice cooker is an extremely useful gift. Even people who don't cook very much appreciate the never-fail quality of this item.

That said, I'm not a fan of useful gifts. I love gifts that are unexpected luxuries -- doesn't matter if they're small ones. I'd rather have one delicious chocolate bar than a Roomba (what my BIL gave my sister last year -- it was not a pretty scene).

A rice cooker - one more small appliance that I'd donate as soon as I got it because I don't want to store it. The few times I make rice, I make it in a pot that I use for 1,000 other things.

I used to say that . . . until I got one (not as a gift, but because DS's college roommate, who is Korean-American, didn't want to ship it home to LA). When I used it, I felt like I was witnessing a miracle. It is a very simple appliance that produces perfect rice. Not good rice; perfect rice.

It’s still just rice. I got rid of our rice cooker for the same reasons as the PP. Theres nothing complicated about making rice.

[Anonymous]

I'm also confused by all the vanilla extract posters - it's just a thing I buy as needed, just like I also restock high quality olive oil as needed because I like to use it.

However, nice olive oils/vinegars are still a good gift because you run through them quickly and also they have different qualities that work well with different things (e.g. more peppery or more fruity). Similarly, if they like coffee then some really good coffee from your favorite roaster would also be a nice gift.

I'd be happy to receive something like this excellent pepper grinder https://www.amazon.com/Unicorn-Magnum-Plus-Pepper-Black/dp/B0000CFB4N

These surprisingly useful, great wooden spatulas - https://www.earlywooddesigns.com/collections/wood-cooking-utensils/products/wooden-kitchen-utensil-set

These stemless wine glasses for casual meals - https://us.nudeglass.com/collections/wine/products/pure-bourgogne-glasses

I'd also take some bombas socks - they really are very good

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What am I missing not having the real vanilla extract? What are you using it for?

All these mentions are leading me to assume it gets you high somehow.

HA! DC bakes a lot and swears by it over the cheaper imitation stuff I pick up at the grocery store.

I don't understand. I buy real vanilla extract from the Giant. It's expensive but it's not unusual.

I'm the one who said it. I mean even the Kirkland one at costco is like $35 for the bottle. I love fancy madagascar vanilla extract or mexican. Nielsen Massey is my favorite. They aren't cheap and qualify as a luxury purchase. I bake a lot.

[Anonymous]

Porsche 911 convertible

[Anonymous]

I wish someone in my family would notice that my drill bits (not a euphemism) have seen better days and by me one of those super-fancy sets in a yellow box.

Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A rice cooker is an extremely useful gift. Even people who don't cook very much appreciate the never-fail quality of this item.

That said, I'm not a fan of useful gifts. I love gifts that are unexpected luxuries -- doesn't matter if they're small ones. I'd rather have one delicious chocolate bar than a Roomba (what my BIL gave my sister last year -- it was not a pretty scene).

A rice cooker - one more small appliance that I'd donate as soon as I got it because I don't want to store it. The few times I make rice, I make it in a pot that I use for 1,000 other things.

I used to say that . . . until I got one (not as a gift, but because DS's college roommate, who is Korean-American, didn't want to ship it home to LA). When I used it, I felt like I was witnessing a miracle. It is a very simple appliance that produces perfect rice. Not good rice; perfect rice.

It’s still just rice. I got rid of our rice cooker for the same reasons as the PP. Theres nothing complicated about making rice.

Agree there's nothing complicated about making rice. That's why having the machine do it while you do something more complex -- or just more fun -- is beautiful. To me, anyway.

How about a jigsaw puzzle? Or a book of crossword puzzles? Or a subscription to the NYT crossword puzzle? We've all still got a few more months, at least, when we'll be close to home with a lot of time on our hands. Puzzles come in various levels of challenge, with many different themes or images, and give a sense of accomplishment.