Holiday Gift Guide 2021

Friends, remember last year, when I hoped this year’s gift guide would be about travel and adventure? Well, unfortunately, that hasn’t panned out.

Ben and I had a few trips planned this past year, including one to Italy in September. It was going to be a big pizza-eating extravaganza in Rome and Naples, and I was going to take lots of pizza + travel notes. But as the date approached and as travel restrictions tightened, we worried, and then we canceled.

Alas. Maybe next year?

As always, this year’s gift guide is meant to inspire if nothing else. I hope your holiday shopping is going well. If you have any gifts you are excited about this year, please share in the comments. I love hearing your ideas. Also, I’ve compiled all of the children’s book suggestions from the comments of last year’s gift guide down below — 50+ ideas!

My perennial favorite kitchen (and other) items can be found in The Shop.

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If you live locally, here are a few of my favorite spots. A gift card to any of these spots or to your favorite shop would make a wonderful gift.

Local Shops

And here are some online shops I return to again and again:

Online Shops

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Gifts for Adults

Bread Toast Crumbs

Bread Toast Crumbs

Of course, it always means the world if you gift my cookbook to anyone you think might enjoy simple bread baking. Or you could gift a peasant bread kit, which includes all of the essentials: two 1-qt Pyrex bowls, a digital scale, a GIR spatula, a Dot and Army cloth bowl cover, and a Julia Child quote notecard.

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Spices

Burlap & Barrel Spices

I’ve mentioned Burlap & Barrel several times before, but to refresh: B&B partners directly with smallholder farmers to source spices that have never been available in the US before and, in doing so, helps improve the livelihoods of their partner farmers. The Silk Chili is my favorite — it’s great on anything from corn and tomatoes to roasted squash (pictured below) and chicken. I also love the purple stripe garlic and royal cinnamon.

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Cookbook (+ Spices or Grains or ?)

Here are a few cookbooks I’ve added to my library this fall. I’m hoping to feature each of these on the blog in the months ahead. You could pair a cookbook with a few spices or a bag of heirloom grains or flour or some other complementary item.

Life is What You Bake It by Vallery Lomas + Nyanza Vanilla Extract Kit

Baking for the Holidays by Sarah Kieffer + Royal Cinnamon

Big Little Recipes by Emma Laperruque + jarred tuna & grilled artichoke hearts — there is a recipe in the book for a dead-easy tuna melt that calls for combining the mentioned ingredients, piling it on toast, and broiling it with provolone. It’s incredibly delicious and requires 5 minutes of effort. I love the Trader Joe’s grilled artichoke hearts (found in the grocery aisle) — they’re wonderful in this one-pot orzo recipe — and I love this tuna.

The Weekday Vegetarians by Jenny Rosenstrach: You have been loving these spicy chickpeas and this book, as have I.

Grains for Every Season by Joshua McFadden + Red Tail Grains Polenta

Grist by Abra Berens + Hayden Flour Mills purple barley

Maman The Cookbook. Love Maman and I love café cookbooks, so I couldn’t resist.

Cookies The New Classics by Jesse Szewczyk

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I learned about this Scout Canning lobster from Colu Henry’s newsletter, and I’ve had a stash of it on hand ever since. It’s delicious, and such a nice treat. I have yet to use it in a recipe — I eat it straight from the can.

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Vintage Cutting Board

I love these Vintage Cutting boards from Elsie Green or Etsy.

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Pizza Gear

I love my Detroit-style pizza pan so much, I had to buy another one, and it is so nice having two on hand. I also love the gramma-style/Sicilian-style pan. You could pair the pan with some good pepperoni, Mike’s hot honey, homemade pickled jalapeños, and a recipe for Detroit-style pizza.

Pizza Scissors: Yes, you can simply use scissors to cut your pizza, but I really really like having a dedicated pair of sheers for the job. The kids love using them, too.

Or you could splurge on an Ooni… I bought one last year, and while I’ve only used it a handful of times, it has been really fun. The Ooni Koda hooks up to a propane tank, which is convenient.

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A Sourdough Starter Kit + Flour

The amazing Kristen Dennis of @Fullproofbaking recently released a sourdough starter kit that includes lots of goodies but namely her sourdough starter.

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Good Flour

One of you (hey Claire!) sent me some of this Trailblazer bread flour, and I was blown away by the flavor it imparts. It’s stone-milled, and it’s the flour Tartine Bakery sources for many of their breads.

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A Potato Masher

A live my new potato masher — it simplifies the mashed potato making process.

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Outdoors-y Stuff

My sweet neighbor gave me a pair of Darn Tough socks last year for Christmas, and I love them. I also recently bought a pair of these Merrell’s, which I love for walking, easy hikes, and the in-between fall-winter season.

Lululemon Shorts: Love these and these.

Vuori: I mentioned this in the Father’s Day gift guide, but I can’t say enough good things about this longsleeve shirt (love the grey and the blue). I’ve purchased one for Ben, my brother, and my stepfather, and they all rave. Love these shorts, these joggers, and this jacket, too.

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Drinks

Beam: for the restless sleeper in your life! This Beam Dream helps me fall asleep, and bonus: it’s delicious. I warm almond milk in my milk frother with a scoop of the Dream powder every night around 9:15 pm. Then I crawl into bed 30 minutes later, read one page of the book I’ve been reading for one year, and I fall asleep. I call it my sleeping chocolate. Truly dreamy.

I love these turmeric tea drops. Every afternoon I drop one into a mug, pour boiling water over top to fill the mug about a third of the way up, then I fill the rest of the mug with warm cashew milk frothed in my milk frother. It’s such a treat.

How cute is the campfire card? You could pair it with a bottle of this High West Campfire Whiskey.

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Accessories/Other

I discovered Solulu Handmade bags via The Vischer Ferry General Store, and I love them.

Goodr Sunglasses: Light weight, comfortable, affordable! A dear friend gave me a pair, and I love them.

Nice Matches: How pretty is this box of matches? I found it at Arthur’s Market, which has a wide selection of them.

For the just-turned 40-year-old in your life: Vintage 1981 t-shirt. Or for the about to turn 40-year-old in your life, a Vintage 1982 shirt.

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Kids Stuff

A subscription to a magazine such as Games World of Puzzles or The Week Junior.

For the camper: A backpack (like this one or one of these) filled with goodies

• first aid kit
• sewing kit
• head lamp
• Swiss Army Knife
• Water shoes
• trail snacks
• Parks Project Playing Cards or anything else from this amazing shop

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How cute are these Bombas Gripper slippers? I love mine, and the kids love theirs. You all know I still love/live in my Glerups, too.

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Band T-Shirt: My kids have discovered good music (at last 🎉🎉🎉), and Ella asked for a Pearl Jam shirt for her birthday. It’s super cute. This one is fun, too.

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A ukulele. Wren asked for a ukulele for her birthday, and it’s been such a fun instrument to have around… I actually started taking lessons… midlife crisis maybe… but I’m loving it.

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Tie dye kit + t-shirts: I bought a few of these kits in the fall, and the kids had a big tie dye party with their friends (outside), and they had a ball, and the shirts came out so nicely.

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50+ Children’s Books

This is a compilation of books crowdsourced from the comments of last year’s gift guide as well as a few friends namely Sally, Bates, and Asiya. Thank you! What did I miss?

Age 5-9	Sophie Mouse
Age 6-7	Robert Munsch
Age 6-8	Stella Batts
Age 6-8	Dory Fantasmagory Series
Age 6-9	Anna & Elsa Chapter Books by Erica David
Age 6-9	Junie B Jones
Age 6-9	Gooney Bird Series
Age 6-9	Never Girls Series
Age 6-10	Ada Lace Books
Age 6-10	Clementine Series
Age 6-10	Zoe & Sassafras Books
Age 7-10	I Survived Series
Age 7-10	Heartwood Hotel
Age 8+	Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Age 8+	Dragon Watch
Age 8-12	Roald Dahl books
Age 8-12	Beast Quest Series
Age 8-12	Wings of Fire series
Age 8-12	Beverly Cleary Books
Age 8-12	The Beyonders
Age 8-12	The Candy Shop Wars
Age 8-12	Encyclopedia Brown
Age 8-12	A to Z Mystery Series
Age 8-12	Whatever After Series
Age 8-12	The Doll People Series
Age 8-12	Lemonade Crime Series
Age 8-12	Wayside School Series
Age 8-12	Like Pickle Juice Series
Age 8-12	Guts: A Graphic Novel by Raina Telgemeier
Age 8-12	Sister, Smiles, Guts Box Set
Age 8-12	Babysitters Club: A Graphic Novel
Age 8-12	Land of Stories Series
Age 8-12	Upside Down Magic Series
Age 8-12	How To Train Your Dragon
Age 8-12	The Templeton Twins
Age 8-12	Books by Kate DiCamillo
Age 8-12	The Vanderbeekers
Age 8-12	Percy Jackson
Age 8-12	Tumtum & Nutmeg
Age 8-12	Ellie Engineer
Age 8-12	Wingfeather Saga
Age 8-12	Five Kingdoms by Brendon Mull
Age 8-12	Penderwick Series
Age 8-12	Narnia Series
Age 8-12	Little House on the Praries Series
Age 8-12	Chronicles of Prydain
Age 8-12	Spy School series
Age 8-12	Gordon Korman books
Age 9+	When Stars Are Scattered
Age 9-12	Scary Stories for Young Foxes
Age 9-12	From the Mixed Up Tales of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiller
Age 9-12	Alex Rider Series
Age 9-12	Green Ember Series
Age 9-12	Alan Gratz books
Age 9-12	Matt Christopher books
Age 10+	A Wrinkle In Time
Age 10+	Trials of Apollo
Age 10+	Holes
Age 10+	The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Age 12+	The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings