A montage of gifts for the holidays.

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.


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


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.

Peasant bread kits.

Spices

A box of Burlap and Barrel 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.

A bowl of roasted squash aside Burlap and Barrel silk chili

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

Life is What you Bake It, a cookbook, on a counter top.

Baking for the Holidays by Sarah Kieffer + Royal Cinnamon

Baking For the Holidays, a cookbook, on a countertop.

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 Big Little Recipes cookbook on a countertop.

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

A book, The Weekday Vegetarians, on a countertop.

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

Grains for Every Season, a cookbook, on a countertop.

Grist by Abra Berens + Hayden Flour Mills purple barley

Grist, a cookbook, on a countertop.

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

Maman The Cookbook on a countertop.

Cookies The New Classics by Jesse Szewczyk

Cookies: The New Classics, a cookbook.

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.

Scout Lobster

Vintage Cutting Board

Vintage cutting board on a table.
Image via Elsie Green

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

Vintage cutting board.
Image via Etsy

Pizza Gear

A Lloyd, Detroit-style pizza pan.

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.

Vermont Smoke and Cure pepperoni.
Two bottles of Mike's Hot Honey on a counter top.
An overhead shot of pickled jalapeños in a jar.

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.

Pizza Scissors.

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.

Ooni Koda

A Sourdough Starter Kit + Flour

Sourdough starter kit.

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


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.

Trailblazer Bread Flour.

A Potato Masher

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

A potato masher on a countertop.

Outdoors-y Stuff

Darn Tough socks.

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.

Merrel hiking shoes.

Lululemon Shorts: Love these and these.

Lululemon Shorts

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.

Vuori shorts and long-sleeve shirt.

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.

A bag of Beam dream.

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.

A turmeric latte next to a bag of turmeric tea.

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

High west whiskey.

Accessories/Other

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

A Solulu Handmade bag.

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

Goodr sunglasses.

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

A box of Peacock matches.

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.

A vintage 1981 t-shirt.

Kids Stuff

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

Two magazines on a countertop: Games & The Week Junior
Open Carhart backpack on a countertop.

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

A notebook, first aid kit, journal, and deck of cards on a countertop.
A Carhart backpack.

Bombas gripper slippers.

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.


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.

Pearl Jam

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.


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.

tie dye kit

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