Maggie’s Kitchen Memo: My Ultimate Holiday Food Gift (Love) and Wrapping Guide and a Shop Update

Hello, hello everyone!

Let’s take a full breath before I type this… breathe… There are only 9 days until Christmas and 16 days until we ring in 2015. Not panicked yet? Good, there’s no need to stress. Between the Eat Boutique Holiday Pop-Up Shop, the gift box collection in the online shop, and this mega Food Gift (Love) Guide, you got this. Before we dig deep into the guide, let’s talk:

Special Pop-Up Surprise: Amy and I have so enjoyed the last 2 weeks, chatting food gifts with you. The Pop-Up is open for 4 more days from Thursday, December 18 – Sunday, December 21. AND AND AND… Amy and I have decided to open on Wednesday, December 17 from 1-5PM to be around for you before we enter the nuttiness of the last weekend before Christmas. This weekend is big, BIG — not only are we eagerly waiting for our follow-up shipment of Shotwell Candy (for you) but Zesty Cookie Co, Island Creek Oysters and Craic & Blonde will be in the shop this weekend. Zesty Cookie and Craic & Blonde will taste and sell the ultimate stocking stuffers while Island Creek will shuck, sample, and sell oyster boxes to go, perfect for your holiday parties. Order your oysters now. It’s going to be a blast. (Our shop is at 1377 Boylston Street in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.)

Order Gift Collections by Tuesday: We’d love to get your last moment gifts on the way to friends and family in time for Christmas. To make that so, you’ll need to order by noon on Tuesday, December 16. Here’s a quick link to the shop. (We’re almost sold out of everything, so order fast.)

Cookbook Update: I think I told many of you this past weekend but I’m deep in copy edits for my cookbook. It’s so fun revisiting everything but it also gets me eager to share all of my recipes and gift wrap ideas with you. Since it’s a bit too soon for that, I will share that we have settled on a cover and I have a feeling I’ll be able to share it soon. As soon as my editor gives me the all-clear, you’ll see it here, promise. Thanks for all the kind words, so many of you introduced yourself just to say, “I can’t wait for your cookbook!,” and that meant the world to me. Really, merci.

Now, onto some other GOOD stuff…

I’ve scoured the internet to find some of my favorite recipes, gift wrap ideas, and holiday decor that all evoke a simple, elegant, and playful spirit. I believe these recipes will make the very best food gifts and I know these gift wrap ideas are fun and easy. All of these recipes, gift wrap and decor ideas are pinned to my “Celebrate the Holidays” and “Gift Wrapping” Pinterest boards too. Let’s get started!

My Ultimate Holiday Food Gift (Love) Guide

Recipes:

Cakes & Bars:

• Brownie Mix: Just a little bit of heaven wrapped up in a jar.
• Chocolate Peppermint Icebox Yule Log Cake: Joy makes Christmas look so easy.
• Ginger Bars: Like a ginger brownie, maybe better.
• Norwegian Cardamom Almond Tart: A sweet customer clued me into this delight today. Let’s try it.
• Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake: Molly knows exactly what I want to eat (and gift).
• Mexican Chocolate Rolls: Bread and chocolate. Enough said.

Candy:

• Apple Cider Marshmallows: Marshmallows + apple cider = perfect together.
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge: He’s just so good. Try Kamran’s recipe. Get Kamran’s cookbook.
• Irish Atlantic Sea Salt Caramels: These look so soft and Irish but you can use any sea salt.
• Meringue Snowmen: Oh oh oh, I so want to dig into one of these now.

Cookies:

• Gingerbread Cookies with Spiced Glaze: All I want for Christmas is a gingerbread cookie. This one.
• Jam Thumbprint Cookies (grain-free): A perfect vessel for your favorite preserves.
• Misfortune Cookies: You make them (good) fortune cookies, okay?
• Raspberry Palmiers: Martha never fails. Effortless.
• Snowballs: Let’s have a snowball fight, then come inside to these.
• Snowflake Pepper Cookies: I’m going to surround my family in these on Christmas Eve.

Drinks:

• Homemade Baileys: I bottle these into mini-jars for holiday nightcaps.
• Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate: Gimme some chai, please.

Non-Edible:

• DIY Lip Gloss: It made the list because it tastes so good (on your lips).

Savory:

• Balsamic Glaze: Sweet and sticky and savory. And one of the most popular recipes on Eat Boutique.

Gift-Wrap:

Paper:

• Black Tree Garland + Handmade Wrapping Paper: Just a few snips and garland!
• Brown and Green: About 30 inspired ideas in one photo, really.
• Cozy Christmas Gift Wrap: I know how to use my old sweaters now.
• DIY Kraft Paper Gift Wrap: Just put that white marker to use.
• DIY Leaf-Stamped Paper: Quick, grab a few leaves before the next snow.
• Kraft, Pine + Twine: Just green and twine, my go-to holiday gift wrap.
• Neon Yellow Stars on Brown Kraft: Here’s how to use those neon stars.
• Paper Bag with String: Just a bag and string, no planning required.
• Plane One On Us: Their favor gift bags amaze me. Family photos would work well.
• Simple Gift Wrap: Just stamp names, notes or keep it simple with “YES!”
• Simple White Christmas Wrap: White paper, white string and fresh herbs.
• Winter Scene Painting Gift Toppers: Vintage paintings look great on craft.

Tags:

• Printable Gift Tags: Some festive freebies for your holiday gifts.
• Printable Hand-Lettered Gift Tags: Her hand-lettering is so full and swoopy, in a good way.
• Zana Christmas Tags: Tag it up. Just write in all caps on card stock. Easy.

Tools:

• The Best Gift Wrapping Tool Ever: I’ll be using these all season long.

Twine (ribbon, string, twine):

• Bonne Annee: This funky ribbon wrap is a trick in my back pocket. Watch the sweet video.
• Brown Paper with Yarn Pom Pom: Not knitting anymore? Do this with all that extra yarn.

Creative Ideas:

• Compilation of 10 Gift Wrapping Ideas: 10 grand ideas in one post.
• DIY Modern Paper Tree Garland: Okay, this looks pretty simple. Any shape will work.
• Inspirational Wrapping Paper: I do this all the time. Just doodle and, wowza, homemade gift wrap.
• Inspiration Board on a Box: Stick a vision board or collage onto that box.
• Reuse Produce Netting for Fun Packaging: I always save this netting and love using it in gift wrap.

Decor:

Garland:

• Candy Cane Garland: So easy, just garden twine and any old candy cane will do.
• Paper Fan Garland: So original and sweet and a great family project.

Christmas Tree:

• DIY Basket Christmas Tree Skirt: I’m mining my attic for an old basket right now.
• Washi Tape Ornaments: Give new life to glass or old ornaments with tape.

Table Decor:

• Glitter Deer Table Decorations: Perhaps your child won’t mind losing a few plastic animals?
• Leftovers Labels: Send folks home with labeled boxes.

General Decor:

• Glitter Reindeer: I bet you could do this with any shape — just trace, glue and add glitter!
• Holiday Home: Just enough red to make this modern home sparkle.
• Merry & Bright: It’s all merry and bright, really.

Happiest of weeks to you. Talk to you later in the week! xox

Warmly, Maggie

I didn’t take any of these beautiful photos. Photos appear in order courtesy of: Katie, Donal, Linda, Willow, Scarlett, Willow, Kamran, Robyn, Amanda, Gabriella, Brigitte, Bieb, Frida, Garden and Gun, Debee, Joke, Brooke, Dana, Teri, Jennifer, M.I.Y.N.K., April, and Heidi Murphy/White Loft Studio.

Eat Boutique discovers the best small batch foods by boutique food makers and shares our version of #foodgiftlove. We share recipes, maker stories and city guides to eating boutique. We host tasting events and markets for food makers, cookbook authors and food fans. We craft seasonal, regional gift and tasting boxes and sell individual items that you can order in the Eat Boutique Shop.

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