The typical gift to bring to a get-together is a bottle of wine – but it’s not necessarily the best.
Some people don’t drink alcohol. Others have a plan of what wines they’re pairing with food so they won’t want to open yours, or they’ll snaffle your good bottle and serve you plonk.
In the unlikely event that we ever get it together enough to have a dinner party, we’d like gifts that fulfil William Morris’s criteria: Have nothing in your house that you do notknow to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.
And since you’re bringing them to our home, we’d love them to be locally made too.
Saje Pocket Farmacy
If guests show up with this gift for the morning after, we know what kind of night before we’ll be having. The set of five remedies contains Eater’s Digest and Peppermint Halo for those who’ve indulged too much in the food and booze. There’s also Immune, Stress Release and Pain Release remedies, all of which we can see coming in handy over the holidays.
$99.95, at Saje Natural Wellness and saje.com
La Glace Ice Cream in Spiced Gingerbread
It doesn’t matter what your host has prepped for dessert, ice cream will go with it – particularly if it’s creamy and sweet with a delicate hit of ginger, and comes in this gorgeous glass jar.
$15 for 500ml, at La Glace (2785 W. 16th Ave.)
Barter Sharing Bowl
Kenny Torrance, a maker who is based on the Sunshine Coast, creates beautiful objects for the home, like these handmade bowls, which come in five shades, glazed and unglazed.
$20 for small bowls and $40 for large ones, at barterdesign.ca
The Odd Society Salal Gin
We’re saying no to bottles of wine, but if a guest rocks up with a bottle of gin, they are welcome at our gaff. Gordon Glanz, co-founder of East Van distillery The Odd Society, used salal berries from the Sunshine Coast, Tofino and Cortez Island in his take on Sloe Gin. The result is sweet like blueberries, tart and green, and can be drunk on its own, on the rocks, or with lemon and club soda.
$30 at Odd Society Spirits Distillery (price may vary at private liquor stores)
Harvest Community Foods Holiday Box
Your host is feeding you, so why not return the favour? These boxes contain goodies made in house at Harvest, including organic bread and butter pickles, heirloom apple compote and cocoa nib almond granola, plus a gift certificate for one of Harvest’s famous bowls of soup.
$45, at harvestunion.ca
