Jeanette Nyberg of Craftwhack and I are back for year two to bring you a holiday shopping series. Today we are back with our ever-popular gifts to steal from loved ones. Our clever idea was to gift something that you can steal, share, or snag a taste of. A gift for you is a gift for “us.” We’re sneaky that way. Her post is here.
November 3, 2015: Gifts That Give Back (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 10, 2015: DIY Gift Ideas (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 17, 2015: Gender Bending Gifts for Kids (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
November 24, 2015: Gifts to Steal from Loved Ones (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
December 1, 2015: Left Brain/Right Brain Gifts for Kids (Hers, Mine) (Last year’s: Hers, Mine)
Cook Books
Cookbooks are the gift that keeps on giving … imagine your loved one making food out of that cookbook for everyone to enjoy! Kids and teens are also learning a great life skill. I also really like this new hybrid of cookbooks: the cookbook memoir. Sometimes it’s in the guise of a cookbook; other times it’s a paperback that looks like a novel but has recipes at the end of every chapter. I like them all!
Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes by Peter Meehan and the editors of Lucky Peach magazine
Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food by Nigella Lawson
My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life by Ruth Reichl
The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by J. Kenji López-Alt
Kitchen Gadget
Panini Press from Cuisinart, $80
Last year, our girls clamored for a Panini Press which they claimed would solve their after-school hunger woes. They said that they would be able to make their own snack as well. As it turns out, they were right. We did get a lot of use out of the Panini Press. PickyKidPix also figured out how to make waffles on it because, of course, we don’t own a waffle iron. (Note that I do not recommend it for making waffles. It works but it’s messy.)
Ninja Professional Blender, $120
We have a blender that my husband and I received as a wedding present and we just celebrated our twentieth anniversary. Needless to say, there is much complaining in our household about the inability of our blender to make a decent smoothie. PickyKidPix has been running tests on the blenders at her friends’ house: Ninja versus Vitamix. She can honestly say that the Ninja won, hands down, in her opinion.
Crepe Maker, $40
PickyKidPix loves crepes and will go to great lengths to make us stop at a crepe stand, which, living in Boston, is not plentiful. Hence, she convinced me to buy her a crepe maker. It’s a lot trickier than it looks but then, that’s why there are crepe stands. She also watched endless crepe makers at work on YouTube. They make it look so easy. This guy is her favorite.
Keurig Kold Drinkmaker, $370
My kids covet this but it’s pricey! It only makes sense if you are never going to buy bottled drinks again including sodas, seltzers, iced teas, sports drinks, and flavored waters. Do the math, though. It might be worth it. You still have to buy the K-Cups so factor that into your analysis.
Health & Exercise
Exercise is another gift that keeps on giving. Your loved one gets more fit and healthier. The endorphins also keep everyone happy. You are giving away happiness. And you can borrow the device for yourself.
Withings Smart Body Analyzer WS-50, $150
Use this high-tech scale to pinpoint your weight and body composition. It gives you high-accuracy weight and body fat measurements, as well as your Body Mass Index. Pick the right body type to optimize the fat mass measurement — if you exercise vigorously on a regular basis, switch to “Athlete mode”.
Kitchen Artisan Maximum Juice Extractor, $150
The three pulp screens allow you to create either low-pulp or high-pulp juices, sauces, and jams. Attaches to the multipurpose attachment hub of your Kitchen Aid mixer to let the power of the stand mixer juice your fruit and vegetables with ease.
Indulgent Treats
Minamoto Kitchoan Wagashi Japanese Confections
My mother loves Japanese mochi confections. When I lived in West Los Angeles near Sawtelle Avenue which is like a mini Japantown, I would bring her some. There are a few Japanese confectionary bakeries where my mom lives but this one in New York City is world-famous. I send her a gift box with all her favorite things though, it turns out, my kids like a different variety.
This is my mom’s favorite. Tsuya is sweetened red bean paste is wrapped around two fluffy sweet pancakes. 5 pieces for $18.
My kids love these Japanese “cookies” called Fukuwatashi Senbei. The crunchy wafer cookies are filled with buttery vanilla cream. 7 cookies for $19.
Both my mom and my kids like Maccha Mochi, sweet red bean paste, and maccha powder in a delicate mochi. 8 pieces for $15.
Lake Champlain Chocolate
Chocolate-dipped dried apricots, $30
These dried apricots are glacéd so they are extra sweet and slightly sticky.
LA Burdick
Chocolate-dipped fruit assortments, are $28 for small and $52 for a large wooden box filled with these delicacies.
Gender Neutral Cologne
Lime Basil from Jo Malone, $75
154 Cologne from Jo Malone
Tech
Beats Pill, $155
I received a Beats Pill for Mother’s Day last year because my husband knew that I needed a speaker for my mini-boxing gym in the basement. It’s a great portable speaker that gets “borrowed” a lot. It comes in many colors but I love my red one!
GoPro Hero 4, $349
This is what my husband wants but would let me steal, and believe me, I have plans for what I can do with a Go Pro Video Camera!!
Men’s Cashmere Scarf
Paul Smith Multistripe Knit Scarf, $150
Paul Smith Rainbow Knit Scarf, $120
What ideas have you come up with to steal from your loved ones? I’d love to hear about your ideas and let the stealing (or sharing if you are nice), begin!
To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Parenting Village on Pinterest.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
First off, you are making me hungry. INteresting about the Ninja- we’ve had our Vitamix for years and I love it! And now I want to buy a panini maker so my kids can just make ALL their own meals.
Hi Jeanette,
I have to say that the panini maker has converted my kids into chefs. We still haven’t pulled the trigger on the new blender though and my kids are so unhappy about our ancient one! 20 years old and still working (but just not powerful at all).
The crepe maker you recommended is a great gift opportunity. You’re completely correct, making crepes isn’t easy so the crepe maker is a very useful gadget to have.
Hi Anton,
Our crepe maker didn’t work very well unfortunately.