I need inspiration, actually. The thread here on gifts for adult children is giving me some ideas for my own two adult kids. The thread on gifts for older folks is helping me with gifts for my parents.
Over the years, most of our friends, along with DH and I, have agreed to stop the gifts and just focus on getting together over the holidays for a special meal and time together. So much nicer! BUT DH still insists on us exchanging gifts with one couple who are dear friends of ours. We love them, and I don't mind the gifting, but I feel tapped out on ideas this year. We usually spend about $150 total and always have a theme. These are a few of the themes I've used in the past.
Past gift basket themes:
* Gardening and birds: bird feeder, special gardening tools, etc. in a garden trug
* Gourmet Dinner: our favorite bottles of wine, our favorite dinner music cd ( Chris Botti's "When I Fall in Love"); fresh pasta, sauces, candles, etc in a picnic hamper.
* Our Favorite Kitchen Things: we hit Williams-Sonoma to pick up the specialty tools, etc. that we love and use.
* New York, New York: (where she was born and raised) music, calendar, books, etc.
* Grilling: Williams-Sonoma's rosewood (?) grilling tools set, sauces, cookbook, spices, plates, serveware
* A Day Out: a gift certificate to a wonderful English tea room; gourmet teas (they drink tea), scones, tea ball, etc. etc.

The thing is, they're our age and really don't need anything. She's a fantastic gourmet cook. They have a gorgeous Craftsman-style, totally custom home, completely decorated in long-collected, much-loved original Craftsman furniture, art and accessories. And, yes, they've had a subscription to magazines that specialize in Craftsman-style homes for many years.

And now, I'm totally drawing a blank when it comes to this year. I would really, really appreciate any and all ideas!
Lynn

P.S. Besides being a gourmet cook herself, their son is a chef with his own very successful local restaurant, so I'm thinking anymore foodie ideas are out, unfortunately. Between them, they now have an overload of cookbooks, utensils, etc.

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by LynninNM on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 18:01