I don't think I'm right and Oprah is wrong, by the way - my posts about Oprah's lists have always only been about whether or not I want the suggested items and generally the answer is NOPE. Of course, everything is seen through the list of my own peculiarities - I hate nuts and jewelry and most perfumes and I'm allergic to pretty much everything and I much, much prefer being the parent of human children instead of dogs. These are subjective opinions and I'm okay not sharing them with everyone.
The only thing I do insist that I'm right about is that you should not give your wife a set of portion control scales for Christmas. THAT IS A BAD IDEA.
Here we go!
Cherry Pie
$60
Hang on, going to fire up "Cherry Pie" by Warrant while I write this.
I don't buy pies, ever. Pies are easy enough to make and pretty much anyone can make a very nice pie and my oldest kid stress-bakes pies by the half dozen on weekends so pies are not an inaccessible luxury item. They're just food and there's no magic to making them and although I don't really have a frame of reference, $60 seems like a lot for a pie.
Now to turn off "Cherry Pie"by Warrant because it is a TERRIBLE song.
Custom Pet Ornaments
$24
"The problem with the dog lovers on your list: They've already got lots of cute framed photos of their furry friends." - Oprah. IS THIS THE PROBLEM WITH THE DOG LOVERS ON MY LIST? Most of the people I know with dogs are perfectly nice, and yet I'm still not getting them an ornament in the shape of their pet with their pet's name on it.
I did scroll through the ornaments looking fore one in the shape of a morbidly obese, surly cat (which I would have then have engraved with Penny's name) but alas.
SKITS Providence Brilliant Table and Cords Shoulder Bag
$425
The problem with $425 bags is that you're either in the income bracket where this IS a reasonable price to pay for a purse or you're just not. And normalizing $425 as the amount that purses cost ignores the fact that for most people, this is a damaging amount to spend.
It's a nice enough bag, of course, but if I spent $425 on a purse, I'd expect it to be able to tuck me inside and walk home on its own when I'm tired. This bag can't, so I don't want it.
Modern Sprout Garden Jar Three-Pack Herb Essentials
$54
These plants are self-watering! It was smart of houseplants to evolve to take care of themselves since I've managed to kill every houseplant I have ever owned because I forget to water them. So now someone can give me the gifts of three glass jars and seeds for FIFTY BUCKS. Whoop-dee-doo.
ED On Air Prelit Marquee Word with rustic metal finish
$32
Oh hey, this is by Ellen. Ellen's so affable and nice but the reviews on this are really poor, which I wish Oprah had checked before she put this on her list. Also, I am super over Words As Art, and wish they would go Live Love Laugh someplace far, far away.
Material Girl puffer vests
$60
The word "puffer" seems to be an easy shorthand for "grievously unflattering" and yet "freezing to death" is also "grievously unflattering." So now the torso of your giftee can be warm and grievously unflattered in either gold, silver or rose gold, which either appeals to you or it doesn't, I guess.
Family Jammies
1. I hate cutesy words like "jammies", "veggies" and "undies." I hate this with a skin-crawling horror. STOP IT! TALK LIKE AN ADULT!
2. And YET nothing would make me feel more festive than the look of dawning horror on my teenagers' faces when everyone opens their MATCHING CHRISTMAS JAMMIES. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!
UP3
$180
This is one of those wearable fitness trackers.
Christmas is - and it makes me sad that this is something that needs saying but anyhow - Christmas is not an ideal time to really passive-aggressively criticize a loved one with a gift that screams "I think you're fat and need to work out more, lardo." This present is a BAD IDEA. Your loved one will not thank you. Do not buy this as a gift.
Also, Never Give The Following
1. Unrequested diet books
2. Unrequested workout DVDs
3. Unrequested gym memberships.
... and so on. An easy thing to remember, when giving a gift, is to ask yourself "Does this gift in any way imply that I think my beloved's body is bad and shameful and needs fixing?". Should the answer be yes, PUT THAT GIFT BACK.
Hesperides Grapefruit Bath & Shower Gel and Body Lotion set
$43
It took me many years to figure out what the connecting factors were in perfumes that I like. I like perfumes with musk, white floral and warm citrus notes, which doesn't seem like something that I should be finally realizing at 43, but there you have it. Which is a long-winded way of saying that I will never smell like Oprah, who seems to like cool citrus and herbal notes. Should you know someone who also likes cool citrus and herbal notes here is a $43 set of bath gel and lotion for them.
Letters To My... Keepsake Books
$15
So. This is a book of 12 fill-in-the-blank letters that your beloved is then supposed to fill out and mail to you, thus giving them The Gift Of Enforced Expression Of Feelings. People LOVE that! By all means get one of these for your husband and I will sit here in the corner, snickering.
(Actually, Oprah suggests getting them and filling them out for your partner but my idea is funnier.)
NYC Weekender
$155
This is hideous, like a rippling boring-coloured caterpillar or some other segmented, yucky tube-shaped bug that only comes in tasteful neutrals.
The Ultimate Lacquer Wardrobe
$150
Fancy nail polishes! Wouldn't this be splendid to get? Isn't it incredibly unlikely that someone will get me $150 in nail polish? Yes and yes.
IMAX Confetti Three-Piece Book-Box Set
$60
"Oh boy! Books!" Beck rips open the package and then sits there, sad and confused, as the books open to reveal nothingness, much like life itself. - Scene from my upcoming play, Bad Christmas Present.
You know what IS a splendid Christmas present? BOOKS I ACTUALLY WANT.
Skandia Talvi Knife Block Set
$150
I am superstitious enough* to never, ever give knives as a present because that would, of course, permanently sever our relationships THROUGH MAGIC.
*I'm very superstitious. I should probably be ashamed of this but I am not, human nature being what it is.
Andre walker hair Experience Kit
$20
It's a travel pack of nice hair things. It's fine. Thinking of witty things to say about Oprah-list products I like is a terrible burden, and more than once I've stumbled across discussions on friends' Facebook pages ABOUT THIS LIST where THEIR friends said I'm not as funny as I used to be, which is an odd sort of thing to read about myself. But being snarky about perfectly nice things is very very hard, and I welcome them to try it.
LuMee Case
$50
A phone case that lights up so you can take really good selfies. Hm. My oldest child has a phone-protecting Otter Box and REALLY loves it and it cost about this much, so I guess this is a fine thing for the teen you know who REALLY loves taking selfies. I have, obviously, no moral ground here.
Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Salt Cellar
$49 for Thomas Keller's 3 favourite salts in a cute wooden box with a pig on it. Uhhh, I can't decide what I think about this. It's fine and nice and also ridiculous? I would be delighted if I got it but I also would be worried that you don't know how money works.
I Love Sundays Oversized V-Neck Comfy
$98
This is a sweatshirt that costs nearly $100, which always strikes me as a lot to pay for sweatshirts which are, by their very nature, schlubby.
Also: what sort of sicko LOVES Sundays? Sundays are the early-to-bed, last dying gasp of the weekend and no fun at all.
Barbie Fashionistas
$10
Hey Barbie! I love Barbie. I love these Barbie dolls and have no time for anti-Barbie thinkpieces written by cheerful-doll-hating buzzkills. I am also delighted that these Barbies are only $10.
Hakuho-do + Sephora Pro Kan Kabe Perfection Brush Set
$198
"I think this is a fancy set," writes Oprah and my gracious, it is. One hundred and ninety eight dollars!
Of course I love it, being who I am, but it's expensive.
High Camp Vine and Bloom Box
$189
A box of gardenias, black calla lilies and purple orchids and this is also pretty fancy. I can't imagine giving a box of nearly two hundred dollars in flowers - and I also really don't like gardenias - but I don't know your life. Perhaps you and your friends regularly exchange large boxes of gloomily beautiful flowers and then languish about, like gorgeous but bored lovesick vampires in a fairly unwatchable Jim Jarmusch film. If this is your life, here is a nice box of flowers for you.
T-Fal OptiGrill
$180
A dishwasher-safe grill! That's kind of spiffy. We love our grill, for what's that worth, and this looks very nice. It is, as I mentioned, REALLY hard to be funny when you think something is fine and also unremarkable.
Sliced-Sapphire Earrings
$275
I think these look like halved beetles, but it's fine that Oprah and I don't agree on earrings. All the more for her.
Park Avenue Faux-Fur Pet Jacket in Chinchilla
$39
THIS IS THE GREATEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. WE WOULD ALL BE STUPID NOT TO BUY ONE. THAT DOG LOOKS MAGNIFICENT.
GapFit Motion Pullover Hoodie and Colorblock Motion gFast Pants
$65 and $70
Did the person you're shopping for ASK for work-out clothes for Christmas? Then here are some nice (I suppose.They're both very green.) work-out clothes for them. Did they NOT ask for work-out clothing? Do you want to passive-aggressively suggest that you think they should work out more? Why are you so mean?
Fujifilm Instax Share Smartphone Printer
$350
This is kind of cool - it makes Polaroid-style printed pictures from photos taken with your phone. Of course, for less than it costs you can buy an actual little instant camera. My oldest kid has one of those and if you have a teenage girl, those are a LOT of fun. The pictures the little camera takes are tiny and I think the printer makes proper-sized photos, so I guess it's your call.
Vicki Saywer Wild & Wooly 7" porcelain appetizer plates
$45
These are so weird and I kind of love them. I've always loved oddball china, and these are delightfully silly.
Present Perfect Freesia & Waterlily: The Complete Collection
$126
"Could somebody please give me this for Christmas?" writes Oprah and I find this so wistful that I'm scraping together $126 to send this to her. Freesia and waterlily, by the way, are among my least favourite scents for bath products. Ew.
Arlington Milne Large Wallets
$150
This is the kind of useful, thoughtful and thoroughly dull gift that I despair of getting. Please don't give me a wallet.
Edited to add: I read a draft of this to someone and they disagreed with this entry VERY MUCH. They received a wallet as a gift last year and LOVED IT. I am alone in the world.
7R Global Carry-On Spinner
$650, $750, $850
Oprah herself notes that these wheeled suitcases are pricey, and she's right, but if you travel a lot, you probably do need solid luggage. Spending money on things that will make hard parts of your life easier is a good idea.
Your Drawing As Foil Art Print
$120 to $447
Letterpressed, foil-pressed or standard art prints of your child's art and my gracious, that's quite a bit of money to spend on your child's drawings and I say this as a mother who has her children's art framed around her house. I find the idea of gilding your children's art fairly off-putting, in the same way I find mothers who always refer to their daughters as "their princess" off-putting. I think that my children's art is perfectly nice on its own and no further embellishments are needed, and I think the same thing about my children themselves. Fully loved! Good enough!
African American Literature and Ernest Hemingway Elephant Sets
$395
Juniper Books makes the most gorgeous book sets I have EVER EVER seen and I could easily spend myself into serious financial hardship just on Jane Austen sets alone. The Oprah sets are ALSO lovely and if I had $395, I'd get the Hemingway set for my dad, since Ernest Hemingway is the Official Author of Dads.
Women's Expedition Down Parka
$299
It's a very nice parka and I could USE a new parka - especially the navy one. That is what you may consider a "hint." (i.e. a direct request) Although I am allergic to down, so don't get me this one.
Teavana Oprah Chai Steep Good Thoughts Set
$90
I do like cute teapot and mug sets and chai is one of my very favourite things and this is obvious from the punishing number of teapots and interesting tins of chai I currently have cluttering up my kitchen so probably I don't need any more until I break some of my current collection.
360 Cookware 6-Piece Stainless Steel Set
$449
Does anyone actually get $450 pots for Christmas? HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED? I'm sure they're lovely pots but I think the whole scenario of receiving pricey pots for Christmas is fictional, and strictly the territory of made-up husbands who don't quite GET why their storybook wives look so sad on Christmas morning.
p.s. Don't get your wife pots for Christmas.
Moroccan Long Scarf in Antique Mustard
$54
Oh boy, mustard! The colour of baby poop and the 1970s, decade of dusty macrame and grody orgies and NEVER EVER the colour of my scarves. Change the colour*, though, and it's lovely. I love a good fluffy scarf.
*acceptable colours, in declining order: Black, grey, purple, ivory, blue, possibly a very soft, gentle pink. That's IT.
Little Creature Boots
$90
Fluffy-wool lined animal boots for kids and my youngest daughter SHRIEKED when she saw them so they are obviously AMAZING.
Beats by Dr. Dre Powerbeats2 Wireless Active Collection in-ear headphones
$200
Two hundred dollar earbuds! It's a risky move, since the lifespan of earbuds is a fleeting, danger-filled thing. These are apparently a very good under-$20 earbud, should you not be in the $200 earbud class.
Black Titanium Five-Piece Set
$60 or $300 for 20 piece set with storage tray
My mom admired these as she flipped through the magazine, which is a whole new side to my mother that I never knew about. Huh. I can't reconcile the mom I know with a love of dramatic black flatwear.
Melange Drawstring Sweatpants
$195
Pricey sweat-clothing BOGGLES MY MIND. The word "SWEAT" is IN THE VERY NAME! Throwing money at it doesn't suddenly make you look like you're not depressed if you're out in public in sweatpants. Having said that, these are pretty nice, even if I am incredibly unlikely to spend CLOSE TO TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS on a PAIR OF SWEATPANTS.
Boxed Letterpressed Coaster
$25
Has anyone in the history of the world opened up a box of coasters and had their heart leap with joy? The answer is no, of course not. I can see contexts where coasters are an appropriately indifferent gift (mostly at workplace gift exchanges, I'd imagine) and coasters are ALWAYS on gift suggestion lists and yet NO ONE LIKES THEM. It's a mystery!
21-Day Meditation Transcendence Trio
$100
"BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE"! My gracious. "MANIFESTING TRUE SUCCESS."
I don't want this to such a life-affirming extent that it feels delightful simply not to own it.
What I do want, however, is this and now I have put it out into the universe and it will surely come to me. Magic!
Personalization Strap Key Rings
$50
"Your plain Jane rolling suitcase can stand out from the baggage carousel crowd when adorned with this beautiful leather luggage tag," writes Oprah, master of hyperbole, because this is a plain leather loop and so boring that I burst into tears when I got to this part of the list and realized how much longer I have to go.
Play 5
$499
A lovely wireless speaker and my very favourite thing on the most boring page of gift suggestions, which started with the mom-approved flatwear and goes all the way to the odd shot glasses. It's $500, though, so there's no way I'm getting it.
Animal Shot Glass Holiday Collection
$80 for 5
LOOK AT THESE THINGS. They are JUST the angular, slightly satanic-looking gift for the supervillian on your gift list. I don't currently know any supervillains, but my middle child promises that he might be the kind of computer genius who eventually goes bad. If this does happen, I will both despair AND get him these shot glasses for his evil lair's bar cart.
Oprah suggests giving these with a bottle of tequila, and ever since she wrote about fine sipping tequila a few years back, I've been giving people bottles of tequila and requesting that they sip some in front of me. This gets a mixed reception.
Oprah's Favourites Lip Gloss Set
$40
Thank goodness I'm on a new page now. These are very nice! I have nothing sarcastic to say about them. Lovely. Moving on.
iPhone 6 Plus and Watch Sport 38 mm rose gold aluminum case with lavender sports band
$749, $349
Normally I'd worry about spending so much money on something that is going to go out of fashion as quickly as rose gold will certainly do, but since iPhones become obsolete almost instantly, my concerns are moot.
Philips Avance Pastamaker
$300
My oldest child - the piemaker mentioned earlier - also likes to make pasta and roll it out by hand. This has nothing to do with this expensive pasta maker, which I'm sure is fine, but it's more fun to brag about my kid then to than to endlessly write about luxury goods that I do not want.
Layflat Photo Album
$119
"Gayle went gaga" over these, the description starts, which is both descriptive AND a fun tongue-twister. I like giving photo books to the kids' great-grandmothers, who already have enough of everything else.
Golden Rabbit Enamelware Swirl Roasting Sets
$107
The word "Rabbit" in this roasting pan's name keeps throwing me. Am I to roast rabbits in it? I mean, that's FINE - I'm sure rabbits would be tasty roasted... having read the description, it's meant for lasagna. That's a bit of a let-down. I was hoping that roasted rabbits would be this year's Love Sandwich but alas.
Peace Love Oprah Fleece Zip Hoodies
$60
The front says "LOOK AHEAD IN A NEW DIRECTION" which is good advice. WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING. I don't particularly want these, but maybe you do.
Creative Co-Op Stoneware Mini Bakers
$32
Oh my gosh, those are adorable. Making wee individual shepherd's pies for everyone is EXACTLY the sort of thing I enjoy wasting my time on and also exactly why more high-minded people despair of me ever making something of myself.
Foot Treatment Gift Set
$102
I find this expensive for what it is: cream, soaking salts and socks - but nice footcare products are both pleasant to own AND disturbing to receive as gifts. I mean, I'd happily use it but I'd also wonder what you were saying about my feet and perhaps this is more about me being really touchy. Hm.
Personalized Large Vertical and Round Cutting Boards
$159
"For a yummy girt, I would load up these personalized cutting boards... with an assortment of cheese and salamis," writes Oprah and I am making a very Homer Simpson-esque doughnut noise right now because I pretty much would love the cheese and salami aspect of this, while remaining coolly indifferent to having my name on a cutting board.
The Color Purple on Broadway tickets
$75-$195
This would be a fine, thoughtful gift for a friend who is able to attend.
Echo
$180
My children love playing with Siri to a distressing extent and I have to wander away from my computer to be annoyed at the VERY MEMORY of this, so obviously what we REALLY need is a permanently-on Siri installed in the middle of our living room that my children could pester FOREVER. BUT ALAS! This is not available in Canada. Woe.
Women's Cashmere Aran Turtleneck and Men's Cashmere Cable Crew
$369, $398
If you're going to spend close to $400 on a cashmere sweater for me - and please don't do this, I'm too much of a Calvinist to ever enjoy it - please do not get me a bulky and unflattering turtleneck fisherman's sweater. No, get me a black trim v-neck sweater so I can look really fetching as I am racked with undeserving guilt.
Canteens
$20-$33
"It may look like a regular water bottle," writes Oprah, "But when Adam told me this triple insulated stainless steel vessel... is the perfect size to tote a carafe's worth of rosé , I was sold!"
Icons Gift Box
$120
These are 2 pounds of chocolate in the shape of gilded religious icons and they cost $120. What is with Oprah and her desire to have people eat religious statuary? Does anyone else find this as off-putting as I do?
Sonic Snow Tubes
$150
Did you know that Oprah has a sledding hill at her Telluride house, and if you visited her, you could use these plaid snow tubes for sliding? Doesn't that sound nice? It does! Much nicer than eating blasphemous chocolates, by a long shot.
Typhoon Vision Electronic Scales
$65
This is LITERALLY a way to restrict the amount of food that goes into your loved one's mouth. Hey, wanna know what's not in any way loving? Giving someone a gift that says "YOU NEED TO RESTRICT HOW MUCH FOOD YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH." And yes, maybe they DO need to restrict the amount of food they put in their mouths. Christmas Day is NOT THE DAY to deal with this.
Now, maybe the person on your list SPECIFICALLY ASKED for this and in that case, by all means, but maybe get them something fun to go with it, too, because portion control scales as a Christmas present seems MUCH TOO EMOTIONALLY LOADED.
American Beagle Outfitters Antler Beanie
$13
"Dog owners love when you love their dogs," writes Oprah, and dream on, dog lovers! At best I will find your dog bearable but it's far more likely that I'll find your dog annoying and wish fervently that it was spending my visit romping in a nice yard or napping in another room or living on a faraway farm with a gentle, soft-headed farmer. The only dog I feel any degree of affection for is my parent's hard-working Border Collie, Buddy, and I have too much respect for him to get him a silly reindeer hat. I'm getting Buddy a nice box of dog treats instead because he's a GOOD BOY.
Pave Birthstone Stacking Rings
$22 each or $48 for 3
I linked to the peridot ring - my birthstone - to show my primary issue with birthstone jewelry, which is namely that the peridot looks like a shiny booger and is never included in any non-birthstone jewelry for that very reason. These are, I say very grudgingly, nice enough.
Nightshirts
$68
"I told my therapist about you"? Get me a nightshirt that says that and I'll be crying quietly all Christmas morning - or even worse, nobly pretending to be brave about having hurt feelings. Festive! Mean humour is a great way to openly insult the person you're obligated to give a present to but don't like, and this shirt is a great way to be really nasty at Christmas. Perhaps you should not do this.
Coltellerie Berti cheese Knife Set in Red Lucite
$425!
"Pair it with the recipient's favorite cheese for a truly personal gift." I think the issue here is how each of us defines the word "personal," which apparently now means "3 expensive knives and some cheese." Do I think a selection of my favourite cheeses is a good gift? MY GRACIOUS, YES. Feel free to skip the knives. I'd like us to stay friends.
Special Edition Keith Haring Mia 2 in Dance, Love and Pop
$149
A Clarisonic face brush printed with the art of late artist, Keith Haring.
Three things that Keith Haring was passionate about
1. AIDS awareness and research
2. The non-marginalization of gay sexuality
3. Rich ladies having really clean pores.
Finally! A product that brings all 3 together!
In all fairness, these raise money for very worthwhile causes and if the person on your list really wants a Clarisonic brush, this is a fine one but I still find using artists' works in contexts like this off-putting.
VertuoLine Evoluo Esoresso and Coffee Maker
$199
"There are pod people, and there are espresso people, and never the twain shall meet," writes Oprah.
Pod people!
Love Letter Keychains
$15
Well, that's cute. My mom, who is wise, always keeps her keys on a Daffy Duck keychain, so she can easily find them in her purse by finding Daffy's little splayed legs. I imagine a big pompom would easily serve the same purpose and would make a nice stocking stuffer.
Kristin Classic Slim Ugg Boots
$160
They're UGGs, although they're not as strongly Goodbye To Sex! as most Uggs. My main concern with them is the "subtle wedge" which seems to strongly contradict my primary goal in winter, which is to not wipe out on the ice. It's no good looking tall if I'm laying on my butt in the snow, IS IT.
Women's Touch Sensor Fleece Gloves
$24
They're fleece gloves in cute colours and that's all I can think of to say about them.
Maison Pebeyre Truffle Set
$124
"Anyone who knows me knows I love my truffles," writes Oprah. I feel like that about the Big Turk chocolate bar and yet I'm still unlikely to gift all of my loved ones with them because a) I'm greedy and b) they're leaden souls who do not appreciate the subtle deliciousness of the Big Turk chocolate bar and so it is with truffles, which are yucky.
Ginger Syrup and Ginger Infused Honey Gift Set
$38
Ginger has "healthful benefits"? THIS IS AMAZING NEWS. Now, while I'm burning my sinuses out eating a whole bag of ginger candy in one go, I can totally justify it to myself under the all-important umbrella of Good Health. Hooray!
Giant and Signature Turtle Baskets
$500 and $90
15 pounds - FIFTEEN POUNDS - of chocolate turtles in a 5 pound edible basket? That sounds like one of those ancient Roman recipes for suicide. Eat two pounds of salt! Eat 20 pounds of turtles!
Beyond that, who WANTS this? Would't they get all dusty and nasty before you ate half of them? Wouldn't you get profoundly sick of chocolate turtles and of life itself?
Gift Set of Six Artisan Cheeses
$80
These sounded delicious until I read that they're made of raw cows milk and now I must say no thank you because I like pasteurization.
Elvis Drizzle Cake
$42
This cake has a lot going on - it's a vanilla cake with banana custard and peanut butter buttercream and chocolate ganache and PICK ONE THING AND GO WITH THAT, CAKE. I feel the same thing about complicated cakes that I feel about complicated men: no thank you. I like my men (all one of them) to be cheerful and easily understood and THE SAME GOES FOR CAKES.
A&B American Style Three-Pack of Original, with Garlic, and More Heat
$30
A three-pack of hot sauce and I actually have someone in my life who would ADORE this. People who like hot sauce REALLY like hot sauce, I find.
Best Wishes Steak Banquet
$80
Good gracious - 6 steaks, 6 fancy stuffed baked potatoes and 6 chocolate molten lava cakes? I think much of my household would weep with sheer pleasure to get this because we are a simple people and this sounds PERFECT. Of course, this comes with the SERIOUS caveat to make sure that your gift recipient is a red-meat eating non-vegetarian but that's my only concern.
Square One Vodka 5 Pack
$175
Imagine getting a 5 pack of flavoured vodkas for Christmas. I mean, it would be nice if you could drink vodka (I can't and neither can a lot of people that I know), but even if you could, wouldn't it be a shade strange to be given so much vodka in one go?
Chelsea Market Baskets Torres Black Truffle Chip Basket
$65
"I discovered these potato chips in Spain this summer," writes Oprah and I've spent my life rapidly alienating people as quickly as I can and yet even I know that saying that you found your favourite kind of truffle potato chips while on holiday in Spain is a mite alienating.
Challah Menorah
$45
My thoughts about this are fully expressed by this excellent, five-star review: "Oprah agrees; nothing beats a Menorah artistically handcrafted using the subtle shapes of intertwining bread penises."
Ilvento's Proprio Italiano Doppio Delizioso Basket
$53
Every year, my review of the Oprah list winds down with me hungrily liking everything on the last bit of it, because that's where she keeps the food suggestions and I am always STARVING. Still, pasta sauces and pasta aren't precisely luxury items and I don't generally give groceries as gifts.
Pappas Seafood Co. signature crab cakes
$135
"Stedman can't get enough of these," apparently, and there is the lone appearance of my favourite man of mystery in the whole list. I've never eaten a crab cake so you'll have to let me know how much I'm missing out.
Gourmet Jam Set
$27
Fancy jams are a nice enough sort of thing to give to people you don't know very well, and I'm sure these are fine. If you make jam, that's an even BETTER gift, of course.
Oprah Bruffin Bundle
$85 for 12 muffins! It's a deal!
Muffins - and I say this more in sadness than in anger - are not hard to make. They are very, very easy. If you're so rich that money is now only an abstract concept: here are some muffins. They cost an apparently random amount of money and are possibly made of gold.
11 pound panforte wheel
$340
It's full of nuts! Nothing makes a baked good like throwing in handfuls of gross nuts so I can pretend that I'm chewing on a mouthful of nasty gravel. And although food gifts seem like an inoffensive, safe thing to give people you don't know very well, a lot of people - like me - are SUPER allergic to nuts OR wisely just hate nuts (also like me) so probably skip the nuts in baked goods for people unless you know for sure that they can eat them.
Also THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY BUCKS FOR A CAKE! I am FLABBERGASTED.
Xocolatti Tower
$75
Well, these are expensive but nice and with "unexpected" flavours like mango paprika and rose almond, I can have a really fun time playing food allergy roulette.
AND I AM DONE! I am at my very favourite part of the year, the part where I am the longest length of time away from having to write this wretched list for A WHOLE YEAR! I AM SO HAPPY! And I hope you and your family are as well. Merry Christmas! Happy holidays!
