gifts

[Guest guest]

On Thu, 2 Nov 2000 15:52:23 -0500, you wrote:

 

>I am hoping someone can help me. I have someone at work who is Vegan, no

>honey, milk, cheese... that stuff, but she said she will eat normal sugar.

>I am trying to come up with some food gifts that I can give to people that I

>work with (I am thinking I just might make dog and cat treats instead, it

>will be easier, and she doens't keep her dogs vegan). Anyway, does anyone

>have any ideas? I can't have anything too expensive (we're hoping to hear

>about whether a contract on a house is accepted, and we'll be moving during

>December if it is.) I hope this isn't too much of a problem. 8(

>

How about a tray (basket?) of dried fruits and nuts? A

basket of herb teas (Celestial Seasonings brand) and a

little tea pot? Some gourmet coffee (flavored?) in a pretty

mug?

 

Pat

[Guest guest]

P.S. about that Cranberry Apple Butter -- I also made my own labels

(in Print Shop) for the jars and tied thin red & green Xmas ribbon

around the jar rims.

 

Karen

[Guest guest]

I am vegan, and I just love flavored popcorn! Like curry popcorn, or

something like that. I think we've had some recipes for it . . . wrap some

up in a neat container and it's a cool gift!

 

>

> Jennifer Sommerville [sMTP:cuttle]

> Thursday, November 02, 2000 3:52 PM

> Veg-Recipes

> Gifts

>

> I am hoping someone can help me. I have someone at work who is Vegan, no

> honey, milk, cheese... that stuff, but she said she will eat normal sugar.

> I am trying to come up with some food gifts that I can give to people that

> I

> work with (I am thinking I just might make dog and cat treats instead, it

> will be easier, and she doens't keep her dogs vegan). Anyway, does anyone

> have any ideas? I can't have anything too expensive (we're hoping to hear

> about whether a contract on a house is accepted, and we'll be moving

> during

> December if it is.) I hope this isn't too much of a problem. 8(

>

> JJ

>

> " More people will die from hit-or-miss eating than from hit-and-run

> driving. " - Duncan Hines

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

At 03:52 PM 11/2/00 -0500, Jennifer Sommerville wrote:

 

>I am hoping someone can help me. I have someone at work who is Vegan...

>I am trying to come up with some food gifts that I can give to people that I

>work with (I am thinking I just might make dog and cat treats instead, it

>will be easier, and she doens't keep her dogs vegan). . .

 

Well, I'd bet the dogs would eat them anyway .

 

Is she partial to any particular cuisine (or want to know more about it)?

 

You could give her a Indian-style package of Basmati (preferably brown) rice,

dahl (eg. lentils, yellow split peas, etc.), some chutney and/or

chapatis. Include some recipes incorporating these ingredients. You could do

this for other cuisines too.

 

Mexican/Southwestern: fill a package with pinto, pink or Anasazi beans, salsa,

whole wheat tortillas, an avocado and some recipes. It would probably be

easier to locate the recipes first, then put together the ingredients.

[Guest guest]

> F>Hi all,

> >I accidentally sent my message before I was able to finish it. Basically I

> >wanted to see how others deal with family and friends that are not

> particularly >ike-minded and what

> >has worked for you. We love our families and we don't want to alienate

> them, >but we do want them to respect our wishes with regard to our child.

> >Thanks!

> >Caroline

 

I figured I should add to this too. In the past we've gotten a lot of presents

that haven't been to our taste. Last Christmas we managed to overcome that. I

registered online

for what I considered to be appropriate toys, books, and videos at e-Toys (which

since has closed down but you can do the same with a wish list at Amazon.com).

I am not enamored

of these companies, but I know that my in-laws will shop from places like this

anyway, so I figured I might as well just direct them to gifts at these places

that I approve of.

I felt a little embarassed about telling them I had done this, so when they

asked for gift suggestions, I casually let them know that I had lists to " remind

myself " what I wanted

to get the girls, and they jumped at the chance to look at them. I also

mentioned that we are always happy to get memberships to local child-friendly

museums and the zoo and that

there are always classes that I would love to sign the girls up for.

 

They ended up giving us mostly what we had registered for and some money to join

or sign up for something. We used it for a membership to the local children's

museum. Of course

they did throw a few of their own things in, but they were pretty minor compared

to the rest of the stuff, and mostly they actually seeemed to pick up on the

idea of the kind of

toys we want. The big problem was that they got way, way, way too many toys for

the girls. I registered for a lot so they would have a good choice, and they

got almost

everything :-( I ended up saving the few presents I had personally gotten for

the girls to give them at a later time and felt rather resentful about that. I

took a few weeks to

bring my girls back to normal after that week of major indulgence (their

birthdays are both the same week as Christmas so things get very intense).

 

If my in-laws weren't internet-savvy, I would anonymously put them on mailing

lists for favorite catalogs (Chinaberry Books being my most absolute favorite)

and just hope they

would get the hint.

 

My family is so much easier. They actually give good books and Waldorf toys

(both my sister and I went to Waldorf schools) and things they find at garage

sales. They figure

each child is entitled to no more than one gift from each family member, so that

keeps things reasonable. They are even willing to wait until a few weeks after

Christmas to get

together so that the presents don't all come at the same time.

 

To me, the worst is really the overabundance of gifts. I really hate that. My

girls start acting as if they deserve gifts, and if something isn't as flashy as

the next, they

start to get obnoxious about it. This is so unlike them the rest of the year

and so different from how I have tried to raise them. Any ideas on how to stop

that?

 

Deirdre

 

Deirdre

[Guest guest]

Deirdre asked:

 

<<To me, the worst is really the overabundance of gifts. I really hate

that. My girls start acting as if they deserve gifts, and if something

isn't as flashy as the next, they start to get obnoxious about it. This

is so unlike them the rest of the year and so different from how I have

tried to raise them. Any ideas on how to stop that?>>

 

We have a book we read each holiday season about a boy who helped Santa

by giving all of his unused toys to other children. Also, we give toys

to a local women & children's shelter each year. She's too little to do

much else yet, but I anticipate other volunteer activities in her

future!

 

Also, I have trained most of the people in my life to understand that I

don't give presents except to immediate family, but that I *love*

spending quality time with them as a holiday treat. This has set up

some nice traditions (like afternoon tea with my best friend and her

daughter at holiday-time). It also models the fact that presents aren't

the most important things in life: people are.

 

One thing I did with my dad, who grew up in a family where people " told "

you how much they loved you by how nice a present they bought you, was

to insist that he *not* bring presents to my daughter except for her

birthday and Christmas. I explained to him that it might feel weird at

first, but soon he would realize that the joy he saw on her face

whenever she saw him had nothing to do with hoping for a gift. It took

a few years, but he now acknowledges that I was right. Success!!!!!!!!

 

As for what to do with those unwanted gifts from well-meaning friends &

family....there's always some school or non-profit organization looking

for donations of goods -- for silent auctions, raffles & things like

that.

 

Liz