Ready for the Holidays? Gifting Ideas and Light

Dec 10, 2024 by Chef David

By: The Jewish Voice And Opinion Staff

Giving a gift should be an expression of thanks, without the obligation to reciprocate. It is possible to add personalization and care when giving gifts by making a thoughtful selection. Personalization is not engraving their name on the gift, it is giving something the recipient wants, rather than a cute dust-collecting item (unless that is something they would like). A thoughtful, practical gift should reflect the recipients’ interests and show forethought.

Gifting benefits both the recipient and gift giver activating core areas of our brain associated with reward and pleasure. Since stressing to find the right gift under a time crunch can diminish your happiness, we have developed a list of unusual, practical items.

Small but Powerful

ThermoWorks believes temperature affects daily life and makes thermometers that can make life better. ThermoWorks is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has decades of experience in the temperature measurement and instrumentation industries. [In our April 2024 article we introduce the ThermoPop 2 which makes a great gift for the cook in your family]

• ThermoDrop – For people who want to know the temperature. ThermoDrop is so small and portable that can attach to a key ring or a jacket zipper. It is water resistant and has a large back-lit auto-rotating display. ThermoDrop comes in a variety of bold colors. Designed for indoor or outdoor temperatures, ranging from  -13 to 122°F.

It is also perfect for fridges, freezers – or anywhere you want to know the temperature.

Dash – known for cooking devices in a collection of bright-colored miniature items. We used their mini rice maker, dreidel waffle maker, and full-sized hand blender. Dash miniature products are designed for small spaces and for preparing small servings.

• Mini Rice cooker is designed for single-serving portions of rice, quinoa, oatmeal, or pasta. Add rice and water – dinner will be served in less than 20 minutes. It has a ‘keep warm’ function which keeps cooked food ready to serve without overheating. Clean-up is easy with its nonstick removable pot.  [We tested the min-rice maker, and found it to be non-stick, easy to use and to clean]
• Dreidel Waffle Maker will become a holiday classic (we are looking forward to using it this Chanukah). It makes 4” waffles with a dreidel print on one side and a classic waffle pattern on the other. Dual PTFE nonstick cooking surfaces make it easy to remove your waffle and clean. It heats quickly and evenly for cooking mini waffles. It is small, measuring 2.8″ x 6.4″ x 5.0″, and weighs 1.5 pounds. [We tested the waffle maker and found it to be non-stick and easy to use]
• Hand Blender is a 5-speed handheld immersion blender that comes with both blender and whisk attachments. It comes in a variety of colors to coordinate with your kitchen (and for distinguishing dairy, meat, and pareve). It is ideal for making blended soups and sauces.

For Foodies

Eden Foods is a natural foods company that began in southern Michigan in 1968. It began as a cooperative where members searched for farmers to grow food using organic methods. Then it morphed into a natural food store with an extensive line of kosher foods, with over 300 products currently certified by the OK, all available online.

• Eden Totes – Gift baskets for the health-conscious foodie. We sampled the Fruit Tote which includes Apple Cherry Butter, Dried Wild Blueberries, Dried Cranberries, Montmorency Dried Cherries, Apple Strawberry Sauce, and Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate.

Everything is organic and comes in an attractive canvas tote bag.

For tea lovers, they have a Tea Time Tote (which is seasonally perfect). It includes a Glass Mug, Sencha Green Tea, Hojicha Chai Tea, Chamomile Tea, Kukicha Twig Tea, Sencha Rose Tea, and an Infuser Spoon.

Other kosher gift options include:

• • Apple Butter Tote (Apple and Apple Cherry butter)
  • Pasta Tote (Kamut Spaghetti, Kamut & Quinoa Twisted Pair, Vegetable Spirals, Spaghetti Sauce, Extra Virgin Spanish Olive Oil, Great Northern Beans, Crushed Tomatoes, Pizza Pasta Sauce)
  • Edensoy Tote
  • Snack Tote (Pumpkin Seeds, Tamari Roasted Almonds, Dried Wild Blueberries, Cranberries, Dried Tart Cherries, Quiet Moon, Wild Berry Mix, Pistachios)
  • Picnic Tote (Tamari Roasted Almonds, Spicy Pumpkin Seeds, Wild Berry Mix, Apple Cinnamon Sauce, Sauerkraut, Yellow and Brown Mustard)
  • Gluten-Free Whole Grain Tote (Red Quinoa, Buckwheat, Popcorn, Millet, Short Grain Brown Rice Flakes)
  • Popcorn Bowl (Enamelware Popcorn Bowl, Yellow Popcorn, Safflower Oil, Portuguese Sea Salt, Garlic Gomasio, Quiet Moon – which is a blend of seeds, tamari roasted almonds, Montmorency dried tart cherries, and raisins.)

Light Up The Night

Upgrade your holiday table or add light to your backyard. Lights can add ambiance to your surroundings, and both of these products do not need to be plugged into an outlet, which makes it possible to place them almost anywhere.

• BrightTech – Solar String Lights are vintage Edison-style bulb string lights with exposed filaments that give off a warm glow. The bulbs are made of plastic – so they will not break, and are easy to use.

Place the photocell light sensor where it will get direct sunlight, to charge the solar panel (BrightTech provides two options for supporting the solar panel, a strong metal clip or a stake).  Turn the switch to ON. The lights will turn on automatically at dusk.

The strings come in two sizes 27′ (12 sockets, 20′ apart) or 48′ (15 sockets 3′ apart).

These string lights can be hung in your Sukkah or around your patio. Make your outdoors a welcoming gathering place.

Zafferano –  Zafferano America was established in 2019 selling homeowners and businesses cordless lamps in 27 different styles, in 39 colors and finishes.

• Poldina-Pro is a portable, rechargeable LED lamp for indoor or outdoor use. The lamp has a rechargeable battery which is powered from a charging base. Each charge lasts 9+ hours.

Tapping the top of the lamp controls the on/off,  dimming, and three-color temperature (candlelight, warm white, and bright white). Both the lamp and shade are made of die-cast aluminum (weighing 3 pounds) Poldia-Pro lamps are available in a wide variety of colors.

We noticed similar stylish lamps adorn tables in restaurants in NYC.

Poldina table lamps add focused illumination. They are portable for outdoor or indoor dining.

We thought the dimming functionality was clever, although initially, it was a bit confusing. Poldina-Pro is a well-made family family-friendly candle substitute and a great way to add ambiance to the holiday table or a romantic evening.

The Art of Gifting

There is no reason to restrict gifts to holidays or restricted to store-bought items, hand crafted items make meaningful gifts as well. Giving and receiving gifts are both satisfying providing happiness – the “warm glow of giving” leaves a warm fuzzy feeling that creates a glow of kindness. We believe that gifting should be more impulsive, when you find a gift that you believe someone will like, buy it and give it joyfully.

Let the holidays be a time of joy, light, and gratitude.  Take the time to reflect, relax, and enjoy friends and family.