Do you have a home-based chef in your life? This list of unique Christmas gift ideas for your favorite foodie has something sure to please all the food lovers in your life! So pull out your holiday gift list, and take notes on these kitchen-related gift options:
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Unique Gift Ideas For Your Favorite Foodie
1. Tea infuser and leaves
One of the easiest and cutest little gift ideas would be some accessories for making a proper cup of tea, along with some fresh tea leaves. If your foodie is a cat lover as well as a tea lover, a cat tea infuser is perfect. But I also love to give tea-lovers a teabag grabber; it’s such a handy gift for that quick cup of tea with your favorite teabags. And the ultimate gift for tea lovers? An electric teakettle, which brews a fresh pot in minutes and keeps it hot. I LOVE mine, and use it daily in the winter to power me through my work-days.
2. An herb garden
For those of your family who love nothing more than cooking and playing around with different herbs and spices, an herb garden can be the ideal gift to give them and this can be a fun gift for them to use all year long. An herb garden will allow them to use trimmings of herbs to grow plants or to use seeds and grow plants from day one. It will be a super fun project for them and it will add lots of color to their kitchen.
3. Coffee syrups
For a friend or family member who loves nothing more than a good cup of coffee but doesn’t like it straight-up black, some Monin coffee syrups make the ideal festive gift. They’re a great way to add some flavor and fun to that morning cup of coffee throughout the winter. You can also make your own coffee syrups, such as a pumpkin-spiced syrup or a gingerbread one, for an added personal touch to the gift.
4. Grow-your-own chilies
If your favorite foodie also has a green thumb, get them some chili-pepper plants to grow themselves. My chef husband LOVES to grow his own hot peppers every year, and uses them in his cooking regularly. My brother also grows his own chili peppers, and makes them into his signature hot-pepper jellies. A gift like this just keeps on giving throughout the winter and into the warmer months!
5. A KitchenAid mixer
Looking for that special gift for a spouse who loves to cook? If you-all don’t already own one, trust me: a KitchenAid stand mixer would be the best gift ever. We registered for one for our wedding. My husband thought it was an excessive idea at first, but in the decade we’ve been married, HE’S used it more than I have! While I use it for traditional baking-type purposes, Dear Husband has made everything from pizza dough to sausage with it. Look for KitchenAid savings and discounts this Black Friday to save a little money on this ultimate gift.
6. A casserole dish
For someone who enjoys making large pasta bakes and casseroles, what could be better than a Le Creuset dish for them this year? These dishes are stunning, and they come in different colors to suit your recipient’s taste. We have two Le Creuset dishes: a Dutch-oven style enameled cast iron pot that we use at least twice a week, and a 9×12 baking dish that we love. I promise you, your favorite foodie will appreciate (and use!) this gift for years to come.
7. Spices and herbs
Looking for the perfect gift for a food lover who’s tight on space? What about a space-saving spice rack? There are so many compact designs out there for wall-mount and space-saving countertop racks. Keeping your spices in plain sight both keeps them where they’re easy to reach when you’re cooking, and serves as a decorative focal point in a tiny kitchen.
8. Tea towels
For a stocking-stuffer for a friend or family member, you can never go wrong with tea towels. And I don’t mean those gingham-style ones that everyone already has in their kitchen, I’m talking about fun, pretty ones. I know in our house we can always use more tea towels, since our everyday ones get pretty hard use; fun holiday-themed ones are great to brighten up a dreary winter day.
9. Fun bakeware
If your family member loves to bake as well as cook, think about what fun bakeware options they might like. one thing you can definitely think about buying is some fun bakeware. Baking supplies are also a great choice for the youngest chefs in your life; Kimmie has specifically asked for baking-related gifts this Christmas. Think cookie cutters, food colorings, cookie decorations, cupcake-making supplies, and silicone bakeware. I recently bought a silicone donut mold to try making homemade donuts, and the girls and I can’t wait to test it out!
10. Personalized wooden spoon
As far as I’m concerned, every home chef needs at least one wooden spoon? Wooden spoons are perfect for stirring soups and sauces without damaging nonstick cookware. A fun personalized gift, especially for a new homeowner, is a personalized wooden spoon. This is another gift that’s both practical and decorative; when they’re not using it, they can keep it proudly on display in a place of honor.
11. A cute timer
If you know that your recipient sometimes struggles with timing their meals, maybe they could use a good kitchen timer. There are so many cute options to choose from – digital and old-fashioned, animals, carrots, even the famous red-tomato “Pomodoro” kitchen timer. There are even fancier ones that can track multiple cooking times at once!
12. Personalized placemats
If you have a sentimental, family-oriented chef on your Christmas shopping list, think personalized table linens. There’s nothing like personalized placemats, monogrammed napkins, or custom-made coasters for when people come over to dinner. And we’re not just talking traditional monograms here. Think outside the box: perhaps a photo of their beloved pet, favorite vacation memory, or of the whole family gathered together. Personalized gifts are super-fun to create, and sure to be treasured by the recipient!
13. A mug
We had to save the simplest until last, but if you are in doubt about what you should buy for your friend or family member this year the best thing you can do for them is buy them a mug. A mug can have a photo on it, or represent their favorite hobby or animal. And besides traditional ceramic mugs, there are so many great thermal options out there for that cup of coffee on the way to work. Mugs are useful stocking-stuffer gifts for everyday use.
What about you? Do you have a chef in your life who’s on your holiday gift list? What unique gift ideas are you planning to get for your favorite foodie this Christmas? Let us know in the comments!
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