It’s a cracker
Crystal stemware makes wine taste even better and creates a beautiful display afterwards in a glass cabinet (Orianna glasses by Tipperary Crystal €52.50 for two).
For the friend whose home is too small for a real tree or who doesn’t like the bother of decorating, buy them the Margareta fabric tree to mount on board or pin to the wall as a hanging (€7 p/m, gift bag decorations €8 for 24 at Ikea).
Pop a Camembert into this cheese baker and leave in the oven for 15 minutes. Lift the lid and dip crackers and crusty bread into its oozing yumminess (from Next Interiors €16).
Extinguish your post dinner scented candles safely with the Peacock ornate snuffer (€9.50 at Meadows & Byrne).
IN a fleeting moment of spell-binding domestic sorcery I conjured up a vat of homemade mincemeat. My house smelled of Christmas as I ladled the glistening unctuousness into jars and sealed them with frilly pink gingham caps while indulging a fancy of handing them to awed and grateful friends.
The intention was to follow with a conjuring of wreaths decked out with flutterings of dried hydrangea petals and finished with a flourish of ribbon. But I never quite got further than intent, and as November presses onward the shops with their convenient goodies beckon and the dream of a homemade gift bonanza is shelved for another year.
The dreaded shopping season is upon us and all the obligatory gift giving it involves, which year on year becomes a greater tax on our imagination to give something novel that won’t be dispatched to the charity shop in January, or as has happened to me, returned unwittingly as a gift for my birthday.
Not that I minded in the slightest as what I had bought was a witty little clock by an up-and-coming Irish designer. The sort of thing I would like to receive and assumed they would too but didn’t, so lesson learned. The following year I bought them wine and a tin of chocolate-coated Kimberley which were very well received.
They say it’s the thought that counts and that’s exactly the point. Giving some thought to a gift can save a great deal of leg work and sweating through the mass of shoppers. If you can’t think of a suitable personal gift, buy something for the home and engage the brain to match the gift to the recipient’s taste. In other words, don’t buy that grey cushion with an edgy urban print if your friend’s home is a sanctuary for abandoned chintz.
A very safe option at this time of year is something Christmas themed like a kitsch Rudolph cake stand, a red and white tablecloth, a selection of Christmas decorations or serving bowls featuring Santa Claus and his reindeer. Kitsch may not go down well at other times of the year, but Christmas is the one occasion where a bit of silliness and lack of refinement is acceptable and even encouraged before it’s all stored away for next year.
Otherwise opt for practicality. There isn’t a host who won’t welcome drinking glasses, especially wine and beer at this time of year when breakage levels exceed the domestic average.
Candles are a must even for the non-religious and non-romantic. Long tapering dinner candles boxed and beribboned, or scented candles to dispel cooking smells will be welcomed. If the gift recipient is close to you, it’s likely you will know their choices. There is the green and blue brigade and the red, pink and purple, so consider a table- cloth and napkins in their preferred scheme. Even for those who prefer to show off their table at other times of year, a cloth at Christmas is traditional.
A piece of kitchen wizardry won’t be sniffed at either. Coffee machines built to professional standards for the amateur barista will also look fabulous on the kitchen countertop to produce a much-needed cure after celebrations.
* Next week we’re planning our Christmas dinner table.
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