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Twinkling lights are lovely and jingle bells jolly. But even the idea of holiday shopping induces crowded-mall-level claustrophobia in us. Probably on account of the crowds. And the malls.
How much lovelier to shop, instead, at little local shops. To give drinkable, edible items or books, instead of plastic things that create clutter. Or experiences, instead of objects. So with that in mind, here are 14 splendid gift ideas for the gourmets, libations lovers and adventurers on your gift list.
1 EAT: Cowgirl Creamery’s Truffle Tam Home Kit
Foodies love their umami, and this kit’s level of savory flavors is off the charts. Petaluma-based Cowgirl Creamery has paired its signature, 8-ounce soft-ripened Mt. Tam cheese, which is made from organic, single-herd milk from Straus Family Creamery, with La Rustichella’s classic Tuscan pate featuring fresh black truffles, extra-virgin olive oil and salt.
The triple cream cheese has natural hints of white mushrooms, which are a match made in savory heaven, especially when served atop Cowgirl Creamery’s crispy, organic Sea Salt & Olive Oil Flatbread Crackers. To serve, you’re supposed to slice a Mt. Tam triple-cream in half, spread a thin layer of the pate across the middle and place the other half on top — but we didn’t make it that far. Just slice, slather and devour. Get two, one for your favorite foodie and one for yourself.
Details: $75; www.cowgirlcreamery.com.
2: DRINK: The Matt Butler Drinking Glasses
Berkeley-based printmaker Matt Butler is the king of snark, from his greeting cards — “I heard there were cookies. I mean Merry Christmas! But seriously, cookies …?” — to his one-of-a-kind wall pieces and cotton canvas tote bags. But the artist’s line of drinking glasses are truly fabulous, and will delight any enthusiast, whether they prefer beer, wine or whiskey.
Made of 100-percent recycled wine bottles, the 12-ounce tumblers feature messages like “Drink Up, Buttercup,” “So…Drinks?!,” “Beer on My Side” and “Wine is My Spirit Animal.” Dishwasher safe, to boot. The Matt Butler will no longer be stocking the glasses, so get ’em while you can.
Details: $10. Available at Nathan & Co, 4025 Piedmont Ave., Oakland and 5636 College Ave., Oakland. The “Whiskey is My Spirit Animal” glass is available at https://themattbutler.com.
3 PLAY: Lonely Planet’s “Ultimate Eats”
We’re not the only travelers who design trips around food experiences, are we? If you’ve got a roving gourmet on your gift list, Lonely Planet’s foodie bucket list offers 500 of the world’s top taste experiences, from the Cronuts of New York to the smørrebrød of Copenhagen, the baozi of Shanghai and the rolex — the food, not the watch — of Uganda. (Rolex is Uganda’s answer to the breakfast burrito: an omelet rolled in flatbread and eaten on the go.)
How anyone managed to rank all this deliciousness is a mystery. But debating the relative merits of Bengal’s sweet rasgulla balls (No. 336) versus chili con carne (335) is part of the fun. So is finding out what sweet ragulla balls are.
Details: $30, Lonely Planet Food; available at local and online bookstores
4 EAT: Jacques Pepin’s “Menus: A Book for Your Meals and Memories”
For nearly 50 years, the legendary French-born chef has jotted down all the details of his dinner parties, from the guests — les invites — to the aperitifs and entrees, in his hand-illustrated journals. Book celebrations with duck terrine, Lyonnaise chicken and apple galette. Fourth of July 2001 with poached salmon and a berry cake. Birthdays, holidays, boules parties and casual get-togethers, all illustrated with Pepin’s watercolors and signed by guests.
Now your favorite foodie can channel Pepin with a journal of his own, complete with Pepin’s illustrations and plenty of space to record the guests and delicious details from memorable meals. Plus an intro by the chef himself that’s utterly charming.
Details: $20, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; available at local and online bookstores
5 DRINK: A DIY Tonic Kit
Jars of ras-el-hanout, harissa and Tellicherry peppercorns line the shelves of the East Bay’s Oaktown Spice Shop, and gift boxes tempt with promises of barbecue or baking mastery, or entrance to the Skewered World of Kebabs ($36 for four spice blends). But this is also a great place to find gifts for chai lovers, mulled cider fans and those craft cocktail devotees, who make their own tinctures, bitters and infused syrups.
Oaktown’s Classic DIY Tonic Kit ($18) includes everything you need to make your own tonic syrup: ground cinchona bark, citric acid, allspice, cubeb pepper and lemongrass. Tuck the kit in a gift bag along with bottles of soda water and St. George Botanivore or Venus Spirits Gin Blend No. 1 for the ultimate DIY G&T gift. (Psst, Oaktown has elderflower tonic and lavender tonic versions, too, for $22.)
Details: Available at Oaktown at 1224 Solano Ave. in Albany and 546 Grand Ave. in Oakland, and online at https://oaktownspiceshop.com.
6 PLAY: Kayak adventures in Tomales Bay
What’s not to love about skimming across the water with just a thin layer separating you from the aquatic denizens below? On a dark, moonless night, bluish-white flickers appear joined by phosphorescent trails through the water — no special effects, just nature, in the form of bioluminescent plankton, fish, seals and heron putting on a show.
A Blue Waters Kayaking trip makes a memorable gift for any adventure seeker. Pick up a gift card for the three-hour Bioluminescence Tour ($95), which occurs on moonless nights, or a half-day Tomales Bay Exploration Tour ($88) to look for tule elk, bat rays and more. Or go Hog (Island) wild and head to the mouth of the bay where it opens up to the Pacific on the full-day tour ($98), which includes lunch on a remote beach.
Details: Find gift certificate options — for specific tours or dollar values —at www.bluewaterskayaking.com.
7 EAT: Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates
Listen up, chocolate lovers. Ginger Elizabeth Hahn grew up in Camino picking blackberries in the summer, apples in the fall and transforming them into tempting creations. That devotion to fresh, Northern California ingredients can be found in every box of her handcrafted truffles and bonbons, including this deluxe 24-piece, single layer box.
Think infused ganaches and enrobed caramels in flavors like Eureka Lemon, Caramelized Milk & Coffee, Buttermilk Lime and the delicately-crunchy Peanut Butter Graham Cracker. $42. Know a hot cocoa fiend? Ginger Elizabeth’s Classic Hot Chocolate is made with high-quality couverture chocolate, and yields a creamy, rich cup.
Details: A 12-ounce tin is $15. Available at https://gingerelizabeth.com or her new shop at 3108 Fillmore St., San Francisco.
8 EAT: No Kid Hungry spatulas
A little QuestLove artwork for the kitchen? Yes, please. Earlier this year, Williams-Sonoma asked 15 influential friends, from actors to musicians and chefs, to design silicone spatulas that provide a pop of color in the kitchen while doing something more important: Helping end childhood hunger.
Thirty percent of the retail price from these celebrity-designed spatulas — Ina Garten scrawled her autograph in red, Duff Goldman drew the most adorable cupcake with hearts for frosting — goes to Share Our Strength’s program to feed hungry kids in America. The BPA-free silicone is heat-resistant up to 600 degrees and the paintbrush-style beech-wood handle will make your favorite foodie feel like an artist with every fold and mix. The perfect feel-good stocking stuffer.
Details: $14 each; available at Williams-Sonoma stores or online at www.williams-sonoma.com
9 DRINK: Rajat Parr’s “The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste”
Know an aspiring sommelier or wine aficionado? They’d love to find this book under the tree. Together with noted wine expert Jordan Mackay, somm extraordinaire Rajat Parr reveals the secrets to understanding and enjoying wines from the Old World’s most famous regions. We’re talking Champagne and Bordeaux to the distinctive villages of Barolo and the seven Grand Crus of Chablis.
In “The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste: A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe” (Ten Speed Press, $40), the James Beard Award winning authors — who also penned 2010’s “Secrets of the Sommelier” — detail the intricate differences of taste among these historic regions, down to subregions, soils, winemakers and appellations. Combined with Joe Woodhouse’s stunning photographs and top-notch blind-tasting tips, it’s a gift the wine enthusiast in your life will toast to, again and again.
Details: $40, Ten Speed Press; available at local and online bookstores
10 PLAY: Culinary Institute of America at Copia gift card
Anyone passionate about food and wine knows there’s always more to sample and learn. Copia, downtown Napa’s epicenter of culinary expertise, fits that bill perfectly. A visit to Copia’s culinary arts museum, extensive gardens and large “food as art” mural is free. But the lineup of hands-on classes, wine explorations, interactive demonstrations and events are so special, you’ll want to give your favorite foodie a gift card to take it all in. (Psst, that gift card can be used at Copia’s open-kitchen restaurant, where the seasonal menu boasts fantastic, fresh fare and handcrafted cocktails.)
Details: The CIA at Copia is open daily at 500 First St., Napa; www.ciaatcopia.com. Order gift cards at www.ciafoodies.com.
11 EAT: Guittard Eureka Works chocolate
San Francisco’s Guittard Chocolate family is celebrating the company’s 150th anniversary this year in the sweetest way possible — with a commemorative chocolate bar that pays homage to Guittard’s first factory and earliest flavor profile. (Plus recipes from Alice Medrich, Chris Cosentino and other Bay Area chefs!)
If you’ve ever done a single-origin chocolate tasting, you know that terroir impacts the flavor of chocolate, just as it does wine. When Etienne Guittard opened his first chocolate factory — Eureka Works — in 1868, the young Frenchman applied his European chocolate techniques to the cacao he could source from San Francisco in those pre-Panama Canal days. This commemorative bar is made with cacao from Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia and — to re-create the flavor profile Etienne would have sourced from Samoa — Hawaii. And a portion of the proceeds goes to the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund, which makes the 500-gram chocolate bar both a feel-good and taste-good gift idea.
Details: $30, available in a gift box from www.williams-sonoma.com now and in Williams Sonoma stores beginning Nov. 23. Find the recipes at www.guittard.com/150.
12 PLAY: Joanna Cooke’s “The Sequoia Lives On”
For most Bay Area families, the trek to Yosemite National Park is a cherished tradition, if only to watch their littlest environmentalists gaze up at the Sierra Nevada’s giant sequoias in awe.
In the new children’s book, “The Sequoia Lives On” (Yosemite Conservancy), author Joanna Cooke conveys with simple language and startling facts the majesty of some of our planet’s oldest living things: That they begin life as a seed no bigger than an ant, yet can grow as tall as three blue whales stacked chin to tail; or that their trunks are so thick, it would take more than 20 children holding hands to wrap their arms around one.
Cooke spent 10 years living in the Sierra, working as an environmental educator and a National Park Service ranger, so she knows how to convey to children not only the sequoias’ grandeur, but our critical role in protecting them. Coupled with illustrator Fiona Hsieh’s glowing illustrations, this is the perfect gift for budding arborists, ages 4 to 7, and young Yosemite visitors.
Details: $18; www.yosemiteconservancystore.com
13 EAT: Silicon Valley tea towels
Tuck one of these colorful linens by Los Gatos-based designer Nina Kulick on your tea tray, or frame it for your kitchen? You could go either way with this whimsical artwork from Gooseberry Designs that pay homage to the Bay Area, from Silicon Valley to the East Bay, Marin, Tahoe and beyond.
Mountain Winery and Stevens Creek County Park get shout-outs on the Los Gatos-Saratoga graphics. The sun illuminates the UC Berkeley Campanile, Chabot Space and Science Center and more on the East Bay design. And the Yosemite tea towel depicts every iconic landmark, from Half Dome to the hotel formerly known as the Ahwahnee.
Details: $16, available at Bay Area boutiques and online through Gooseberry Designs; www.gooseberrypress.com.
14 PLAY: Filoli Historic House & Garden tickets
Downton Abbey in Woodside? Not quite, but Filoli makes its own grand statement with a 56-room historic Georgian Revival country home and 16 acres of formal gardens, surrounded by a 654-acre estate. It’s all open to the public, including the Quail’s Nest Café and Clock Tower Shop to enhance the experience. There’s something for all ages to enjoy, from the ever-changing English garden to a nature preserve, afternoon tea and plenty of history.
Details: Book tickets ($11-$22) and tours ($5) online at https://filoli.org. Better yet? Make it a date — with you! — and include afternoon tea ($30 for two) at the cafe. Open Tuesday-Sunday at 86 Canada Road in Woodside.