Gift Baskets

My neighbor across the street and over a bit has been extremely helpful in dealing with our snow. He brought his snow-blower over and helped us clear out the driveway/sidewalk, clear out our cars, and get one unstuck from the snow this morning when we were on our way out.

So I put together a gift basket for him. Gift baskets are generally...well...shitty, primarily the pre-made ones you can buy in any store around any holiday. They're one third full of things you like and will eat/use, one third things that are okay but you'd much rather just give to someone else, and the last third is crap you're most likely to throw away.

My utilitarian holiday gift basket consists of:
One loaf of nice bread
Cheese and Crackers (organic cheddar and little toast-crackers)
An orange-fig spread
Little mini-muffin coffee cakes
Bath paints (for the two little girls)
Pack of blank thank you cards
Stamps
And all in a basket that's the perfect shape for storing holiday cards

Full of things you'd want for the holidays and that will definitely come in handy. Good snack foods, etc.

I'd also thought about putting in little boredom kits for the little girls to take to family outings during the season. Maybe a little pack of crayons and a notebook in a bag with some candy. Something of that sort. Because it can get damn boring at grandma's sometimes.