These are all products and services with which I have had direct experience. Please feel free to add any of your favorite items that would also make great gifts.
1. "Lewis" Series One to Five. If there is a BBC fan on your list, consider Lewis. If the recipient has a "region unlocked DVD player," get the Series One to Five BBC/UK version. This has the full versions of the episodes, not the shorter PBS versions, as well as the not-yet-aired series five (and is much less expensive!). Also consider Downton Abbey (Series 2 is now available as well) or the new Sherlock.
DVD
2. A Leather Man Ltd. Motif Belt or Key Ring, The original belt (increasingly imitated but never duplicated), made in sailing mecca Essex, Connecticut, is still the best. And the hardware on the key ring is incredible. Both have the same fabulous motif selection, so if you can, custom order one to align with a favorite past-time of the recipient.
Belt ($30-$37)
Key Ring ($15)
3. Swans Island Scarves, Blankets and Throws. Made on the Maine coast, these unique items are something very special and lasting, and a worthy acknowledgement of a true milestone.
http://swansislandblankets.com/
4. Acquired Tastes by Peter Mayle. This classic is still a favorite book and go-to hostess gift add-on. Peter Mayle, in his trademark wit, examines the cost and benefits of true luxury items to see which are really worth it. And getting any book signed, as I did fifteen years for my husband, turns it into a something even more appreciated.
Paperback ($15)
5. Sweaters from J. McLaughlin or L.L. Bean. Stay warm with Italian Merino Wool Sweaters from J. McLaughlin for Women, or the Irish Fisherman's Knit Sweaters from L.L. Bean for Men (although I wear the Men's small) in Donegal Tweed or Natural.
J. McLaughlin for Women ($298)
Irish Fisherman's Knit Sweaters from L.L. Bean ($129)
6. The Tartan Terrier Bermuda Bag. These are from a brand new company, although carrying on a family legacy. They are made in the US, here with a wool Dress Gordon cover, as well as leather buttons and a wooden handle.
Bag ($89)
7. Vermont Originals Wool Hats. These may be the best-made hats from Vermont. I like to get them fleece-lined, and there is time to get a personalized message written on the front.
Hats
8. Local Farm Share, or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Consider giving a share in a local farm's 2012 crop yield. Local Harvest.org is a good way to find a farm close by to the recipient. They will look forward to it during the cold winters, and then enjoy fresh vegetables all summer long.
9. Antiques and Vintage Items. While the quality of many new items is increasingly questionable, many older pieces, like this Wathne Belt Buckle (given to me by my husband 20 years ago and hard to find now), or even true antiques make perfect gifts. Consider an antique runner, painting or piece of furniture.
10. Donations. Finally, there are those who prefer making donations in the recipient's name. Just be sure it is their cause, not yours. For starters, YWP suggested donating to the Connecticut Farm Trust, and I would add the Maine Farmland Trust and The Chewonki Foundation.
www.mainefarmlandtrust.org/
www.chewonki.org/
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| See the Boat in this Earlier Chewonki Post |
These are just some ideas, of course. Be creative. I know one friend who included a link to her favorite podcast (in this case, Slate.com's free daily podcast including their political and cultural roundtables) with every emailed Christmas Card.
The best presents are personal, or can be personalized. Being generous in consideration, spirit and time, more than budget, make the longest lasting impressions.
Tropicalsunbird kindly passed on this great list (in pdf form) from ABC News of many "Made in America" companies.
41 comments:
As a huge BBC fan who lacks both the public library and financial resources to enjoy their wonderful programming, I would like to suggest an Amazon Prime subscription. For a very reasonable annual charge you can stream almost the entire BBC library, it's been a wonderful blessing in my otherwise BBC deprived life.
Excellent suggestions! Under my tree thus far: a ski rack for our new Subaru Outback, a new Barbour Beaufort for my son (we cannot share any longer!), three Patagonia fleece jackets, one North Face jacket, a cream colored Vermont Originals ear flap hat. I am thinking Santa will get some key rings and belts from Leather Man, LTD, also.
Happy Holidays!!
I second the suggestion for an Amazon Prime subscription. Also, from Acorn Online, you can subscribe to Acorn TV - they currently have ten different British shows you can view, and new ones are offered on a regular basis. Better than BBC America on cable! Thanks for your gift ideas.
Amen! I always ask for consumables... especially baked goods and other things that will be gone by February.
Great list of suggestions, thank you! I know my father would love A Leather Man Ltd belt. I also love the Tartan Terrier Bermuda bag. How adorable!
Go-to gifts for me are Kiel James Patrick goods. I love the headbands and earrings for my gal pals and bowties for boyfriends.
As for donations, my family has made contributions through Heifer International for the past few years. It's a great organization that helps families in the United States and all around the world become self-reliant through training and raising animals. Last year we gifted a llama and flock of geese!
Happy Holidays!
I love Inspector Lewis and have it on my wishlist!
Great ideas! Thank you so much!
These are great suggestions! I could definitely use a Bean sweater or Eliza B. belt!
All wonderful gift ideas. I haven't seen a hand bag that you could change the cover on in ages. Beautiful rugs!
Great suggestions! I do have to say though that the LL Bean Irish sweater is a let down. It may be made in Ireland and indeed look the part, but the weave is so loose as to render it useless for keeping warm.
Amazing! You are spot on with all of your gift suggestions!!! Especially love the suggestion of SHERLOCK DVD!!!
Thanks so much for the nice feature on my Bermuda bags! , the covers are available in many fabrics and can be monogramed as well! From Tartans to madras and pink and green and everything in between.
Fantastic ideas, thanks! I just ordered "Sherlock", as I'm a big fan of both BBC and detective series, and I didn't know this series even existed.
If anyone else is interested in the topic, I derive great satisfaction from two classics: One is "Murder She Wrote" and the other is "Perry Mason". Both have a classic look to it; but more importantly, exceptionally well written, they get my mind racing throughout 50min to figure out "who has done it?" before the protagonist figures it out. Most entertaining for a winter night.
The only drawback of "Murder She Wrote" is that filming took place in Northern California, and that is not Maine! So that part is a bit fake, but it's drama after all.
Finally, I have my eyes set on "Agatha Christie's Poirot", but I've only seen a couple of episodes before, so I can't recommend, it's just part of my wishlist.
Merry Christmas!
Great ideas thank you!
F Jack - might I suggest the National Geographic store? They sell many wonderful items including a lovely Irish Fisherman's sweater. Actually, now that I think of it, a gift subscription to a magazine, in particular National Geographic, is also a pretty good idea. The gift that keeps on giving.
@F Jack - You are right - the LLB versions are more loosely woven, but funnily, that is what I like about them. I have both (pictured here) - the authentic Irish Fisherman's sweaters, brought back from Ireland by my mother-in-law, as well as the LLB sweaters. There is no question that the ones brought back for us are more thickly woven and higher quality sweaters. The only issue is that, as with my Guernsey sweaters, they are so heavy that they are often difficult to wear indoors, where we wear sweaters to keep the thermostat turned down.
@SailorMadras - the link seems to be down...can we get the bags another way? Very adorable!
The last Bermuda bag I had was when I was 15, probably. It was navy corduroy. :)
Great suggestions; love the Maine coast wovens in particular.
Muffy, would you mind clicking "open link in a new window" when you upload a link in Blogger? Sometimes you'll do a post with many great shopping links, which I'd love to have open in new windows so I don't keep clicking back to find your blog again. Just a thought.
@Lindsay T - I just did it with all of the company links on this entry, but not the photographs.
feverishly working to get the website open! one to two more days promise. I can be reached by phone 772 634-4363 . I have several bags , a small scale patch madras,in primary colors. a lime with pink welting , and a bright pink with lime welting. Macbean tartan , Macleod tartan and a host of other fabrics, takes a few days to make them up . I am happy to discuss the Bermuda Bag, or anything else , belts totes, headband etc.
Great ideas, Muffy! Regarding LL Bean men's sweaters, how would you say they are sized? I have heard they run large, and I am at quite a loss for what size to order for a 6'1" 165pound male. (I'm specifically referring to the Norwegian, which I know you mentioned in a past post!)
@Anonymous 12:01 - I would say that they are generously sized, but not over-sized. I wear the Men's Small in both. (The Irish Knit is slightly wider in the shoulders than the Norwegian, but slightly narrower in the chest and body, and the length is the same.) In contrast, the Bean Waterfowl sweater in Small was much too big for me. It might be best to call customer service and ask for the actual garment measurements, and then measure against other sweaters that you have.
Inspector Lewis fans may be interested to know that I saw them filming series 6 in Oxford at the end of October. As well as spotting Kevin Whately, I recognized Gary Kemp (formerly a singer in a band called Spandau Ballet) on the set. I got chatting to a crew member and he said that the episode they were filming will be called 'Fearful Symmetry'.
"Donations....Just be sure it is their cause, not yours."
A fine distinction, one that bears repeating as I'm quite sure your suggestion is more often put through in reverse order.
-Flo
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/nov/04/downton-abbey-series-two-storyline
You may like to read the above review before going on to purchase Downton Abbey.
You may also want to consider watching All Creatures Great and Small (especially the first three series); quite heartwarming for the cold months ahead.
Dear Muffy:
Your recommendation of a book by Peter Mayle points out the coincidence of taste that draws me back to your blog almost daily. I discovered his works in the form of the film “A Good Year” with Russell Crowe. The DVD should also make a good gift for your crew. After seeing the film, I bought half a dozen of his works on Amazon. They were naturally all used paperbacks. They made great winter Saturday afternoon reads by the fire at the Lake (No one who is sane braves the lift lines on Saturday, even at Homewood).
On behalf of all of us Prep/Trads that eschew the public life, I would like to thank you for a forum where we can participate with a nom de net etc.
All the best,
Prep West
I didn't see if someone had noted this, but three episodes of Sherlock are on the Netflix instant watch list.
just wanted to say that if you have a blu-ray player, you can order Downton Abbey or any other British series on blu-ray and not have to worry about having a region free DVD player.
A boxed set of "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" will hopefully make itself into my stocking. As I say, hopefully.
I'm a big fan of BBC Inspector Lewis series! It stay the course in it's quality performances as did the early series BBC Chief Inspector Morse series, both are total keepers for your DVD library!
A gift suggestion for the gents: the Brooks Brothers SP bow ties or the Kiel James Patrick nautical bow ties!
PS Please try to buy American made products this Christmas help get American's working again! LLB Boots made in USA...hint! hint! :-) Happy holidays all!
Thanks, @Sailormadras!
Shawn S - there are only three episodes of Sherlock so far, but three more are in the pipeline for the next "season."
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2011-12-08/review-sherlock---a-scandal-in-belgravia
(There are quite a few spoilers in the review.)
Muffy, after your suggestion a while back I am raving fan of Leather Man LTD. and think any item from their line would an exceptional gift.The antique runners are a great idea as well. I just discovered where Norman Rockwell's inspiration came from: http://muffyaldrich.tumblr.com/post/13925540520
Love the dog belt, so perfect.
The new season premiere of Sherlock airs in the UK on 1 January 2012; viewable on BBC iplayer with a UK based proxy server. The DVD will be released on 5 March. I enjoy the new Sherlock but the Jeremy Brett 'Sherlock' is my favorite by far.
Great post -- I like all of your suggestions. However, on the Brit TV front, I haven't quite been able to bond with the Lewis series. I've only seen a couple, but I felt like they could do a lot more with his character; it seemed like he had more personality in the Morse series, perhaps because he had Morse to play off of. In this series he seems comparatively dull. I like his sidekick, but "understated" doesn't even begin to capture his performance.
I was sorry to read the link about Downton Abbey. On the other hand, I'm not sure the first series got smashing reviews either -- I seem to remember it was more a public than a critical success. I'll certainly watch it.
I have not read Acquired Tastes but A Year in Provence is one of my very favorites. Of Mayle's fiction, I think Hotel Pastis is his best and still return to it occasionally when I don't want to tax my mind with The Life of Dr. Johnson (or whatever).
And finally -- the LLB fisherman's sweater -- that's great to know. Like you, I have one I bought in Ireland and and it's too heavy to wear approximately 362 days of the year.
I find it a little surprising (albeit very very pleasantly) that the UK shows have so many fans in the US. We have a steady diet of the US shows (some of which are magnificent) and it is nice that globalization has a positive effect amongst so many of its negative aspects.
As for Lewis, I think the commentator hit the nail on the head by saying that Lewis' personality upon being (having been) the foil for Morse himself. I could not figure out why I did not take to Lewis and this point makes perfect sense to me.
As for Downton Abbey, I am sorry to say that people in the UK (well, some not all), treat it as a bit of a joke; very much along the line of good bad taste - a bit of junk to gossip about at work. Sum
And oh, I meant to continue by saying that A Year in Provence was panned at the time it was shown; Mayles being thought of in the same vein as say a, Jeffrey Archer. I tend to agree they are both populist writers and can provide light relief for an aching back on a long journey from say Boston to Melbourne (not that I ever want to go to the misogynistic land of Oz ever again, but that's another story. SUm
Muffy, it's wonderful that you suggested vintage/antique items as holiday presents. My friends and relatives seem to already "have everything" (and can easily afford to buy whatever they want, whenever they want it) so picking out presents for them can be a challenge! But today I went antiquing in New Hampshire and found an old comb-painted rustic twig table for my sister's country
house, and a 1950s sporting outerwear sign (Duxbax, Utica, NY) for my brother, who was born in Utica, NY!! The table, unbelievably, was $20, and the sign with its great vintage graphics was only $35! Moral of this story: please always try to patronize your local antiques dealers - they work hard to bring you very distinctive items, cheaper than gift shops and sure to increase in value!
"Foyle's War" is a great British (ITV) mystery series set during WW II in Kent.
It is available in a lovely DVD set, and likely appeals to folks who like other UK mystery programmes.
Muffy, I purchased a tab and buckle belt for my step father with Chesapeake lighthouse ribbon fro Eliza B.
He is going to absolutely love it. I have on idea why my mother has not ordered it for befor.
Purchasing gifts for loved ones is never easy - thank you for your suggestions.
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