nine gifts

of course you don't another gift guide, but here's one anyway!

Hey pals,

I’m here with my annual short + sweet gift guide. These are all things I’ve gifted to various people in my life (including myself!) and I think really hit the spot. Nothing is sponsored and there are no affiliate links. Just real gift ideas from me to you.

Before I jump in, just a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! to my dad (love you DT!).

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Okay, here goes nothing!

TOP L - R: Community fridge donations from FFC / Leo in his avocado bed! / a surprisingly nice + cheap knife /// MIDDLE L - R: A great puzzle board! / WGWW / Harana Market which has a Queer + Trans Food Fund /// BOTTOM L - R: Zingerman's Coffee Cake / my cooking classes! / a favorite backpack for travel

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1. FOR THE PERSON WHO HAS IT ALL: SPONSOR A MEAL EVERY WEEK ON THEIR BEHALF FOR THE COMMUNITY FRIDGE! ($40/month subscription): Every week at Full Fridge Club, we put at least one meal per client in the community fridge. In just over two years of weekly cooking, we’ve put well over 2000 meals in the fridge. Head here to help us (Emmet + Stephen + Timmy + the rest of the FFC fam!) keep our local community fridge full.

2. FOR THE CAT OR DOG IN YOUR LIFE WHO LIKES TO BE COZY: Leo, our sweet cat, highly recommends this AVOCADO-SHAPED PET BED ($26.94) that I got for him last year. Winky sometimes does some gymnastics to fit herself into it when Leo is relaxing somewhere else…

3. FOR THE COOK: I recently got myself this relatively INEXPENSIVE JAPANESE CHEF’S KNIFE ($31.75) and have been very impressed with it. It’s lightweight and sharp and just very useful without breaking the bank.

4. FOR THE PUZZLER: Grace and I are avid puzzle people and our lives changed for the better when we got ourselves a puzzle board. It has drawers for sorting! It tilts! You can cover it so your cat doesn’t destroy your puzzle when you leave the house! You can pick it up and move it if you need the surface it’s on for something else (…perhaps another puzzle???!) Here’s a good PUZZLE BOARD ($79.99).

5. FOR YOURSELF OR ANYONE ELSE WHO APPRECIATES A GOOD COOKBOOK AND/OR ANYONE FEELING OVERWHELMED BY COOKING: Okay I’m obviously biased, but I think a copy of my latest, What Goes with What, makes for an excellent holiday gift. Even better? A signed copy! Even better?! A PERSONALIZED COPY FROM MY LOCAL INDIE BOOKSTORE ($34.99) — if you order by today (December 5th), I will sign/personalize when I’m at Oblong tomorrow and they can send to you in time for the holidays! Don’t delay!

   …still not sure? Paula Forbes, of

   Stained Page News
   and a total authority on cookbooks, recently called WGWW “absolutely genius” in her roundup of the year’s best cookbooks in The Washington Post.

   

6. ON BEHALF OF THE QUEER + TRANS PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE: How about a DONATION TO HARANA’S QUEER/TRANS FOOD FUND? (Any amount starting at $5). Harana Market is an amazing Filipino restaurant near us run by a wonderful queer couple. In their words: “we feed Queer and Trans and LGBTQIA++ people for free, every Sunday. If you'd like to contribute to this Community Meal Fund, you can do so via this menu item. Thank you. <3”

7. FOR JUST ABOUT ANYONE (YOUR BOSS, YOUR EMPLOYEE, SOMEONE WHO DID YOU A FAVOR, YOUR FRIEND WHO LIVES FAR AWAY, YOUR IN-LAWS, A FAVORITE TEACHER): You cannot go wrong with ZINGERMAN’S SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE (from $50 - $80 depending on size/packaging). I have sent so many of these over the years and they always deliver (literally and figuratively).

8. FOR ANYONE WHO LOVES TO COOK AND/OR WANTS TO GET MORE COMFORTABLE IN THE KITCHEN! —> MY COOKING CLASSES! A.K.A. GIFT AN EXPERIENCE! You can purchase gift cards for whatever amount you’d like right here.

• You don’t have to pick a specific class(es) to give— your recipient can choose whatever they want.

• Gift cards don’t expire!

• Gift cards can be applied to upcoming live classes (and there will be a ton more in 2025!) or previously recorded classes in my on-demand library (which has over 100 classes!).

• This is a really fun thing to gift a friend or family member who lives far away and then you can do a class together. I know a lot of people who do this and then they eat together afterwards on FaceTime or Zoom and it allows you to do something together even when you’re apart which is just really lovely!!!

All info about my classes including FAQs is right here. These gift cards arrive as custom codes emailed to you (the gift giver) that you can give to your recipient. Want to give them something physical? Here’s a fun thing you can print out, fill out, and give in a card!

Me teaching in my kitchen — your loved one can be on the other side of the Zoom! Photo by the lovely Nat Chitwood.

9. FOR THE TRAVELER: Okay, I think I have nailed carry-on traveling. I bring my suitcase (I use the Away carry-on) and then this COTOPAXI BACKPACK (the Allpa 28L / $190). It holds soooooo much, has a bunch of zippered compartments, can fit over your suitcase handle so you don’t have to carry it but also has comfortable backpack straps for when you do need to walk up a flight of stairs or whatever. Most excitingly, it’s considered a personal item on nearly all airlines (not a carry-on) so you can get away with bringing it and your carry-on suitcase. This is how I traveled for all of book tour this fall and on a weeklong trip this past summer. It’s what I’m bringing to Belize next week with my mom (she just turned 80!). It’s the most $$$ item here but a wonderful gift for a traveler you love. Maybe that’s you?

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Okay friends. I hope these ideas were fun for you to see and read aboutwithout adding to holiday season overwhelm. Talk to you real soon. xoxoox, julia