thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is like a holiday for grownups. When I was younger, I didn't think much of the fourth Thursday in November. There were no gifts. Football-watching was never my thing. Roast turkey was central to the celebration but never my favorite food. And, throughout my "school days," Thanksgiving came at a time when you needed to be getting serious about getting ready for final exams. Not a fun time when you are in law school.

Then, I graduated. Got a job. Moved to DC. And officially became a grown up. And THAT'S when I started to love the holiday. Thanksgiving was a day off from work. The kickoff to a long weekend. A day to spend with good friends. Thanksgiving became a day to share food and wine with other Thanksgiving "orphans" (those friends - and friends of friends - who didn't make the trip home for the holiday.) My husband lightheartedly refers to the group of friends who made up these gatherings as "Thanksgiving leftovers." Maybe it was the pop-up camaraderie in a city that often felt like a ghost town around Thanksgiving (and during hurricanes)(and blizzards.) Maybe it was because it was more festive than family gatherings and more like a party... with wine! Maybe it was the fun of introducing each other to new foods and traditions (like that time I agreed to run in a "fun" run.) Well, not everything becomes a tradition!

We're celebrating on the west coast this year. Our baby "Birdie" is getting to celebrate her first Thanksgiving this week, and I'm hoping that, one day, she'll fall in love with this holiday too. And now that we have a little one, I'm more interested in cultivating our own family traditions.

One traditional Thanksgiving food I've always been a fan of is pumpkin pie, but no one else in my family liked it. My grandmother would actually make a pumpkin pie just for me. (Now that's love!) But this dessert is more of a crowd pleaser. It's the first recipe that I loved enough to make every year, and it has been a Thanksgiving tradition ever since my friend Patricia introduced me to it in 2007!

As new parents, we're going for a menu with simplicity this year, but we will be trying a recipe from this NYTimes article for a new spin on cranberry sauce... not surprised at all that the recipe with Pinot Noir is the one we want to make!

there's a national chocolate day? yes, yes there is.

As if there was any need for an actual day to celebrate chocolate, National Chocolate Day is here! I'm something of a chocolate aficionado, and I L.O.V.E. chocolate. The next time you visit someone's home for dinner or a housewarming party, think about bringing chocolate instead of (or in addition to!) a bottle of wine. And if you're a weekend guest or staying at the home of friends or family, chocolate is great to bring as a thank you gift for your host. Especially if you are from Seattle, Los Angeles, or Hawaii . . . where you have access to some of my favorite chocolate!

p.s. I'm always on the lookout for gift-worthy chocolate. Interestingly, most of my current favorite chocolate boutiques are from the West Coast, with a strong representation from the Pacific Northwest. So, if you have a favorite chocolate maker, I'd love to hear about it!

Follow box*paper*ribbons's board chocolate aficionado on Pinterest.

wrap session

It wasn't hard to find gifting inspiration this week!

The Vancouver Sun just ran a story about a new app for gift giving called Guusto.

http://www.guusto.com Guusto, which means "my pleasure", is a mobile gifting app that allows users to send food and drinks to clients, colleagues, employees, friends and family. Gifts can be redeemed using any smart phone at hundreds of restaurants nationwide. And for every gift sent, we donate one day of clean drinking water through the One Drop Foundation.

There's a new spa in town . . . and it's for babies!

And when was the last time you gave someone a gift "just because?" This is really cute.

gifts with a story: books!

I love gifting books. There's a book for almost everyone and almost any occasion, which pretty much makes it as close to a perfect gift as you can get! In honor of this weekend's National Book Festival, here are a few ideas for gifting books:

If you know someone who loves to read, plan a get-together for their birthday and ask everyone to bring a copy of their favorite book to give as a gift. The books can be wrapped individually, but I love the idea of putting all of the books in one big box with a bow. (This is one of my favorite ideas for the person who has everything!)

For a special celebration, take time to write a message on the inside cover of the book. I still have a much-loved book that was a gift from my Grandfather. I love that he signed the book and how he wrote "Tober" instead of October. It's a snapshot of his personality that I might have forgotten without this wonderful memento that he gave to me.

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My dog-eared copy of Shel Silverstein's book Where the Sidewalk Ends.

Make it a gift pairing, and find a nice bookmark to pair with the book. (You can even use the bookmark as decoration for the gift instead of a bow.) Museums are a great place to find a gift-worthy bookmark.

An autographed book can become a keepsake. Not sure where to start? Check to see what authors will be doing book signings at bookstores in your city, attend a book fair, or write to an author to see if they sell autographed copies of their book. If you are pressed for time, bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Book Soup sell signed books.

And if you need some help finding a great book to give, take a look here, here, here, or here.

gifts with a story

Sometimes, a gift has a great story behind it. Just discovered the Antiques Roadshow episode titled "Greatest Gifts." There's something a bit addicting about that show! Maybe it's the fun of seeing someone's surprise when they find out they've had a hidden treasure in their home. All of the items in this episode were gifts, and most of the items had real sentimental value, an interesting history, or a great backstory. The show has everything from a 1960 painting by Katharine Hepburn, an autographed Beatles program, and an Art Deco travel poster by Roger Broders . . . all favorites of mine!