Gift Giving Ideas

     Holiday festivities are in full swing! This past weekend, I believe my family hit it all – from seeing the “Adirondack” Santa at the Silas Wright House and then heading out to get our Christmas tree, to visiting TAUNY to see gingerbread houses and Lake Placid Center for the Arts to see The Nutcracker.

     Cutting our Christmas tree this year was something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. In the past we have either cut a tree on our friend's property or bought one to benefit the Pierrepont Fire Department. This year, we found another great way to get our tree. We drove down Rt. 68 towards Colton and watched for the sign indicating “Christmas Trees”. To the left after we parked was a sweet little red cabin. We headed in where a warm fire burned in the wood stove and hot mulled cider simmered on top. Candy canes and Christmas cookies lined the edge of the table. We received our “sold” tag to mark our tree and headed out into the snowy field. We walked a little farther to where we thought other folks hadn't ventured. Sure enough, we found our perfect tree. We live in an old farmhouse with low celings, so it can't be too tall. This one was the right size and beautifully shaped. We flagged down the “tree guy” and he cut it for us. My daughter, Emma, then flexed her muscles to carry the tree up to the path where the tractor scooped it up and hauled it back to the little cabin. I felt a sense of luxury here – all the fun with minimal work! We headed back to the cabin to pay (a modest amount compared to other places) and enjoyed cookies and cider. As we loaded the tree on the car, we received a boisterous “Merry Christmas” from the jolly man on the tractor.

     I am sharing this with you for two reasons – one, in case you are looking for a Christmas tree experience such as this and two, to point out that we are blessed with community businesses, organizations, places and events. I ask you this year to support as many as you can during your shopping and gift giving. With this in mind, here are some gift giving suggestions this year.

1. GardenShare is now doing an appeal titled “Share a Gift of Service”. You choose a service gift  from a  list supplied by GardenShare. Suggestions include $50 to help cover costs associated with the Local Food Guide, $35 to underwrite a farm stand listing, $50 to partner with other groups to build food security and more. Once you decide on your gift, mail in your donation and then receive a gift card to give to the receipent. This is a wonderful gift for the person who has everything.  I plan to do it for my mother-in-law who loves fresh food and gardens.
2. If you have the means, consider giving your adult daughter or son a CSA subscription. This is a year long gift which I am absolutely sure they will be thankful for.
3. Gift certificates from restaurants. Consider those restaurants locally owned, but pay special attention to those who support local farmers such as Scoopuccino's, Julian's, 1844 House and The Blackbird Cafe.
4. Visit area shops selling locally made food items. At The World Artisan you will find tea and spice mixes. Sauces, jams, cookies and salsas can be found at places such as Nature's Storehouse, The Potsdam Food Co-op and TAUNY.
5. Because I see more people stressed over the economy than last year – a great gift would be to give a gift certificate for 5-10lbs of meat from a local farm or call and purchase a roast or a ham as a gift. Take a look at the local food guide on this website to find a list of farmers. I imagine you could call them and they could easily coordinate this purchase.
6. Who would turn down a gift of honey or maple syrup?! Easily accessible, this is a great gift.
7. Expose yourself as the wonderful cook that you are and make granola, cookies, tarts and other treats to give to teachers, bus drivers, co-workers and ballet instructors.
8. Because I firmly believe it is important to support both local and global communities, consider supporting Heifer International and other agencies with a global focus while also looking for Fair Trade certified products.

All these options make it easy to give meaningful gifts to those we love. Wishing you Happy Holidays!