Christmas is just a couple of weeks away, so it’s time to start dreaming up some totally rad presents for your loved ones and, of course, yourself.
Sometimes foodies are the hardest to shop for, since you know they have exquisite taste and are on top of all the trends. Plus, different people have such different food interests. Here are some of the coolest and most sought-after gifts that are sure to make any foodie smile, whatever their niche.
For the aspiring chef: Short Stack Subscription
Cookbooks are a go-to gift for foodies, but you don’t want to give something that’s just going to collect dust on a bookshelf. Short Stack, a collection of mini cookbooks each on a single ingredient, is an adorable, fun, and refreshing alternative. They have books on chocolate, chickpeas, lemons, eggs and more. A month-to-month subscription is $14 while the year-long subscription is $75.
For your food-obsessed BFF: Stamped Metal Jam Knife
Available for $18 on Etsy, this would be the cutest gift to show a friend or roommate how great they are. This would also be perfect paired with a yummy homemade or local jam.
For the Chinese food lover: Dim Sum Calendar
This calendar is $24, and has a featured dim sum dishes for each month of the year, with illustrations and descriptions of ingredients for each one. A gift that is sure to have any foodie drooling and inspired every time they check their plans for the month.
For the aspiring food writer: Best Food Writing 2015
If you or a friend is an aspiring food writer (who writes for Spoon, perhaps), give the gift of inspiration through Holy Hugh’s round up of this year’s best food writing articles.
For the world traveler: Try The World Gift Box or Subscription
Try The World’s Gift Box will have any adventurous eater and travel lover craving for more. For $39 you can give yourself or a loved one the equivalent of an amazing around-the-world food tour. Try The World collaborates with top chefs from around the world to curate every box’s selection. The box even comes with a culture guide about everything you’re eating.
For the DIY enthusiast: DIY Italian Cheese Making Kit
Do you have a friend that is just mad for homemade cheese or DIY stuff in general? Then you have to get them Mad Millie’s Italian Cheesemaking Kit that lets you make delicious, authentic cheeses right from the comfort of your kitchen. It costs $24.95 and you can make 10 delectable Italian cheeses. All you have to do is add milk. Who would have thought that you could make your own homemade mozzarella, ricotta, or mascarpone so easily.
For the baker: Sweetapolita’s Sprinkle Medley Variety Pack
The Sprinkle Medley Variety Pack from Sweetapolita (available on etsy.com) is the perfect combination of sugary sweet and adorable. With names like Birthday Party, Pastel Dreams, Happy Unicorn, Carousel, Jersey Shore and Mermaid Magic, these sprinkles are sure to make any avid baker’s day.
For the wino: Club W Wine Gift
Choosing the perfect wine can be hard. Instead of risking getting an unsuitable wine for a foodie with delectable taste, let them decide what they want for themselves by giving them a Club W gift. Just choose which subscription you want, which starts from $50, and Club W will help decide from their excellently curated wine selection which ones they might most prefer.
For the health conscious herbivore: Salad Samurai
Salad Samurai completely shatters the perception that vegans and vegetarians have to sacrifice good food. This book will show any aspiring or current vegetarian or vegan, or just someone who wants to eat healthier, how delicious a salad can be. At $13.75, it’s not as expensive as your typical cookbook, either.
For the adventureous cook: Foodie Dice
If you have a friend that loves experimenting with food, these Foodie Dice are the perfect gift. It’s like a dice rolling version of Chopped that gives you a spark of inspiration when you’re feeling stumped for dinner ideas.
For the quirky sushi lover: Sushi Socks
Have a friend that just loves sushi, but hates organizing their socks? These Sushi socks will make putting your socks away more fun than you’ve ever imagined. When all rolled up, these socks look exactly like your favorite sushi. The socks ($4.69) come in tuna, salmon, egg, octopus and more.
For the hipsters: Mason Jar Shot Glasses
For your friend that can hold their liquor, shot glasses are the perfect gift. By now, most of us are familiar with the red solo cup shot glasses, so how about switching it up with mason jar shooters instead? You can get a set of four for $11.99 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
For the amateur bartender: Bar10der
If your friend prefers cocktails over shots, this handy 10-in-1 cocktail gadget might be the best gift. It comes with a muddler, a knife, a reamer, stirrer, channel knife, corkscrew, jigger, strainer, zester and bottle opener — anything you would ever need to create the perfect concoction.
For the foodie Instagrammer: Olloclip iPhone Lens
For the serious foodie, the iPhone camera can simply be insufficient when it comes to taking delectable photos food. The Olloclip makes it easy to turn any iPhone into an SLR-like photo-taking device. Just clip it on, and you can take wide-angle, fisheye and macro photos. At $69.99, this is by far the most expensive gift on this list, but compared to SLR cameras that can go from anywhere between $200 and $3000, the Olloclip is definitely a steal.