Here we are, day two of the last month of the year. Can you even believe it? Now that the Thanksgiving craziness is over, it’s time to start Christmas madness.
Let’s talk for a second: Christmas isn’t my favorite holiday. I don’t think it has actually ever been my favorite. I’m not Scrooge or anything; I just never really got into it. Sure, I like the lights, Christmas movies and all that comes with Christmas cheer, but it’s just not my favorite. If I’m being completely honest here, Christmas hasn’t been the same for me since 2001, when my grandmother passed away. Not to take this column to a totally grim place, but my grandmother passed away around Christmas when I was home visiting from college, and from that moment on, I’ve just never gotten back into the groove of it. Fast-forward 14 years later and that’s finally going to change.
Since getting married, I’ve been really excited to start our own traditions for the holidays. I’ve found that it’s really difficult to do that if you’re not really interested in a certain holiday. So this year, I’m changing how I feel about Christmas. We’re hosting Christmas dinner at our place, and I’m looking forward to putting up some tasteful decorations and serving a tasty and thoughtful Christmas dinner menu.
The more I embrace this holiday and look at it differently, the more appealing it becomes to me. So in preparation for this holiday season, I’m getting my list together for Santa. If you’re on the hunt for a few kitchen gadgets to add to your list, I’ve got you covered.
Digital kitchen scale
I have one of these and I absolutely adore it. It’s made my life so easy when it comes to baking and measuring random amounts of foods. There are lots of options out there for you to choose from—seriously, the options are endless. I have an Oxo scale and I’ve been pretty happy with it. Be sure to let Santa know which brand you prefer, or otherwise he’ll be looking forever.
KitchenAid stand mixer
This is the holy grail of kitchen gadgets, don’t you think? There are tons of attachments you can purchase for them, too. I think the common misconception about these mixers is that they’re only for baking, and that’s just not true. Don’t get me wrong—they’re great if you’re making cake batter or kneading bread—but getting an attachment will totally step your game up. You can make different types of pastas or even grind meats with it. Prices usually start at about $250 and can go upward of $1,000, but it’ll be well worth the investment, I promise.
Nespresso VertuoLine Evoluo
This is an item that I do not currently own, but I think I’m adding it to my Christmas list. I’m a French press user (I love it), but I sometimes long for a quicker way to brew coffee at home. I’ve been there, done that with a drip coffee maker and I’m not interested in going back to that. However, this Nespresso machine seems to be a popular and well-liked item. This particular one does a regular cup of coffee and espresso.
Rabbit wine opener
The best way to get through the holiday is with a bottle of wine, right? Quickly get into your favorite bottle with an electric opener. This opener is easy to use, quiet and won’t take up a lot of space. It’s pretty perfect for a stocking stuffer.
Coffee bean/spice grinder
If you don’t need to grind coffee beans at home, this may be a useless gift for Santa to give you. However, there are lots of coffee grinders that act as spice grinders, too. These grinders are great if you like making your own spice combinations instead of buying jarred ones.
[“source-nooga”]
