Tuesday Tip: Rethink Holiday Gift Giving

I can’t go to a museum without at least a quick tour of the gift shop. Current well (curated) favorites are at the Gardner Museum and MOMA where I found an excellent trivet by French designer Erwan Peron. It’s something I’ll use almost every day, recalling a recent mother/daughter(s) trip to New York.

For the many who are rethinking the exchange of gifts during the holiday season we offer the following.

1. Useful: something that the recipient will turn to often, thinking of you each time they do.

2. Edible or potable: special organic spices, coffee beans, soaps are gifts that feed body and/or soul.

3. Beautiful: named support of a fund raising garden event like The Pink Tulip Project.

4. Memorable: each person in the (family) asks for an experience they’d like to share. Making it happen is their gift from the rest of the group. I’ve always wanted to go snow shoeing at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. It may not be high on my family’s list, but if that’s what I ask for…. And if Nick wants family pond hockey I’ll strap on skates and a smile. The memory of whatever happens on the ice will be worth it.

P.S. If you you can get to the MOMA before mid-January don’t miss Robert Gober’s The Heart Is Not a Metaphor – the show surprises and challenges.