I love giving gifts. I take my time picking things out, making notes to myself months in advance when I notice a need/want or see something I think a certain person would really like.

I hate the crush of being forced to come up with “something good” for people in a list because a certain date is approaching.

This fall, I visited old friends. I gave one couple a “breakfast board” (Germans use small cutting boards to eat simple meals from) with a burned-in Berlin skyline. The round part of the TV tower on Alexanderplatz is replaced with a hole for a boiled egg (also a thing in Germany) and there is a magnet embedded in the cutting board that a spoon (with which to eat the egg) can stick to. They loved it. Passed it back and forth several times, referred to it later, etc. They are very creative people in their 70s who have spent lots of time in Germany & Vienna, and have everything they need, so SCORE. To a college friend, her husband, and their daughter, I gave fountain pens with multiple nibs (because the husband & daughter are artistic) and finger towels/soaps with the East German Ampelmann. (The figure used for walk/don’t walk signs; West Germans began replacing it at unification, as many East things were being shut down or replaced by the West; people complained and the little guy stayed). SCOREd again, because they love fighting for the little guy.

Now I’m visiting the same folks over Christmas, as well as an artistic guy who is a fighter against racism. I’m fresh out of ideas. I’ll see them after Christmas, so doubt a box of assorted homemade cookies would work (also, dietary reasons I won’t get into for 2/3). Alcohol-related gifts also aren’t a thing for most of them. The college friend pointed out that they had framed a poster I gave them years ago, and it hangs in their home, so I feel a bit of pressure.

What unique gifts are you giving this year? It’s unlikely I’ll copy directly, but maybe hearing other peoples creative ideas will get me thinking.