Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.
I feel a tiny bit uncomfortable writing this as a person who is finds early onset Xmas stuff to be annoying. Also, I’m pretty much out of the gift exchange thing anymore. And the pandemic has colored our desires for connection rather than stuff. But many people do exchange gifts in December. As such, let’s be real and recognize that worldwide shipping is somewhat wrapped around its own axle at this time and many things that were supposed to be in stores by now aren’t. And many won’t be in time.
If you need to get some stuff for gifts, I suggest shopping with small businesses, starting with our own Kos Katalogue. You’ll help support an artisan and may find something unique. The list has been newly revamped and streamlined by CathyM. In it, you can find some neat things that are handmade by Kossacks. Also some services! Here are a few, just for example:
Fine wooden fireplace bellows, clocks, and boxes from Laughing Coyote Woodworks
Birdhouses, Birdfeeders, and Bat-houses from Nature’s Friend
Brass menorahs and other gifts from David M Bowman
Xmas stockings, tea cozies, earrings, and other small gifts from CathyM’s Etsy shop
Speaking of Etsy, there is a world of hand-crafted and creative goods to be found there. If you want to have some fun, peruse the 2021 ornaments — commentary you can hang on your tree. But seriously, a lot of our Kos Katalogue people have shops on Etsy. One that is new belongs to our own BeadLady who is just seeking to clear out a lot of her quilts pretty much at the cost of the fabric it took to make them. See a rainbow of her gorgeous quilts for sale here. These are bargains, friends. Trust me. If you have someone on your gift list who feels the cold, look no further.
Back to the subject of quirky ornaments, here are a couple of fun articles:
Fabulously Unique Christmas Ornaments That You Suddenly Need - Deck your halls with the kitschy and niche and shop these eccentric ornaments including butter, Bjork and shiny bottles of ranch. I think the one of Bernie at Biden’s inauguration might be very collectible. And I don’t know why, but that cocktail shrimp ornament intrigues me.
Decorate Your Christmas Tree With Extremely Cute (Fake) Food - Who says avocado toast isn’t festive? Yup, avocado toast. Wrought in glass. For your tree. There is also an Instant Pot ornament. I don’t know. We might know someone who needs that. Maybe. Oh tchotchkes…
Speaking of food, cookbooks make great gifts as do homemade treats.
The weekend begins now. Come in, be comfortable, and share your day, your weekend plans, your menus! And if you have shopping finds to share or have a shop of your own, please let us know!
This is an open thread.