Holiday Gifts for Friends Who Love Good Food
A holiday gift for a friend should feel personal without becoming a project. Food is a good answer for the friends who cook, host and order the interesting thing on the menu: a jar, a bar or a tin gets opened and shared, and nobody has to find room for it in March.
This guide sorts holiday gifts for friends by budget, at about $15, $30 and $60, with each gift a pair priced from listed prices. It adds a group gift that several friends can split and a few lines for the card. For a gift drawn from a hat at the office, see Secret Santa gifts for adults instead.
About $15
Two chocolate bars for the friend with a sweet tooth
Omnom, a bean-to-bar chocolate maker in Reykjavík, Iceland, makes all its chocolate from organic cacao beans and Icelandic milk; its Sea Salted Toffee bar is toffee milk chocolate sprinkled with Icelandic sea salt (shop Omnom Sea Salted Toffee). Mayana's Coffee Break mini bar layers coffee marshmallow and salted caramel in 66% dark chocolate, topped with sea salt and coffee grounds, made in small batches in Spooner, Wisconsin (shop the Mayana Coffee Break mini bar). Together: $12.98.
A wildflower honey and a card
Savannah Bee Company's Charleston honey comes from the wildflowers of the South Carolina low country, and the listing describes it as bold and smoky-sweet (shop Savannah Bee Charleston honey, 12 oz). Add a letterpress card from Ice Pond Press with a John Muir line on the front (shop The Mountains Are Calling card). Together: $15.00.
About $30
A hazelnut spread and a sake kasu bar for the adventurous eater
Il Colle del Gusto, from Lazio, makes Granellona Brut with crushed hazelnuts in a chocolate cream, using extra virgin olive oil in place of palm oil (shop Granellona Brut). Fossa, a bean-to-bar maker in Singapore, blends sake kasu, the lees left after sake brewing, from two Japanese breweries, Akishika Shuzo and Mukai Shuzo, with cacao from Kelantan, Malaysia; the 73% bar is vegan (shop Fossa Sake Kasu). Together: $32.99.
About $60
A holiday tea and chocolate hazelnuts for the friend who hosts
Mariage Frères, founded in Paris in 1854, scents its Esprit de Noël black tea with mild Christmas spices and pieces of cinnamon, almond and apple, and packs 100 g of loose leaf in a sealed black canister (shop Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël). Fev'co, a French confectioner, covers caramelized hazelnuts in gianduja milk chocolate and dusts them with cocoa powder (shop Fev'co hazelnut dragées). Pour the tea for the guests and put the dragées out after dinner. Together: $65.00.
A group gift for a close friend
When four friends go in together, $38 each buys a gift none of them would give alone. The Mariage Frères Grand Coffret Henri is a presentation case of 18 individual tins of the house's teas, 302 g of tea in all, in tins inspired by historical sample cases (shop the Grand Coffret Henri, $152.00). Each friend can write a line on the card about the tin they would open first.
Holiday gifts for friends, by budget and friend
| Budget | Friend | Gift | Listed price |
|---|---|---|---|
| About $15 | Sweet tooth | Omnom Sea Salted Toffee, Mayana Coffee Break mini bar | $12.98 |
| About $15 | Tea or toast person | Savannah Bee Charleston honey, Ice Pond Press card | $15.00 |
| About $30 | Adventurous eater | Granellona Brut, Fossa Sake Kasu | $32.99 |
| About $60 | Host | Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël, Fev'co hazelnut dragées | $65.00 |
| Group of four | Close friend | Mariage Frères Grand Coffret Henri | $152.00 ($38.00 each) |
Prices follow the listed price on each product page. Products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com. For more price points, see fine food gifts under $25, $50 and $100.
What to write on the card
A short line that names a memory does more than a long one. Ladyfingers Letterpress's I've Got Your Back friendship card is an A2 letterpress card, blank inside, with an envelope (shop the I've Got Your Back card, $6.00). A few lines that fit the gifts above:
- With the chocolate: "For the next movie night. Do not share."
- With the honey: "For your tea, and for the toast you make at midnight."
- With the host pair: "Thank you for every dinner this year."
- With the group gift: each friend signs and names the tin they would open first.
A few things to check
- Nuts. The Granellona Brut and the Fev'co dragées are made with hazelnuts, and the Esprit de Noël tea contains almond pieces. Fossa's bar is nut-free, but the maker notes its facility also processes nuts and milk.
- Dairy. The Omnom toffee bar is milk chocolate and the dragées are milk chocolate. For a vegan friend, the Fossa bar is labeled vegan by the maker.
- Caffeine. The Coffee Break bar contains coffee, and both Mariage Frères gifts contain tea.
Short answers
What is a good holiday gift for a friend who loves food? Something to open and share: a jar of honey, a chocolate spread, a tin of tea or two unusual chocolate bars.
How much should I spend on a friend's holiday gift? Whatever your group usually spends; this guide has pairs at about $15, $30 and $60, and a group gift at $38 each for four people.
What is a good group gift for a friend? Something larger than any one person would give, such as the 18-tin Mariage Frères Grand Coffret Henri split four ways.
The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver.
See also: gifts for foodie couples, for friends who cook and pour together.
