I know it’s late January, but there still seem to be some Christmas discussions floating around as I catch up with various groups of friends after the holiday period. One conversation recently got me thinking about one of my favorite minimalist gifts. In a previous post here, I discussed the minimalist gifts I gave (among other things). But now I’m going to focus on a gift I once received that still plays on my mind even though it was several years ago.
A couple of years ago I did a ‘Secret Santa’ with a small group of friends and I’m sure many minimalists share my views on this social ritual (i’m not a fan). I personally deem secret santa to be an unnecessary excuse just to spend $20 on something that (odds are) someone else won’t like or they will have little use for- an all round forgettable experience. In years gone by I had terrible luck with is so called ‘fun’ experience. I’ve always ended up with things that I honestly just don’t want and just proceed to add clutter to my home.
However, I digress. This particular experience was an interesting one, but I will provide a little background first. I have food allergies. Yes, I am ‘one of those people’ who is allergic to gluten and dairy. It makes eating out an absolute nightmare sometimes and creates difficulties when travelling in foreign countries. But it is what it is and I’m somewhat used to it now. One particular Christmas, I received (from a friend who is also minimalist) a tin full of home made gluten and dairy free crackers that had been made into small animal shapes. I couldn’t have been more chuffed. It was such a thoughtful gift that my friend had clearly spent a lot of time and energy on. Often gluten free baking of this kind requires a lot of trial and error and adapting as you go along (doughs and batters can be difficult to work with due to the different flours).
I also would like to acknowledge that gluten free ingredients, such as the different flours required to make these sort of items are sold at a premium so there is significantly more cost involved than there otherwise would be.
To this day, I still think about those delicious crackers which were perfect for dipping in hummus for my morning tea at work (an how jealous the other girls in the office were). That I’m still thinking about this several years down the track just goes to show how such thoughtful, minimalist gifts are appreciated. I might even ask her for the recipe!
Have you received delicious minimalist gifts?
This is Minimalism 