When it comes to being thoughtful – I am often full of thoughts but inconsistent on execution. As I mature into a gentleman I am making a conscious effort to be more thoughtful – you know, a hand written thank you note, small gift as a nice congratulations or even for no good reason, flowers for a friend when I arrive for movie night, whatever. It makes them feel good, it makes me feel good. We all win.
My brother just moved into a new lake house with his wife and his adorable son so I decided to get them a little housewarming gift. My go-to gift is a basket of great pantry essentials. When you move you often toss or giveaway a lot of food items or pack must keep pantry items in a box that gets buried in the heap. When I moved from New York to San Francisco my mom made out like a bandit. Pantry goods are also the things that can drive up that first grocery bill at a time you don’t want to drop an extra $100 on something so mundane as condiments.
A nice mix of the essentials and treats simply styled in a basket is a show-stopper that hits the mark every time you want to say "welcome home."
“I usually hit two stores. The grocery store and a place to find affordable household items like Home Goods.
(I love me some Home Goods)”
My brother likes to cook too but with a family to take care of he rarely treats himself to culinary indulgences, so I knew this would be extra special. I try to do some basic essentials, something for the house, a treat or two, and something personal. Here is what I included for him but you can do whatever, have fun with it.
// THE BASICS //
1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Vinegar | I got my bro a balsamic and a champagne vinegar.
2. Kosher Salt & Pepper Corns | Everyone needs that (sometimes I'll even throw in a pepper mill).
3. Dijon Mustard & Ketchup | Classic.
4. Hot Sauces | My brother loves things spicy so I got him Cholula, Tabasco, and BBQ sauce.
5. Jar of Marinara | Throw it in the pantry for when you need a quick dinner (sometimes I put in pasta too).
// FOR THE HOUSE //
6. Kitchen Towels | Simple, useful, and softens the look. A scented candle or bunch of flowers are nice too. I once got a friend a decent chefs knife that I found on sale because I knew she didn't have one.
Side story, I was recently at that friend's house and opened a drawer to get a spoon and that knife was in there, still in the box, unopened. Bitch.
// TREATS //
7. Moet Champagne | A bottle of booze is always appreciated. It can be a good bottle of wine, a small bottle of his favorite bourbon, whatever you know the person likes. Other treats like chocolate, homemade cookies, or a bag of their favorite candy are good options too.
// MAKE IT PERSONAL //
8. Purell & Skewers | My brother mentioned he was excited to grill so I threw in some wooden skewers. He is also a bit of a germ freak so I threw in a big bottle of Purell as a funny wink and nod to the fact that he is just a tad bit completely insane.
9. Drink Tub | You should put it all in a vessel of some sort. A nice basket, a wooden serving bowl, I even packed everything in cute colander once. But my brother has a deck overlooking a lake so I figured that would mean lots of guests outside this summer. This big basin could hold ice and drinks for a party or a stack of towels by the back door for wet kids coming out the lake. The basin I found has a rustic feel with rope handles that just screamed lake house. Perfect!
I threw in a few more items that caught my eye as I made my way to the register - corn cob holders, fancy paper straws, a bottle Worcestershire Sauce (my bro likes a good Bloody Mary), some coffee pods, and a salad dressing shaker that my mom tossed in. Just use your imagination and try to think about what the person would love.
When you are arranging my only rule is to make it look pretty. Try to layer things - big/tall things first, and then fill in the rest so that things pop. I used the paper that the Home Goods cashier wrapped the bottles in to build a base at the bottom of the tub and add some texture to the arrangement. Just play around with it - trust me they will love it even if you aren't expert stylist (I'm not).
I'm the best little brother ever.
I'm not sure why I look like Chucky.