The Best Things I’ve Gifted This Year
A big takeaway from 2024 is that I’ve really worked on the art of gifting. From trinkets to experiences, I’m proud of the glowing, positive reviews from my loved ones. And as we enter gifting season, I thought I’d put together a post all about them in lieu of a Daisybutter Gift Guide, since I’m really trying not to push overconsumption these days.
Gourmaze
One of my favourite discoveries was Gourmaze, a London-based company that provides food treasure hunts for groups. I booked this to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday with all of his siblings and their partners. It turned out to be SO much fun in a group of 12 (we booked as two teams). Not only was the food delicious, it was really fun to learn more about London through an actually difficult maze and quiz. They ask that you don’t share photos of the food or locations, to keep the secrets, but trust me when I say they’re all delicious! (And they cater to dietary requirements.) We all agree it was one of the most memorable days of the year, and now we have more London street food destinations in our repertoire.
Book your Gourmaze adventure now.
Tastefilm
To celebrate my sister’s birthday, I booked us Tastefilm tickets to see Mamma Mia. Tastefilm is another smaller company that focuses on foodie experiences. Select a film, and they’ve created a delicious, themed menu to go alongside your viewing experience. I’ve raved about this to all of my friends, because it’s so beautifully thought-out. They are incredibly inclusive for dietary requirements (let them know your preferences, allergies) as well as seating arrangements (shorter? Taller? Wheelchair accessibility required? Plus size seating? They have you sorted). And the food is SO good! The dishes were themed to the movie, brought out at ridiculously well-timed points, plus with extra surprises thrown in.
Browse Tastefilm’s delicious screenings here.
Decorative vegetable focaccia
Edible gifts are also fun! I learned to bake focaccia at the start of the year, and it became a great gift. I loved using veggies to create a pretty scene (and flavours), then wrapping it in parchment paper with some twine. Perfect for new Mamas – and Papas! – as a ‘get well’ treat, or present for foodie friends.
An easy focaccia recipe to follow.
RetroViewer
90s kids will remember these: plastic binocular-like viewers where you could place a reel in and see six images, often from Disney films. I absolutely loved these as a kid and collected my favourite Disney movie stills! For Valentine’s Day, I ordered a RetroViewer, and made a custom reel of six photos from some of our trips or favourite memories together. It’s a really cute way to display photos in a tangible, useable way, and I’ll be displaying it on the bookcase in our lounge soon!
Shop the Create Your Own Reel and Retroviewer here.
Photobubble L’Allure Coffee Table Photo Book
Lastly, I am a devotee to these gorgeous photo books. I wrote about them in another post, but they really are great. Whether it’s a trip you’ve taken together or photos from a whole friendship, these Photobubble books are incredibly quality, ship relatively quickly, and look great on a coffee table. My boyfriend and I now have six of these, which will sit on the lounge bookcase and coffee table. Think a more personal version of the Maison Assouline books – they’ll actually flick through these.
