Gift Guide | Baker’s Delight

WhatIWore: On your mark, get set, BAKE! This is really just my own Christmas wishlist! In the past year I’ve really enjoyed baking but I know that the right tools for the job can make it even more enjoyable! Know a baker you want to spoil? Consider some of these fabulous gifts! 

1. Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer - This one’s expensive, but it’s also usually on sale around the holidays!  Look to Black Friday or Cyber Monday to get a great deal. I already have a mixer I received as a wedding present, but if it was lost in a fire, I’d want a pretty pale yellow or aqua version as shown here (there are 42 colors available right now on Amazon!). On sale TODAY (11/23) for 20% at Target with code KITCHEN! 

2. Silpat Liners - I have one but I’d love more! Silpat trays eliminate the need for greasing your cookie sheet and allow your baked goods to easily peal right up. 

3. Flour Sifter - Believe it or not, I think it makes a big difference in some more delicate treats (like macarons). Right now I’m just using a mesh seive, so I hope I can add a sifter to my tool box soon!

4. Hand Mixer - Sometimes you’ve gotta really beat the heck out of your icing (like with cream cheese!) and the stand mixer isn’t the right tool. A hand mixer is on the top of my list! Lots of pretty color options available there too! (Dropping hint here!!)

5. Cake Stand - Half the fun of baking for me is making my treats look beautiful. I’d love to be able to show them off under a glass cake stand in my dining room. If you’ve already got one of those, these are pretty too! 

6. Pastry Bags and Tips - Speaking of beautiful treats, I’d love a little set of pretty tips (and these thingies) and professional grade pastry bags for decorating!

7. Cookbooks - Not sure what your baker has in her kitchen? A cookbook is always a great addition! No surprise that I’d like to read more about Macarons, Pies and Bread! 

8. Cupcake tray and liners - This is actually a great last minute gift you can pick up at the grocery store! Who doesn’t like baking cupcakes! Throw in a box mix and some sprinkles and you’ve got an excellent gift for that teenage neice you’re not sure what to get!  Mini trays and liners are fun too! 

9. Kitchen Scale - Ever notice how the contestants on The Great British Baking Show use their scales for precision measurements? I think it makes a difference (especially in macarons!). 

10.. Apron - You can always tell when I’ve been baking because I probably have smudges of either flour or powdered sugar on my jeans. Where did all of my aprons go? I’d love to have a chef’s number like this to hang on a hook and put on every time I turn that oven on! 

What Christmas Means to Me

Today I woke up and realized that if I had to pick, I’d take Christmas Eve over Christmas Day.  It’s the big day before the big day and when the celebrations always took place in my childhood home.  We’d spend the day cleaning the house and helping my mom and dad prepare for the elaborate six course meal they’d cook. We listened to the Time Life Treasury of Christmas CD so many times I’d memorized all of the songs by the time I was ten. Each hour we got closer to Christmas got built up with more anticipation and anxiety as we’d entertain my dad’s side of the family and all of my cousins that night. I always had a special Christmas dress and my mom always gave us Christmas pajamas to wear that night. After our big meal we’d exchange presents and the kids would play in the basement while the parents got jolly and played euchre upstairs.  The little kids would cry when it was time to go home after all of the fun we’d had.  To this day the smell of candle smoke instantly pulls me back to those nights.

When I got older I spent each Christmas hoping that the next year would be spent with someone I loved. After Adam and I got married, I thought about how much I wanted a baby and how joyful Christmas would be when we had kids.

And last year, on December 24th, I got my wish.  A year ago today I found out I was going to me a mom and that I was pregnant.  Today I sit in my living room with a sleeping baby boy by my side, next to the glow of the Christmas lights on the tree and think about how lucky I’ve been and how grateful I am for the life I’m living. It’s the first year that Adam and I are spending Christmas Eve in our own home, as our own little family of three. It’ll be different from the full house I grew up with, but perfect in it’s own way. 

However you spend the holidays, I hope they’re filled with love. Merry Christmas!