Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Gift for the boss

My husband asked me to find a gift for his boss' birthday. I don't know about you, but gifts for men always stump me. Since the boss, like my husband, is diabetic, I decided to go for roasted nuts.

Have you ever met a man who doesn't love nuts?

(Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was taught that when you give "up" the chain of command, your gift should be more of a token than a lavish expense.)

I found whole almonds and these giant walnut halves at Aldi ($8). I toasted the walnuts in a little olive oil and sea salt.

Oh, no! My stash of tins evaporated. The thrift store had only this printed tin left, but beggars can't be choosers. I glued a circle of wrapping paper over the logo.

I knew this brown grosgrain would come in handy one day! I saved it from a Restoration Hardware package. Doesn't this look like a September birthday to you?

33 comments:

Gena said...

I believe you are right in your gift giving etiquette.

Your tin looks beautiful and those nuts are sure to be delicious!

TracyMichele said...

What a fantastic idea. My dad is a huge nut fan and I am always stumped when it comes to his birthday, father's day, Christmas.. you get the idea. Why have I never thought of nuts!? LOVE it!

Happy to see someone else who saves the ribbons from store packages! :)

Tamara said...

That is so great! I love it and am totally going to copy you!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh that is wonderful! I especially love food and other consumable gifts since I know they won't take up space in someone else's home. Nuts are a great alternative alternative to the usual cookies and cakes.

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

As long as the guy likes nuts, I think it's a wonderful gift! Your presentation always looks so lavish!

My FIL's birthday was this weekend. He, too, is diabetic. He avoids sweets completely because he has no self control. However, every year for his birthday, I bake him a diabetic apple pie. He is always thrilled with it, and he looks forward to it yearly. I do intend to post the recipe on my blog at some point this week. My time has just been limited with the aftermath of major house repairs.

Anonymous said...

Do you think you could have just bought a tin of nuts for $10? It doesn't look like you saved a whole lot.

Carrien Blue said...

pretty!
My hubby hates nuts. He claims they give him headaches.

Monica Wilkinson said...

I love this! It looks so beautiful - that ribbon is just the perfect touch! :)

CDMOM said...

Gluing the wrapping paper was ingenious! Now that is the art of frugality.

Terri said...

How beautiful! You're an inspiration in creativity and frugality, Meredith!

Anonymous said...

You are simply amazing!

nannykim said...

Good , no , great idea!! (Just hope he doesn't have a nut allergy ;-)---hmmm I certainly sound negative--but not! I love the idea and it is very pretty.

The Frugal Countess said...

That's a great idea!! The tin looks like fall - and very masculine - love it!! I also think that he will realize that they were roasted at home - and that will be so much more appreciated than just a purchased tin of nuts. Good job!

Anonymous said...

That was a good idea. And you are absolutely correct, a "token" gift...my family used the term "a little remembrance gift" ...is appropriate in that situation. You may have been able to find the same thing, technically, at a shop for the same cost,,but yours has the 'personal touch'.

You can't worry about things like nut allergies,,,if you didn't know, you didn't know. I personally can not be around scented candles. I am gifted (casually) them constantly, I offer thanks, send a note,,, and put them in my re-gift stash!

It's the thought that counts.

faithful reader

*carrie* said...

Beautiful gift.

I'm always saving ribbon, paper and bags from others' gifts. It's a fun game to re-use it and not have to buy any!

Amy said...

I love the two colors together and I would have never thought to add the wrapping paper. That was so smart. I am going to look at tins in the thrift store in a whole new light! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Your gift was beautifully done! You are an inspiration to me to keep things simple. Presentation is everything.

Jenny's Vegcafe said...

Looks nice Meredith. I think it's just enough.

Anonymous said...

Great idea! No diabetes in any of our families, but both of our dads and all of my brothers would love this.
Annie

Hyperactive Lu said...

I love the packaging! Thanks for the comments!

Melissa said...

Lovely idea!

Anonymous said...

I'm a little surprised that a gift for the boss' birthday was expected.

In all my years in the workforce, I never knew anyone who gave the boss a birthday gift. But I was working in the public sector, where personal gifts are frowned upon; maybe it's different in a private company.

Now, we occasionally had birthday cakes for the office. In general, someone would get up a collection for a cake and card. We'd all contribute a few bucks, sign the card, and gather together for the cake and 'happy birthday' on a break.

The one exception: baby showers, with gifts, for pregnant colleagues having their first child.

So with my no-personal-gifts background, if I were giving a gift to a boss, I'd opt for a food gift. And a token gift at that.

I think you chose well.

Maybe the boss will be generous and share the nuts with the whole office.

-- Jora

Meredith said...

Jora, without saying too much, in this situation my husband is more of a colleague than an employee.

The boss' wife has organized a big birthday celebration at their workplace with cake, a vocal group singing the birthday song, etc...so we felt it would be awkward not to have a gift on hand.

Meredith said...

I did price check the nuts before heading to Aldi. Fresh Market didn't have any gift-packaged nuts in stock, and Hickory Farms prices a 12 to 16 ounce gift tin around $12 and up.

I spent $8 (plus incidental wrapping and roasting time) for 2 pounds of nuts. Plus, I think they taste better.

Missy K said...

A perfect and gracious solution! And extra points for not "overthinking it!"

Carrien Blue said...

I'm back to say...

Since your husband and his boss are both diabetic you may enjoy this little tip. My mother would make my GGF who was diabetic homemade chocolates. She would go to the health food store and get a few bars of the chocolate that was sweetened with Xylitol sp? and then she would melt it down at home in a double boiler and pour it into little pre-greased chocolate molds. (She had a ton on hand) She would also sitr in peanuts or almonds and pour a little bit in the bottom of muffin tins for a sort of brittle/wafer treat.

ANyway, for the cost of the chocolate, and a little goes a long way when you add the nuts, you have a homemade thoughtful gift that diabetics can enjoy.

She could also make a mean sugar free cheese cake. I can beg the recipe from her if you want it.

Anonymous said...

Regarding whether it would be cheaper to buy something, rather than make it: it's not always about what is less expensive...using your creative talents is a way of expressing that you care enough about the person to go that extra mile.

Sure I can buy a pre-packaged gift basket - but it's much more fun and personal to put one together myself.

Sure I can bring a store-bought cake or pie to the pot-luck meal...but it's not quite the same. Not saying mine would taste better - but it's making the effort that makes a difference. Plus it can make an inexpensive gift not seem like you just picked up a cheap can of nuts - but rather that time and thought was put into making it something special.

Anonymous said...

Oh, MY! A vocal group! It must have been an important birthday.

I thought of another time when we chipped in for office gifts -- retirements.

Jora

Anonymous said...

I too believe your gift giving etiquette is spot on.
My fil is diabetic and we like to give him an assortment of sugar-free candy (purchased at the local Amish store) as gifts. While the gift is appreciated, my presentation has been lacking. I love your idea and am soooo going to copy it!
Unfortunately for me- I just sold a bunch of tins at our yard sale because they were just “lying around”. Sigh. Not very frugal of me was it?!
Please keep sharing your frugal gift giving- it is inspiring!

sheila from life @ #17 said...

well, that is certainly a Very Nice Token :)

and love how you just changed that tin right up to suit your needs...

Tiffany said...

great idea, Meredith! I'm filing this away in my gift ideas folder!

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of a tin of nuts as a gift for a boss. I think it a thoughtful gift too.
I look for tins where ever I can find them. I have taken baby food formula cans and covered the can with wall paper or gift wrap to make it special. I put cookies etc in them. I also have been known to spray paint a tin too. A can of spray paint can turn a Christmas tin into anything..
I am sure the gift was well recieved at the party.
Roxie

Cyndi Lewis said...

Be careful with spray paint and food containers. Back in my husband's college bachelor days he was into everything being black and white and marbled. He lived in a house with a bunch of guys and someone left an old fridge when they moved out which he spray painted black and then marblelized. You couldn't begin to put food in it. The paint smell never left and any food put in it ended up smelling like paint and tasting foul.