Is this a shit gift?

[OhhBetty]

A group of friends and I are doing secret santa this year with a 15 pound limit. The person I've got is so hard to buy for! She just buys everything she wants as she is very wealthy! Things like bath stuff or anything girly is a no no. She does like her spicy food and spent a lot of time in India and her partner is Indian and she cooks that style of food.

I've come across a gift set with all kinds of spices in including some rare ones. Does this sound ok to you or does it sound like a shit present?!

How about the spices and some edible gold leaf to make it a bit fancy?

a nice scented candle or room diffuser

I don't think you can get this for £15 though??

I agree with cook book, or a really posh olive oil/hemp oil , or some nice tights

I would choose the best quality (non supermarket!) tea for the budget.

Someone who appreciates nice things and enjoys cooking would probably appreciate it.

Kusmi Paris have a couple of London shops but also sell online, and I'd pick a tin of loose-leaf tea such as Darjeeling as it's considered the "champagne of teas" and is palatable enough for everyone.
uk.kusmitea.com/our-teas/organic-darjeeling-n-37.htmlpackaging=56
and if the budget will stretch to a little bit more than £15, add a lovely gold tea measuring spoon to go with it.
uk.kusmitea.com/tea-set/tea-mesure-spoon.html

If someone gave me a scented candle I would immediately regift it. Vile stinky messy things. Don't care if it's Home Alone which for £15 it won't be.
Smellies and makeup - I am more than capable of buying my own and have enough to outlast me. Under £15 won't get much anyway.
Cookbook. No. I have dozens of really good ones.
Expensive chocolates? I'd go for something shareable like the individual Glean & Breck or Devine ones as you can pile them on a plate for visitors (if you want to share them) and that looks less mean than bringing out an already opened box.

Get the spices!

It's ridiculous to suggest she won't want the spices because she already has them. In the nail varnish example, would you advise against it if she already owned nail varnishes?

I'm a bit late to the party but my first thought on reading your post is she'll already have them from what you say about her. Having said that, better to get the spices if you can't think of anything else you know will be more appropriate. Also, I always thought Secret Santa wasn't really a serious present giving thing, more of something to have a laugh with and do something quirky or unusual so maybe you could go completely left field and have fun throwing caution to the wind?

for £15 you'd find something in Space NK.

she is bound to like that

MikeUniform for years I have been giving my mum tea lights and very pretty ornamental tea light holders having no idea she hates them and thinks the ideas of candles as gifts (even if expensive is abhorrent!).

shows how much I know my mum

so maybe you could go completely left field and have fun throwing caution to the wind?
Yes, maybe consider the Pocahontas headdress I found! I would be different if nothing else

I think the spices are a lovely, thoughtful idea. I disagree that generic gifts are best for secret santa and I always prefer to make it a bit personal. I really like the tea pigs idea! At our local chocolate festival last year I bought chocolate with masala spices and more with nutmeg, cinnamon and (I think) paprika. If I was going for chocolate, I'd be tempted by something like that.

Now I really want some spiced chocolate...

I think that's a lovely idea. My OH is part Malaysian , she can't cook for shit though but I cook us loads of asian / oriental dishes. I'd love a nice gift set of spices and stuff as I found a jar of paprika the other day that expired in 2010 :-/ and John Lewis do some gorgeous foodie gift sets.

Sounds a very thoughtful gift.

"It's ridiculous to suggest she won't want the spices because she already has them. In the nail varnish example, would you advise against it if she already owned nail varnishes?"

Well if she had the same colour that you were going to buy, yes you would advise against it!

If she's got jars of turmeric, she probably wont want anymore turmeric.

Thanks everyone! I've got a while to mull it over I guess! I think I may go with the spices. Or possibly some really nice chilli chocolates. Or tea pigs

Please don't, as someone who cooks a lot I would really hate it as a present. I think your best bet is to go with a small high quality present. the brass spoons above seem nice, or if you want to go with spices how about high quality vanilla pods or saffron?

or how about rococo chocolates?

£15 plenty enough for a Secret Santa but not really that much to work with in the grand scheme of things so makes it difficult. If you can't think of anything else you feel good about giving the spices idea is at least in reserve and there are much worse presents you could give to her!

Rosehips Rococo chocs - yum - used to work down the road from them in Marylebone High Street absolute heaven!

does she favour certain colours? a scarf?

I would go with recipe book idea, I love cooking and at work someone bought me a cookbook for secret santa which was brilliant as she put thought into what she bought me (the recipes were relevant to me so not just any cookbook!)

This! A friend got me a subscription and it's fab
I make curry a lot but this made the best curry ever

the spicery

I was just coming on to suggest The Spicery!

It is very difficult with secret Santa, but at least spices or similar shows you've thought about it and not just bought a generic gift.

How about an unusual Christmas read? A Scandinavian crime story by a less mainstream writer?

I've never had Rococo chocolate. Is it nice?

Betty Rococo choc is nice believe me!