Inlaw family presents - no more chocolate, please!

[CraftyC]

Every year my husband's family get together for a post Christmas/new year thjng. They are a lovely bunch, but they have a habit of gifting each other boxes of chocolates or biscuits. Every year everyone mutters about how they are on a diet, how they have loads of biscuits at home etc. Yet every year we all pass the same sort of boxes from person to person, feigning gratitude.

I want to gift them all something different this year. They include a 90 year old lady living alone, 2 couples in their 60s, 3 families with teenagers (including one couple who have been on a serious diet this year and are eating very well).

I am crafty but many of them crochet like me. I do like to bake bread, but would homemade bread be an appropriate gift? I was thinking maybe a houseplant? But the older crowd may not like that.

Any ideas? It cant be expensive as I have about 15 people to think of. Just a token gift really, but I cant face gifting more chocolate.

Absolutely no no no to bread

id love a house plant personally

Families with teens…. A really good board game?

What’s your budget?

Coffee shop voucher

No to crochet

No to bread

I assumed on same level as a box of chocolates

Yes similar to boxes of chocolates, which are around £10 now

@Overdonecabbage yes, thought so. It’s a tricky one. I like the board game suggestion from a PP. Or maybe just a small token voucher for the cinema/coffee shop.

Nice chutneys?

I would love £10 in a card with , go get a coffee together on me.

Do they like honey, olive oil or Nando’s sauces?

Local honey

Homemade fruit cordial

If they have interests, something related to those, i.e. fancy vanilla beans for a baker, etc.

We were given this last year and everyone has enjoyed it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magilano-SKYJO-Action/dp/B06XZ9K244?th=1

Boots do some nice jam,marmalade/ tea selection/oil or sauce selection gift sets for around a tenner.

Bird feeder & nuts/seeds/fatballs

Mini hampers of a nice cheese, fancy condiment and crackers?

Nice coffee or tea?

I would love home made bread if I knew where it had come from. But I’ve never met a carb I didn’t get on with.

I might go with photos. Drop in on whoever is the centre of the family (MiL?) and tell her you need to borrow her photo albums. Do some scanning and cropping and focusing in on people, put light filters on if necessary, get a cheap but nice wooden frame from the supermarket and present them with a framed photo. It would probably work better for the younger ones if you got photos from their social media as nobody is going to hate photos that they’ve put on line themselves. For your eldest relative, if you can’t find any photos, what about a photo of the church they got married in? Or a much loved pet? Or all the grandchildren together?

Just have a secret Santa and each person then only has to buy for one other person so they can actually get a really nice present with their budget?!?!

Ooh, I like this idea way better than mine.

Would It be an option for everyone who is coming to pick one person (secret Santa style) so each person gets a decent gift rather than all swapping things nobody wants?

Pretty tin of olive oil. There are 250ml tins which are cheaper. Try the Sous Chef website.

That’s a good idea although it would get pricey for the families with teens.

A scarf and some homemade jam or chutney.

I’d go for a nice notebook and pen, or a candle (TKMaxx is great for both).

We did this but in couples/ families as well as individuals rather than everyone having a gift each.

Good plan.