There’s nothing wrong with monogrammed French soaps or a programmable ice bucket that chills wine on demand in minutes. It’s just that our minds are in a different place this year.
When the reporters and writers for Home&Garden got together to brainstorm ideas for our annual, “Staff Picks” holiday gifts roundup, many of us blurted out things like: “What I really would like is for someone to find me a handyman and pay for him to come to my house for half a day.”
And: “I want to learn how to knit.”
And: “Wouldn’t it be great if someone hired a landscape designer for me, just to come up with a plan for my garden? I can do the planting.”
Clearly, these aren’t your scoop-’em-up, wrap-’em-up kinds of gifts. They require a mindfulness of your loved ones’ inner passions and/or pathos — and the savvy to locate the satisfaction/antidote.
“Who has time for that?” you ask.
We stepped in with a gift of our own — a list of ideas for such mind-over-material gifts. We came up with services, adventures, experiences that make wonderful presents, all with a focus on the home. And then we offer help in tracking down these “non-things.”
To those who say “good things come in small boxes,” we say “even better things come in no box at all.”
Happy holidays everyone.
–The Home&Garden staff
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12 gift ideas that enrich hearts and homes
Really know the people you’re giving to — the things they value and have room for in their lives — and you’ll have a meaningful and treasured gift.
1. Food and thoughts
One of my all-time favorite gifts came from my sister. She (being the better cook and the more organized one) compiled for me a handwritten family recipe book with sections for appetizers, vegetables, pasta, meat and poultry, seafood, breads and baked goods, sweets, beverages and memorable meals. She included classic family recipes from my mother and grandmothers and the more esoteric party fare (all of which I previously had a hard time finding in my semblance of recipe organization). It’s now a cherished cookbook on my shelf — and a wonderful link to my past and some of the best meals I have ever eaten.
How to make one: My sister handwrote her entries into a ring-bound cook’s journal (with pockets for stashing more recipes and notes) that she found at a bookstore. (Check out www.borders.com and www.barnesandnoble.com; search for recipe journal and/or family recipe organizer). You can print out your recipes from your computer, if typing is faster and easier for you. And you could use any type of notebook with tabbed dividers. (Check out the mini-binders from Russell + Hazel, www.russellandhazel.com, which allow you to personalize — you pick from a number of stylish binders and then the appropriate inserts.)
— Karen Klages
2. Personal coverups
Wouldn’t it be a great present to make a quilt out of Grandma’s vintage napkins or Dad’s old ties or Josh’s old baseball T-shirts? Don’t know how to sew? No problem. Just in time for the holidays, Chicago-based children’s bedding designer Ticche & Bea is debuting its Memory Quilt kit — place an order and the company will send you a sewing certificate and gift card featuring a memory quilt on the cover (for gift-giving purposes), template and mailing envelope. Cut out 16 octagons of fabric using the template, mail them back in the envelope provided and the folks at Ticche & Bea will make the quilt for you, which will arrive in about four weeks. Price: $200. The quilts will measure 58 inches square and are backed with a plush synthetic fabric similar to fleece. For those who are a little more crafty, a DIY Memory Quilt kit is available for $120. It includes a fabric template, backing fabric and a mailing envelope — just in case you change your mind.
And New York quilter Karen Hasher (who learned to quilt from her father) offers another very personalized way to stay warm with quilts that incorporate your photos, writings or mementos. Once she has the photographs you want incorporated in the quilt (you can send originals, which will be returned, or a CD of digital images), Hasher can create the machine-pieced and -stitched quilt and send it to you in about a week. Most are the size of a throw, but because they are custom, you can get whatever size you want. Price: $400 and up.
How to get: Ticche & Bea’s Memory Quilts kits will be available starting Friday by calling 773-750-7001 or visiting www.ticcheandbea.com. For Karen Hasher’s custom memory quilts, call 646-216-8979 or visit www.karenhasherstudio.com.
–Tran Ha and Elaine Matsushita
3. The handyman can
This is my dream gift (hint, hint, hint): For someone to find the most talented, reliable, aesthetically astute handyman (or woman) who also happens to be superb at problem-solving. Then for someone to hire said handyperson for me for a half-day or more to tackle the ever-growing list of those pesky little projects most people don’t want to come out for.
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How to get: The best way to find a great handyperson is by canvassing friends. The next best way is, if you are a member, checking Angie’s List (angieslist.com), a Web site where real folks can post their comments — good or bad — about local service companies. Another way to go (we can’t vouch for these services as we haven’t tried them yet) is looking on the Internet for the many handyman match services — i.e., handymanmatters.com, House Doctors Handyman Service (www.housedoctors.com), handymannetwork.com, mrhandyman.com, handymanconnection.com and more.
— E.M.
4. All better now
Your Uncle John has a tall ship model he made as a young boy. He still keeps it on his desk, but you see it has a few wooden pieces missing. And one of Grandma’s treasures is a hand-painted Christmas Nativity creche she brought with her when she emigrated from Germany. You’ve noticed some of the gold paint is flaked off. These objects present wonderful opportunities to give a very special Christmas gift. Arranging for a makeover may take a little effort and even a bit of subterfuge. (In some cases, it may be best to ask permission first.) The crucial thing is to entrust these treasures only to reputable restoration experts.
How to find: Ask an auction house or a dealer in fine antique furniture or decorative art for a reference to expert restorers. Interview a few and ask how long the restorer has been practicing his or her skills. The more experience is usually the better. Also ask to see examples of his work and get references.
Here are a few experts who specialize in a variety of areas.
– Romaniak Fine Arts & Antiques Restoration, 7 N. Cumberland Pkwy., Des Plaines. Can restore Hummels, Lladros and other porcelain figurines, ship models. 847-824-0731; www.romaniaksrestoration.com.
– Fine Arts Conservation and Restoration, 817 Ridge Rd., Wilmette. Cornelia Iclozan began 30 years ago in Bucharest, restoring paintings on canvas, wood panels, metal and glass. 847-256-8595.
– Laidlaw Art Fabrication & Restoration, 320 N. Damen Ave. Restores bronzes, porcelains, stained glass, lighting fixtures. Can do museum-quality restoration of furniture, or just gently clean and French polish an older piece. 773-426-3271.
– Phoenix Art Wood Works, 500 Harvester Ct., Unit 7, Wheeling. Will repair both antique furniture and newer pieces. 847-509-8166.
– Antique Prints, 1816 N. Wells St. Does cleaning and de-acidification of antique prints, removes foxing or brown spots on them. If they are not too fragile and lend themselves, will restore family photos and on occasion newspaper pages. 312-642-1703.
— Mary Daniels
5. Make your bed
If someone you love has a new place or is ready for change in an existing garden, they may not know where to start. Consider giving the promise to hire a garden designer to come up with a plan. Julia Bunn of The Spirited Gardener in Chicago (1731 N. Carmen Ave., 773-520-4226) charges $450 and up (depending on size and complexity) for the discussion, the design and a ballpark prediction of the plants’ cost. She’s available for further consultation at $50 an hour. Her goal is to get folks doing their own gardening: “It’s such a gift to have people start having that relationship with plants,” she says. Or shop for a ready-made garden: A plan plus the plants to execute it. Find them in some catalogs such as High Country Gardens (www.highcountrygardens.com or 800-925-9387) or Bluestone Perennials (www.bluestoneperennials.com or 800-852-5243).
Or shop at Chalet in Wilmette (3132 Lake Ave., 847-256-0561), where a 4-by-10-foot deer-resistant sun garden — including plan, decorative plant markers to put under the tree and chits to come pick up the plants in spring — is $199. A rose garden and shade gardens in two sizes also are available.
How to find a designer: If someone has put in a garden you like, ask who designed it. Or start with the Web site of the Landscape Design Association (www.ldaonline.org; click on “Membership”). Call firms and ask if they are willing to do a plan alone (many prefer to make the landscape design, sell you the plants and do the installation). Be sure to ask for and check references.
–Beth Botts
6. Flea-ing the premises
For the person who loves a good treasure hunt, the spirit of camaraderie and (last but not least) vintage silver bowls, antique linens, old chairs (and who knows what else?), a Come Flea with Me adventure makes for a delightful gift. Chicagoans and sisters Kate Shifrin and Christie Weller organize trips to flea markets and antiques shows primarily in the greater Chicago area, but also across the country and world. Trekkers get coffee and baked goods on the (bus) ride out, snacks throughout the day, and treats and spirits on the way home. The sisters, who have another business as style and shopping consultants, also offer instruction on bargaining and decorating with vintage finds.
How to get: Call 773-281-5283 or visit www.comefleawithme.com. Gift certificates are available. Local trips to flea markets and antique shows (in Grayslake, Sandwich, Kane County, Wheaton, Allegan, Mich.) cost $95 a person and include admission to the show, transportation, goodies and a brightly-colored market bag. Other trips (Round Top, Texas; Brimfield, Mass.; Pasadena, Calif.; and London are being considered for 2007) cost more. The next trip is pre-Christmas, Dec. 10, to Grayslake. After that, the season resumes in April; your giftee must be the sort of person who enjoys anticipation. The official 2007 schedule is due out in weeks.
— K.K.
7. Fantasy camp
Sorry football fans, we’re talking about a fantasy of a different sort here. For the Frank Lloyd Wright fanatics and architecture aficionados in your life, the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust offers a chance to work in the drafting room of Wright’s Oak Park studio under the guidance of professional architects during its Architecture Fantasy Camp.
During the four-day workshop, participants will learn basic drafting techniques and create blueprints of the projects, which have ranged from a boat house to a garden shed to an entire second home, says Jan Kieckhefer, director of education for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. Familiarity with drafting is not required.
How to get: Call 708-848-1976 or e-mail [email protected]. The Preservation Trust will provide a certificate for gift-giving purposes. The FLW Architecture Fantasy Camp will be held 9 to 11:30 a.m. March 9-12 and 6:30 to 9 p.m. June 17-20 and Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. Cost is $650.
Another idea: Consider turning the camp experience into an Oak Park vacation.
There are a number of hotels and bed-and-breakfasts in the historic district of Oak Park near the Frank Lloyd Wright Studio. Past Fantasy Campers have stayed at:
The Write Inn, 211 N. Oak Park Ave., 708-383-4800.
Harvey House Bed and Breakfast, 107 S. Scoville Ave., 708-848-6810.
Under the Ginkgo Tree B&B, 300 N. Kenilworth Ave., 708-524-2327.
–T.H
8. Class gift
Throughout this year, the Home&Garden staff has been taking classes to learn things such as making stained glass, tiling a backsplash, throwing pottery and making garden troughs. Our experiences have been shared in our “Diary of a DIY Daredevil” series (chicagotribune.com/diy). Whether we’ve stepped into or outside of our comfort zones during these classes, we’ve all been enriched on many levels. What better present, we thought, than giving someone the gift of any of these classes — if you know the recipient has a genuine interest in the activity and can very likely commit the time needed for the course. If things are a go in those two concerns, register her and then maybe wrap up a tool that will be needed in the class with a note or certificate from the school.
How to find classes: The Internet is a many splendored thing . . . and about all you’ll need to find classes. But if you’re interested in the classes H&G took, here’s contact information to get you going.
Stained glass
– The Discovery Center, 2940 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-348-8120
– O’Reilly’s Stained Glass, 58 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake, 815-444-1797
– The Stained Glass Emporium, 4031 Oakton St., Skokie, 847-677-0811, www.stainedglasschicago.com
Ceramics
– Evanston Art Center, 2603 N. Sheridan Rd., Evanston, 847-475-5300, www.evanstonartcenter.org
Trough-making
– Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe, 847-835-8261, www.chicagobotanic.org/continuinged
Tiling
– Home Depot, www.homedepotclinics.com
– Lowe’s, 800-445-6937, www.lowes.com
Woodworking
– Chicago Bauhaus Academy, 6525 N. Clark St., 773-338-1746, www.lf.org/bhai2000
Mosaics
– Chicago Mosaics School, 1800 W. Cuyler St., 773-975-8966, www.chicagomosaicschool.com
– Broken Back Mosaics (Diana Bodell, teacher, specializes in pique assiette), 1072 Raintree Drive, Bolingbrook, 630-910-6537, www.brokenbackmosaics.com. Bodell also teaches classes at The Growing Place Nursery in Naperville, and The Morton Arboretum, Lisle.
– Chris Zonta Designs, 773-631-5598, www.czonta.com
– Bonnie Arkin specializes in pique assiette, or broken china mosaics, www.bonniearkin.com. Arkin teaches at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, 847- 835-5440.
Gardening
– The Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe, 847-835-8261, www.chicagobotanic.org/school/class(underscore)schedule/by(underscore)topic. The “Weekend Gardener” series is perfect for beginners. Or give a membership, and you will be giving discount tuition to all their classes, as well as a host of other benefits.
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– The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, 630-719-2468, www.mortonarb.org. Consider “Landscape Styles for the Vintage Home” (Feb. 3), “Shade Gardens” (Feb. 23) or one of the many nature art classes. Or give a membership, and you will be giving discount tuition to all their classes, as well as a host of other benefits.
– BUGS classes. The Building Urban Gardens Series is an eight-week course (Jan. 27 to March 24) at the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave., that covers the all the basics of organic gardening, with an emphasis on how gardening fits into a wider environmental consciousness. Students develop a garden design. Cost: $100. Call the Openlands Project, 312-863-6256 or see www.openlands.org/urbangreening.asp gid=280.
– Cantigny Park in Wheaton; www.mccormicktribune.org/cantigny, offers occasional one-time classes on flower arranging and gardening topics.
Many park districts and larger year-round garden centers also offer classes; call or check their Web sites.
— Elaine Matsushita and Beth Botts
9. You’re the publisher.
Show off your artistic talent (and forethought) by making a personalized memory book for someone special. You actually don’t need lots of technical skills if you’re able to work your way around a computer and a digital camera. With readily available software, it’s practically a snap to create a professional quality photo book. Whether it’s historic family photos, memorable moments or favorite flowers, a book can be cherished for years to come.
How to get: Shutterfly.com, for instance, offers an 8.5-by-11-inch book ($29.99 for 20 pages, plus shipping and handling) with cloth, suede or satin cover, $39.99, to be bound in leather. At picaboo.com, PC users can download a free program to create an 8.5-by-11-inch hardcover ($29.99 for 20 pages with a linen cover; $39.99 for leather, suede, metallic cover, all plus shipping and handling). If you’re a Mac person, you can use iPhoto (www.apple.com) to assemble a book. An 8.5-by-11-inch hardcover with linen cover is $29.99 for 20 pages, plus shipping and handling.
— Marjorie David
10. Coming clean
For the loved ones on your list whose laundry pile resembles Mt. St. Helens, a gift certificate for a “wash-dry-fold” service gets them both clean clothes and extra time. Most Laundromats now offer such service, which also goes by the name “drop-off” service.
How to find: Get out the ol’ Yellow Pages and start calling the laundries near your giftee’s home. (Often, their Yellow Pages entry includes information about drop-off and/or delivery services.) Ask about the availability of gift certificates — and/or whether they can rig one for you if there is no official one. Drop-off services tend to cost about 90 cents a pound; that’s the national average. A typical full load runs 10 to 12 pounds. So expect to pay about $20 for two full loads of wash-dry-fold laundry. Pickup/delivery is more costly — could be $1.25 to $1.60 a pound or more.
— K.K.
11. Clutter busters
You’ve seen them on shows like TLC’s “Clean Sweep” and HGTV’s “Mission: Organization.” Why not hire a professional organizer to help a loved one dig out?
“Professional organizers change lives,” says Barry Izsak, president of the National Association of Professional Organizers. “The biggest reason that people can’t do this themselves is that they’re overwhelmed and they don’t know where to start. We help them get unstuck and propel them and work alongside just as a physcial trainer would.”
And there are plenty of professional organizers to choose from. Izsak, owner of Austin, Texas-based Arranging It All, says he’s seen membership double in the four years he’s been NAPO president, with about 4,000 national members and about 100 in Chicago.
Some questions to consider when looking for a professional organizer:
– What kind of professional organizing services are you looking for? Some professional organizers offer a wide range of services, while others limit their practices to a specialized niche.
– What is your budget? Organizers can charge anywhere from $50 to $100 an hour, depending on the project and geographic location. Most will require a minimum of three to four hours per session.
Izsak advises gift-givers to speak to several organizers before selecting one and to hire the person with whom you feel most comfortable. Ask for references and a contract. Also check if the company guarantees its work.
How to find an organizer: Go to www.napo.net (the National Association of Professional Organizers Web site) and click on “find an organizer”; type in your (or the giftee’s) ZIP code and check the boxes for any specialties that may apply. The site will give you a list of NAPO members that fit your criteria.
–T.H.
12. Contain yourself
A balcony or patio may be crying out for a bit of green. Try giving a custom-designed container garden, to get the expertise and eye of a professional. It likely would cost at least a couple of hundred dollars, depending on the container, the situation, the plants chosen and the time involved. Prices go up for more pots or more elaborate ones. Too steep? Consider a gift certificate to a garden center; many will offer advice on plant choices if you buy the pot and the plants, or sell preplanted containers. Inspiration for container combinations also can be found in books or at the Web sites of large plant companies such as www.plantbynumber.com or www.provenwinners.com/combinations, Web sites of large plant companies.
Is there already a handsome container in place? Offer to pay for it to be filled with an arrangement of branches, grasses and other decor to take it through winter. Many florists and large, year-round garden centers will do this; at Chalet in Wilmette (3132 Lake Ave., 847-256-0561), the price starts at about $70 (depending on the cost of materials) for a 14-inch container.
How to find a designer: If a friend or a building you walk by has a container garden you admire, ask who designed it. Garden centers such as Chalet, Jayson Home & Garden (1885 N. Clybourn Ave., 773-248-8180. www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com;) Knupper Nursery & Landscape (1801 N. Rand Rd., Palatine, 847-359-1080), Pasquesi Home & Garden, 990 W. Northwest Highway, Barrington (847-381-5511) often have container designers. Many of the members of the Landscape Design Association do them (www.ldaonline.org; click on “Membership”).
— B.B.
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1. FOOD AND THOUGHTS: COMPILE A HANDWRITTEN BOOK OF FAMILY RECIPES
2. PERSONAL COVERUPS: TURN TO CREATIVE PROS TO TRANSFORM VINTAGE FAMILY TEXTILES OR PHOTOS INTO BEAUTIFUL QUILTS
3. THE HANDYMAN CAN: BOOK ONE TO TACKLE A FIX-IT LIST
4. ALL BETTER NOW: GIVE A BROKEN-DOWN TREASURE NEW LIFE
5. MAKE YOUR BED: HIRE A GARDEN DESIGNER TO PLAN A SPACE
6. FLEA-ING THE PREMISES: GIVE THE GIFT OF A GOOD TREASURE HUNT
7. FANTASY CAMP: OPEN THE DOOR TO FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S STUDIO
8. CLASS GIFT: LET SOMEONE LEARN NEW SKILLS AND CRAFTS
9. YOU’RE THE PUBLISHER: MAKE A HARDBOUND BOOK OF PHOTOS AND STORIES
10. KNOW WHEN TO FOLD `EM: GIVE A CERTIFICATE FOR A “WASH-DRY-FOLD” OR PICK UP-AND-DELIVER LAUNDRY SERVICE
11. CLUTTER BUSTERS: PAY FOR THE SERVICES OF AN ORGANIZER
12. CONTAIN YOURSELF: HIRE A DESIGNER TO POT A SERIES OF SEASONAL CONTAINER GARDENS
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