We often find ourselves wanting to give someone we love or care about a wonderful gift. There are few things better than seeing the look on someone’s face when they open a gift and you know that you’ve got it perfectly right. The only problem is that it can be a difficult task making the perfect choice, even if you know someone well. There are a few stable favorites that people always seem to love like candles, scents and lotions for women or socks, belts and earphones for men but at the end of the day you may want something more special or something that you’ve made yourself.
Pastries make Wonderful Presents
Pastries are one of the loveliest gifts you can give someone because they are not only versatile but tasty too. It doesn’t matter if they have a sweet tooth or if they prefer savory flavors because pastries can cater to all tastes. Gift-giving and making pastries go hand and hand to satisfy almost any craving. If you are going to give pastries as a gift, be sure to know your audience. Would your loved-one prefer something sweet and delightful like a tray of brightly colored strawberry cups? Or something more salty like mince pies or pastry ball fillers?
There are a number of different options to choose from. Don’t be afraid to be exotic and try something new. You can get pastry foods like pies, roti’s, strawberry cups, samosas (Indian pastries), and of course creations where pastry is filled with freshly cut fruits and covered with sprinkles of cinnamon depending on how long you plan to keep it for before you hand it over. If you are an advanced baker, you could always attempt to use filo pastry for a croissant but remember to practice before you settle on this idea. It’s a lot harder than it looks!
Presentation and Accessories
Once you have found the perfect pastries, you need to think about how you are going to present them so that they have a unique feel and don’t look store bought or made without thought about the person you have in mind. You could always try putting individual strawberry cups or mini-pies into a separate gift box. Be sure to line the box with wax paper at the bottom and to make it presentable. The best option is to measure out a square against the bottom of the box, cut it out and put it in first. It should ideally be slightly smaller than the parameters of the box itself. Then place your strawberry cup inside. You can fill the bottom of the box if you’d like with confetti or vermicelli.
Close the box and tie a four way ribbon over the top, bringing it together in a neat, little bow. Try putting all of your small boxes on a tray and mixing them with other gifts for someone who means a lot to you. For a woman, you can include one or two boxes with a keep sake or a small item of jewelry. This way you can also use the boxes to spell out a birthday or anniversary card by putting a letter or two on each box and placing them in order. Just because they are edible doesn’t mean that the receiver won’t carry the delicious memory with them.
