Last week, I told you I am a proponent the Gift of Food for basically any occasion. I simply have never met the arrival of an assortment of brownies, biscotti, or fruit with anything other than delight. Gifts of food or beverage, if thoughtfully chosen for the specific recipient, will always be welcomed, because not only do people need to eat, people often also do not need (or want) more stuff.
I asked Lifehacker readers for input as to which consumable gifts are good consumable gifts (and which aren’t), and you came to the comments with thoughts, opinions, suggestions, and some caveats that are important to note:
1. A gift of alcohol should only be given, EdnasEdibles points out, “if you know that the person drinks, that they’re OK with their level of drinking and that they will actually drink what you’ve given them.” Otherwise you may be inadvertently sabotaging someone who is trying to reduce their alcohol consumption.
2. You must take any dietary issues into consideration, because as jjdebenedictis says, “I have a load of dietary issues, and if someone gives me cookies, that’s a big ol’ sad for me, because I would like to eat them, but can’t.” (Don’t make jjdebenedictis sad!)
With that, let’s discuss the best—and worst—consumable gifts you can give this holiday season.