Gifts From The Heart

It goes without saying that some people dislike the fact that card and candy companies promote Valentine’s Day with the intent of making large profits.  But I think in a world of people hungry for love, and longing to be known by someone who cares, we should grab every opportunity that comes our way to show love to anyone our hearts bring to mind.  That might be a friend, a sister or brother, certainly a child or grandchild, a parent, and of course a spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend.  Expressing love and affection is always a good idea.

Sometimes though, the difficulty isn’t the desire to express one’s affection, but just plain feeling stuck when it comes to choosing a gift that might show someone you care.  It is hard to feel good about typical generic gifts like an average looking tie or drugstore box of candy, or some little meaningless thing you picked up on the fly just to at least have something for that special someone.

What matters most to people is how much thought you have put into the token of your affection, whatever that is.  Take some time to really think about the person for whom you are buying or making a gift, and what things he or she likes.  What is their favorite music, favorite color, favorite restaurant? Do they love to read or have a special hobby or sport they enjoy?  Is there something you have heard them say they are wishing they had? Your gift may or may not be something that would generally be considered classically romantic, but if it is something that you know the person you love has been longing to have, I assure you they will appreciate the fact that you know them well enough to know what they would love to receive.  This is what we mean by “a gift from the heart”.

(A note here to the wise….. if your wife or girlfriend has mentioned that she wishes she had a new toaster, this is NOT the time to fulfill that wish.  Appliances just aren’t ever a good idea for Valentine’s Day, so try to find something else she is wishing she had.)

Jackie and I put our heads (and hearts) together and came up with a short list of some gift suggestions for this Valentine’s Day.  These are just ideas that we hope will spark some other creative ideas for you.  We would love to hear from you about what creative gifts you have come up with for your special someone.  Please share them with us, and all our chums!

‘An Evening At Home’ Basket

Fill a pretty basket with gourmet popcorn, a bottle of your favorite wine and a movie you always enjoy.  One year my husband, Randy, bought me the collection of the whole series of I Love Lucy because he knows how much I love Lucy.  Now I, or we, can watch anytime and have a good laugh together.  You might be surprised how much laughing together can be good for your relationship, and ultimately romance, so when you’re picking a movie don’t rule out a good comedy if it is one you both love.  A movie we are particularly partial to is Love, Wedding, Marriage.  It is a fun romantic comedy.  Jackie’s daughter-in-law, Anouska just happens to have written the screenplay and my granddaughter, Evangeline makes a cameo appearance at the very end.

 The Five Love Languages

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read on the subject of love.  It focuses on helping you determine what communicates love to your special someone and helps you understand what it is that “speaks” love to you.  You may be working really hard at something that would truly make you feel loved if someone did or said it to you, and you can’t understand why it isn’t getting the attention of the person you intended it for, but you may be speaking your love language and not theirs.   Imagine someone from Denmark madly professing his love for a girl from Spain.  If she doesn’t speak Danish and he doesn’t speak Spanish, all the desire in the world to communicate loving feelings may not produce a good outcome.  If you really want to know someone in a deeper way, I highly recommend this book.

Child’s Handprint

Few things in this world touch us as much as anything having to do with our children or grandchildren.  The caption on this picture says it all…”Children hold our hearts in the palm of  their hands”.  Print out these words on some nice card stock in a font you find pleasing.  Paint your child’s hands with acrylic paint from the craft store, then have them put their thumbs and index fingers together and press their hands on to the page.  Pick their hands straight up so as not to smear the paint.  When it is dry, draw or paint a heart in the middle of the handprint.  Frame it and you have just created a treasure for someone who loves your child.

Kisses, Chocolate Ones That Is

It is hard for almost anyone to resist a bite of something sweet and chocolaty.  These sweet kisses will please just about anyone of any age.  They are really easy to make, yummy, and small enough that you can be “kissed” by more than one.  They have the added benefit of being gluten and wheat free for those people in your life who may have allergies or are sensitive to gluten or wheat.

So whip some up and give away kisses this Valentine’s Day.

2 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons good quality cocoa powder
1 ½ cups finely ground almonds *
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces semi sweet chocolate bits
½ teaspoon butter

Place egg whites in a clean and dry bowl and beat on a high speed until whites are stiff.  Then while still beating, slowly add sugar and continue beating until they are very thick.  Quickly beat in vanilla.

Sift the cocoa and then add to egg whites and beat until combined. Stir in the almonds by hand until thoroughly mixed.  This will be very thick and sticky.

Line your cookie sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper.  Keep a bowl of water handy.  Wet your hands slightly and scoop about a teaspoonful of dough shaping it into a ball.  Place on the cookie sheet and then pinch the top of the ball to form the “kiss”.  Repeat until all the dough is used.  You should have about 36 cookies.

Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Cookies will be slightly cracked when they are done so you may need a minute or two more depending on your oven, but don’t over cook.

Allow cookies to sit on the cookie sheet for several minutes after you remove them from the oven, then transfer them to a rack and allow them to cool completely.

Melt chocolate and butter over a very low flame.  Spread chocolate on one cookie and top with another cookie pressing down slightly just until chocolate begins to ooze out the sides forming a cookie “kiss”.

Enjoy the giving!

{Photos by Two Chums}

* Trader Joes sells almond meal that works beautifully for this.        Alternatively, you can grind blanched almonds until very fine in your food processor.