The Ultimate (Bad) Gift Guide for Foodies
Twas the month before Christmas and all through the land not a creature was stirring... well except perhaps the tapping keys of every blogger and journalist advising you what to buy that foodie in your life this festive season.
This is something a little different, instead of telling you what you should buy them, here's a few things I think you should avoid like the plague on the grounds of being overpriced, being tacky or being that one item that you'll use once only for it to be relegated to the garage before January 4th. And yes, I do own a pasta machine, ice-cream maker and fondue set and yes I do only use them sparingly!
So here are my top five bad gifts...
Gift-friendly price – check
Novelty factor of doing something you’d normally do slightly quicker – check
Yes it may cook 4 neat looking little pies in 10 minutes but you still need to make/buy the pastry and all the filling before you can neatly crimp it and place it into the little cooking areas. By this time you could have surely just made four proper pies without this gadget! Destined for the back of the cupboard after 4 uses.
Similarly the Sensio Home Mini Cupcake Maker – Pink or Blue (also Argos) £26.49
Still want one? Just imagine cleaning it....
This is something a little different, instead of telling you what you should buy them, here's a few things I think you should avoid like the plague on the grounds of being overpriced, being tacky or being that one item that you'll use once only for it to be relegated to the garage before January 4th. And yes, I do own a pasta machine, ice-cream maker and fondue set and yes I do only use them sparingly!
So here are my top five bad gifts...
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| Photo from Argos.com |
Celeb endorsement – check
Gift-friendly price – check
Novelty factor of doing something you’d normally do slightly quicker – check
Yes it may cook 4 neat looking little pies in 10 minutes but you still need to make/buy the pastry and all the filling before you can neatly crimp it and place it into the little cooking areas. By this time you could have surely just made four proper pies without this gadget! Destined for the back of the cupboard after 4 uses.
Similarly the Sensio Home Mini Cupcake Maker – Pink or Blue (also Argos) £26.49
Still want one? Just imagine cleaning it....
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| Photo from Firebox.com |
Yes that’s right, pay over £25 to get a noisy machine that takes 20 minutes to make something that you can get in a jar at your corner shop. It might be fresh, it might be warm, it might seem appealing but beware, this plastic contraption is destined for a car boot sale somewhere near you in summer 2011. So why not just buy it there for £5 and save yourself some money.
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| Photo from Firebox.com |
The ultimate in novelty kitsch or the biggest waste of money ever? Depends how much you want a silver turkey to go with your golden mince pies this Christmas. This is appealing but all that glitters is not gold and that pricetag would certainly leave you with less bling after the festive season.
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| Photo from jamieoliver.com |
No I’ve never heard of one either and had to re-read the description several times and scan to photo to realise it’s essentially a bench. A tiny bench. That you put food on. This, according to the accompanying blurb, “adds an extra level to your table” by erm.... having something else to put food on other than a plate. I still don’t get it and I certainly don’t understand why you’d spend that much money on something your child could knock together in woodwork. What do you mean your children aren't that talented? Shame on you!
and finally
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| Photo from Lakeland.co.uk |
An oldie but a goodie? This present basically says “I know you like pasta but I wish you wouldn’t spill sauce down your front when you do try and fail to do the twirly thing”. If someone buys you one of these, you don’t need a battery powered fork, you need a bib.
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