What’s In Your Goodie Drawer?

You dirty girl! Not that kind of goodie drawer, the other kind of goodie-drawer: a goodie gift drawer! What, you don’t have a gift drawer? What do you do when you need a last-minute gift? When you forgot you had a dinner invitation for tonite? When your neighbor covered car-pool for you…again?

I’ve had a gift drawer for years, (or a gift box under the bed: that’ll work!) Here’s a few shopping tips to help you fill your own gift drawer:

Moi's gift drawer...no peeking!

• candles: Yes, I know scented gift candles are a cliché, but they’re a chic cliché! They come beautifully packaged, smell great, and last a long time. I stock up when I find them on clearance at Tuesday Morning or TJ Maxx.  I recently bought 2 figue-scented candles in a lucious fabric box and bow, with a charming little fleur-de-lys pin attached to the box! For $10! One went in the gift drawer, the other in my personal candle stash…the pin will be attached to an evening bag, or a coat for a little sparkle.
•  wine: I buy nice, reasonably priced bottles of wine in bulk so I usually have a good quantity of wines I like on hand (I also brought back 450 bottles when we returned to the US from Paris, but that’s a different blog) On my way out the door to a dinner at friends’, I grab a bottle: no shopping, no planning, no worrying. Of course I do personalize it: When I lived in Paris a friend made me about 50 wine bag covers out of toile de jouy fabric, and I’m still using those. Or, I take a pretty, wide ribbon, usually saved off some gift I received, and tie it around the bottle neck. On each of the ribbon ends I take an indelible marker and write something to the host, such as: bisous, Moi  and October 1, 2009. 5 seconds and I’m out the door! 
• kitchen towels: I’ve found that pretty kitchen towels make a great hostess gift. Again, sounds cliché, but there’s a reason for that: people like them, they’re pretty and useful! I tend to buy them at after-holiday sales, and put them in my gift drawer until next year. 
• napkins: paper and cloth napkins make great hostess gifts! I find gorgeous paper napkins in after-season or holiday sales (Caspari is one of my fave brands). I buy them at 90% off, and present them with a home-made or purchased food gift: pretty, thoughtful, and practical! I buy antique napkins and towels when I’m browsing the flea markets, antique shops, and tag sales. I’ve found hand embroidered linen napkins for $1! They make a great accompaniment to another gift (like tea or homemade goodies) or beautiful packaging for that gift, especially with a tassel. Check out HomeGoods or other discounters…jackpot!
•  teas: Prettily packaged teas are an inexpensive personal gift for your tea-drinking friends. You probably haven’t noticed, but many grocery and specialty stores sell small packages (1-5 servings) of tea to promote a new flavor. Often they’re in cute little tins or boxes. Several of these bound together will make a friend feel very special.
•  books: If you go to Borders, you’ll see they always have a clearance or $5 book section. They have beautiful coffee table books, cookbooks, agendas, instruction books like knitting or yoga, gift wrap, coffee cups: you name it: if Borders sells it, it winds up on the clearance shelf. Stock up! I once found 2 pairs of  baby shoes in November, with a pumpkin embroidered on them. They sell for about $25…I paid $2 a pair! What’s not to like! 
• tassels: I have a passion for tassels. I don’t know why, but I’ve been collecting them for years. Often I find very inexpensive, casual tassels that I don’t need, but I buy them anyway. A $1 tassel makes any gift look more thoughtful: try it on that bottle of wine!
•  re-gifts: I don’t understand why regifting is a dirty word and is such a big secret. I like the gift I received, I just don’t need the gift. For example, candles! I love candles, everyone knows I love them, so I receive them as gifts. Sometimes I just don’t like the color or the scent: for example orange gardenia: don’t like it! But I have MANY friends who would love it. So I sincerely thank the giver, and pop it in the gift drawer. And no, I’ve never accidentally regifted to the giver…my roots aren’t blonde!

Moi tip: Museum gift shops are a fabulous place to find things for your gift drawer. The Met has a whole department devoted to finding and stocking the most beautiful books, ornaments, scarves, jewelry…a little bit of everything! The newly opened Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago has gorgeous stationary and kitchen items. And all this stuff goes on sale: huge discounts like 50-70%. Added bonus: If you’re a member, they’ll give you another 10-20% discount.

What else is in my gift drawer? Right now I have decorative push pins, DVDs, books, napkin rings, french towels, candle wick trimmers, soaps, earrings, cute tissues, notecards.     Shhhhhh…don’t tell anyone, this might be their next gift!