The Holidays and food gifts

TheRealParisLove

This year, when well meaning friends and family give food gifts of a less than healthy nature, I am going to donate them to the local food bank. People who rely on food banks for help will almost never get these types of treats (Hickory Farms types of gifts) that I don't feel bad about schlepping my unhealthy stuff on strangers.

I'm kind of hoping that I'll get another box of pears from Harry and David. Those are so yummy!

How do you handle those kind of well intentioned gifts at the holidays?

cherrym03

That's so nice of you to do, especially around holiday ^-^ I don't receive many food gifts but we have a lot of fatty-food traditions here during the winter season. But I usually steered clear of them even when I wasn't trying to lose weight; they're not really appealing to me, haha, so that's a good thing I guess.

xSCiNTILLATEx79

Thats a really good idea - I usually end up with mass amounts of chocolates and cookies. Although I have friends that make me homemade Kahlua (Im keeping that :drinker: )

I would have probably just brought into work and pawned it off on everyone who doesnt care about eating healthy, but this is a much better idea :flowerforyou:

Im also trying to figure out some healthy treats to take to parties that wont have everyone looking at me like Im insane.

SoDamnHungry

I bring them to work and the wolves descend.

...or I eat them all by myself.

megleo818

We initiated a "no food gifts" with immediate family (who used to send us things like Chicago deep-dish pizza and hams and Omaha steaks -- oh my!), giving various excuses. But really we just didn't want to eat that stuff -- except the steaks which ended up going bad because we were traveling over Christmas that year. Anyway, that didn't work. We continued to get deep dish on dry ice from my brother-in-law in Chicago and ham (which I DETEST) from my sister-in-law in Florida. Ew.

Last year we emphatically told them NO. And we instigated a "no gifts for adults" policy, whereby whatever money folks felt compelled to spend on us, they should instead give to whatever charity they chose. We told them we have enough and that we'd be most thankful knowing those who were in need were getting something over the holidays in our stead. In exchange, we bought shares of animals for folks in Africa for each of our family members -- a pig here and a flock of chicks there -- and I made cards explaining what what was given in whose names. We'd done the charity thing for the generation above us for many years, but this was the first time we did it for the whole family. I have no idea if they gave to charities, but I do know we didn't receive any food! :-)

As for the gift baskets and stuff that random folks tend to give, we usually send that to the husband's work. Or we re-gift (with full disclosure!) to our friends who have weaknesses for holiday goodies. Or I save them for when we have people over and share -- a little bit now and then won't hurt us! :-)

TheRealParisLove

I also keep any alcoholic gifts, lol! In years past my step son and his friends would plow through any leftover holiday goodies, so I didn't have to worry about the stuff sitting around the house to tempt me. But he went to college this month, and although the house is blissfully quiet most evenings, there is no one around to eat up the left over goodies.

I like the idea of the charitable gifts for older relatives. I'll ask them what their favorite charity is, and plan that method of giving this year. I think the young adults would really like the idea of the animals for African families. Well, and maybe an iTunes or Amazon gift certificate, too. :laugh:

bokodasu

Huh. I never get that sort of thing, but that's a really good idea. I mostly get homemade stuff, and those chocolate orange things. (Does anyone ever eat more than one piece of those? They are Not Yummy.) Anyway, I take anything we don't eat right away into work and it's usually gone in a couple of hours. Yay for breakrooms!

Whiskybelly

That's not a bad idea actually, usually I just put stuff outside and let the neighbourhood cats fight over who gets to claim the icing on the carrot cake.

bcf7683

I either re-gift or bring it to work. Anything edible is gone as soon as you walk away from it in my office...

csuhar

For me, it depends on the amount. Some people send a LOT. Others send food in amounts tailored to the size of my family. We have a friend who makes homemade cookies and each package is filled so that each family member can usually have two of each kind. Some gifts that can go on a shelf or into the freezer for a while (I have an uncle who tends to send out gifts from Omaha Steaks) can be incorporated into our regular diet. But when it comes to getting the PILES of baked goodies, I'm another one who will usually take a large amount of them to work. Part of why I do this is that it still allows me to enjoy an appropriate amount before getting them out of my house.