THE RIGHT STUFF: Holiday 2009 Gift Ideas

  

CHOCOLATE FEVER

Send someone to the bright side of a sugar rush with a cornucopia of chocolate treats from Peace, Love & Chocolate, the sweet little boutique in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, showcasing cocoa creations from fifty or so global artisans. Among the gourmet goodies: dark chocolate brandied cherries, truffle-stuffed figs, chocolate cigars, chocolate “caviar” pearls, tins of rich Mariebelle Aztec hot chocolate, bags of double-chocolate organic brownie mix and jars of triple-chocolate frosting, absinthe-infused chocolate bars, and even silver-wrapped morsels of Fiddle Fern Fudge, hailing from Great Barrington, Massachusetts. (Chocolate Springs in Lenox also supplies various homemade confections.) Throw in a handful of Sweet Mavens pumpkin biscotti, bricks of nut-studded nougat or crispy hazelnut crunch, Knipschildt homemade sweet-and-savory syrups, artisanal teas, and impossibly buttery Bequet Gourmet Celtic Sea Salt caramels, and prepare for payback—the recipient of such a jackpot owes you big-time. 

 

By custom order at Peace, Love & Chocolate, ., Stockbridge, Mass.,

 

 

 

ARM CANDY

These stretchy, beaded bracelets handmade by women in Kenya and Uganda are greater than the sum of their parts—the multicolored baubles are actually repurposed magazine pages. But, lowly origins aside, the glossy paper treasures should be worn with pride: fair-trade Acacia Creations pays its artisans a monthly salary five times that of the national average of Kenya (where theunemployment rate is 40 percent) plus grants them a percentage of sales. May great style—and goodwill—be had by all this holiday season.

 

About $7 at the Healthy Living Center, 5 Walker St., Lenox, Mass.,

 

 

 

SCENT BACK IN TIME

They have the power to evoke memories, elevate mood, and even elicit emotional responses from innocent bystanders, which means that scents are seriously individual-specific. But as Charles H. Baldwin & Sons in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, predicted back in 1888, the classics never go out of style. Scoop up the shop’s hand-blended Bay Rum aftershave—a spicy potion of bayberry and clove oils—or rose water (with or without skin-softening glycerin) to send someone on a spicy or sweet flashback to another era.

 

Five-ounce bottle of Bay Rum, about $10; four-ounce bottle of rose water, about $7, at Charles H. Baldwin & Sons, One West Center Rd., West Stockbridge, Mass.,

 

 

 

TUB PARADE

It’s hard not to feel energized by just looking at a tubful of vibrant indigo bathwater, but, according to Raya Buckley of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a Reiki master certified in polarity energy balancing, steeping oneself in an AuraBath has the power to change a person’s energy field from the inside out. (And she has a special biofeedback camera to prove it; ask her to take photo of your aura in her home studio.) Of Buckley’s seven-color collection of bath salts, yellow aims to bring mental clarity; orange inspires joy and creativity; and red—no surprise here—fuels passion. Help someone find balance in 2010 with the Chakra Gift Set, which includes a packet of each shade in the rainbow.   

About $25 at the Berkshire Soul & Spirit Center, 69 Main St., Lee, Mass., ; Berkshire Wellness Center, 415 Elm St., Pittsfield, Mass., ; Kripalu Shop, Route 183, Stockbridge, Mass., ; Red Lion Inn Gift Shop, , Stockbridge, Mass., ; or through SoulSpa AuraBath, Pittsfield, Mass.,

 

HAPPY FEET

No groaning here! These aren’t just average socks—they’re Darn Tough Premium All Weather Performance Socks, and they’re guaranteed for life. Constructed and tested by threegenerations of the Cabot family in Northfield, Vermont, the shrink-treated merino wool designs are fit for any outdoor activity thanks to a dozen impressive features including thick terry-loop construction, elastic arch support, and invisible toe seams. Such sturdy makeup—the company supplies standard-issue socks for the US Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, after all—suits day-to-day lounging, too: the Life-Style line offers high-density cushioning colored with stripes and argyle. 

 

About $12 to $24 at the Arcadian Shop, 91 Pittsfield-Lenox Rd, Lenox, Mass., , 

 

  

 

 

 

BACK TO THE GRIND

Just when we thought the quest for the perfect pepper mill really was never-ending, Magnus Lundstrom presents sleek ceramic and wood designs that totally redeem the rep of the notoriously tricky contraptions. “We tested them out for a year before we sold them,” quips cheesemonger Matthew Rubiner of his eponymous gourmet grocer and rubi’s café in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. A side project for Lundstrom, the design mind behind IKEA, the tabletop-worthy grinders are shaped carefully by hand and fitted with a Danish milling mechanism. Fingers crossed that this is the last one you or the lucky recipient will ever need. 

 

About $80 to $120 at Rubiner’s Cheesemongers and Grocers, 26, Great Barrington, Mass.,