A few years ago, I tried to go all out for Christmas. I spent weeks planning and pulling together everything I needed. My goal was to make baskets for my mother, grandmother and all of my aunts. I got everyone all of this smell good stuff, waited in line for five hours to get autographed copies of Nicholas Sparks books and even attempted to make those jars that contain everything you need for cookie/brownie/dessert recipes. It’s not the most original idea, but it made me feel good to try so hard and put so much effort into a gift. If I didn’t live across the country, I’d probably try to make these baskets every year. But let’s face it, it’s expensive to ship things nowadays.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?