Gift-giving reaches its peak during the Christmas Holidays. Some persons think deeply about the interests, personalities and needs of their loved ones as they go about selecting, wrapping and delivering gifts that they hope will provide pleasure.
There is much joy in giving and receiving gifts, perhaps more so during a global pandemic when many people are in isolation.
We asked this question: What was the best gift you received this season?
Kay Osborne, Retired Media Executive, Kingston
“A flavourful Jamaican Christmas cake with old-time icing is my favoured gift this year – and last year, and the year before, and the year before that.
Each year, my dear friend, Ardelle Dalla Costa has gifted me with a cake that comes from the master bakers at Terra Nova hotel. The cake has exactly the right ingredients, colour, moisture, and texture for my taste. Nothing about it has changed from year to year. It has remained the same delightful indulgence, as I would have it. Still, this year’s cake is extra special. I’m lucky to have had it to share with my dear friends, O’Neil Miller and Denzie Stephenson-Miller who celebrated their wedding anniversary on December 28.
I’m waiting to hear if they like it as much as I do. I hope they do. The piece that’s left won’t last for more than a day or two. Sigh. Already I hanker for my favourite gift next Christmas.”
Bridgett Small-Wilks, Retired Civil Servant, Kingston
“My best gift was a photograph of my first born and his bride. For our family it represented a symbol of something positive happening in 2020 amid all the negatives brought on by the coronavirus. My gift is also reflective of many good things to come. “
Carmen Patterson, Communications Specialist, Kingston
“One of my most thoughtful and personalized Christmas gifts this year came from a client company, known in the marketplace for elegance and style.
I love tea and chocolates. So, you can imagine my joy when I was presented with a tastefully branded, custom-painted box stocked with a variety of teas and chocolates. There is no better combination!
I will now have to invite – my ‘tea ladies’ with whom I used to have high tea and conversations every Friday at a leading hotel, until the property changed hands and high tea was pulled from the menu.
Until we can return to the days of regular tea gatherings post-COVID 19, I shall sip and savour a different, exquisite, flavour each day, while in self isolation.”
Sandra Lewis-Jones, Registered Social Care Nurse, United Kingdom
“This lovely handmade tote bag in my Jamaican colours is my best gift this season. It was made by a former teacher whom I met at Westwood High School, Trelawny, decades ago.
“It was made, ‘wid nuff love’ (as was declared on the packaging). I shall delight in using it.”
Your articles have interesting topics to which many people can relate. I’m looking forward to more in 2021.