The FBC Holiday Gift Guide – and Presents!

It only comes once a year but we pack it full of goodies for you to dream about. And this year, we have a few goodies to give away too! Be sure to read to the end 🙂

Books to Cook

What kind of food blogging Christmas would it be without at least one cookbook under the tree?  Here's our favourites (and we have copies of a few titles to give away - see the bottom of this post!)

1. Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes From a Little Neighborhood Bakery This book is beautiful and full of sweet treats - and we have two copies to give away! See the bottom of this post for more info!

2. The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays Food blogger extraordinaire, Ree Drummond brings us her latest book with recipes for all your festive occasions throughout the year.  And... we have two copies of this as well to giveaway! See the bottom of the post for details.

3. Canada's Favourite Recipes If there's two ladies who know Canadian cooking it's Elizabeth Baird and Rose Murray.  This one is sure to be a treasure in your cookbook collection for years to come.

4. Save With Jamie Who isn't a Jamie Oliver fan? And now the new front man for Sobey's Canada has a new book out full of tips to make the most of your grocery budget while still cooking from scratch.

5. Alice Eats: A Wonderland Cookbook We were so completely charmed by this delightful book from FBC Member Julie Van Rosendaal and Pierre A. Lamielle when we got our hands on it that we had to include it in our gift guide, despite already giving away copies! Perfect to share with little ones and introduce them to the kitchen.

Books to Grow

Blogging isn't just about food.  More and more of us are starting to take it seriously as a business or an income generating hobby.  Here are some books that will help you out on your journey.

1. Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision and VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography Vancouver based world renowned humanitarian photographer and author David duChemin shares his knowledge and inspiration on learning to see "within the frame" and teaches you how to make a living and a life as a photographer.  His credo of "gear is good, vision is better" is inspiring to photographers all over the world.  Must reads if you wish to pursue photography as a profession or as an avid amateur.

2. My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire Author and freelance writer Michelle Goodman walks you through the perils of starting your own freelance business in a creative profession (like blogging!) with humor and smarts.  A wealth of knowledge that's easy to read and get you going!

3. One Simple Change: Surprisingly Easy Ways to Transform Your Life Food blogger and a doctorate of natropathic medicine, Winnie Abramson from Healthy Green Kitchen shows you 50 simple ways you can change your life for the better - perfect to start the new year!

4. Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community  If there's two ladies who know about blogging and creating a community, it's Joy Cho from Oh Joy! and Grace Bonney from Design*Sponge.  Full of tips and advice on growing your blog!

5. Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling Food bloggers agonize over their photography.  There's a plethora of books to help you out but nobody breaks it down better than fellow food blogger and professional food photographer Helene duJardin.  Simple, clear tips and instruction on photographing, styling and post processing to take your photos up a notch (or ten!)

Help in the Kitchen

1. Boston Warehouse Ice Cream Social Hinged Jar Maybe not helpful exactly but oh so adorable.  And you do have to store those cookies somewhere!

2. Anker® Multi-Angle Portable Stand for Tablets, E-readers and Smartphones If you use your iPad or tablet in the kitchen, you know how frustrating it can be to have it lying flat on the counter.  This stand will make it easy to use your tablet, e-reader or smartphone to follow all those recipes or video tutorials!

3. 12 Pack Assorted Paisley/Solid Color Bandanas The latest in chef head gear - don't be caught in the kitchen without yours!

4. Le Creuset Silicone 1/4-Cup Pinch Bowls, Set of 4  Le Creuset can be a big splurge for many of us but these cheery silicone bowls are affordable and will brighten up your kitchen!

5. All-Clad Stainless Steel Roaster with Rack – Make sublime cuts of meat shine in this exceptionally crafted roasting pan with accompanying rack. Available online at The Bay.

6. DII Printed Popcorn Dishtowel, Set of 4Perfect for movie night or... let's face it... as a photo prop.  Cute vintage popcorn dish towels!

7. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom Flexible Tripod Short, gloomy winter days or finicky macro lenses make a tripod a necessity for photographing food.  GorillaPods are sturdy and flexible and can give you stability in the oddest of locations (kitchens and restaurants!)

8.  Falcon Enamelware Bakeset  Functional but also oh so photogenic, this beautiful bakeware from Falcon set is now available in Canada and will bring a bit of nostalgia to your baking.

Holiday Goodies

1. Pusateri's Good For You Gift Basket – This gourmet array features everything from Canada True Icewine Syrup to NaturSource Organic Granola Cereal to Pusateri's Signature Collection Espresso. Pusateri's is also now licensed by the LCBO, so you can pair a perfect bottle of wine to be delivered with their range of gift baskets. Available online or by phone from Pusateri's. ($169.95)

2. Monthly Wine Club Got a wine drinker on your list (or perhaps a treat for yourself?)?  Wine Online is offering a monthly wine club delivery to Alberta and Ontario wine drinkers.  Choose from one of several different packages and receive something new on your doorstep each month.  Their "mix a six" package for Ontario wine drinkers allows you to choose a personally tailored case of Ontario wines!

3. Homemade Gin Kit For the do-it-yourselfer on your list, this awesome homemade gin kit is bound to be a hit. It comes with everything you need to make two bottles of gin, and is a great deal at under $50. You can also get a Christmas blend of spices for an extra $10, if you’re really feeling the holiday spirit.

4. Tealish Gourmet Classics – The world is finding out what tea drinkers already know... tea is the hot beverage.  Here's a selection of teas from Toronto's  favourite loose leaf emporium. Available online and at select retailers. ($10.95 to $13.95)

Gifts For Good

We can't wrap up (get it... wrap... haha) without sharing two of our favourite causes for you to consider...

1. ABC's & Rice is an organization helping to feed, educate and give children in Cambodia a better life.  They pay families a stipend of rice in order that children can go to school, play and just be kids instead of having to work to help support their families.  They always appreciate help.

2. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  We may have just wrapped up the KitchenAid Cook For the Cure Fundraiser but that doesn't mean you can't keep giving to support diagnosis, treatment and post treatment support of women and men battling this disease.

Gifts for You - Yes! A Giveway

We're very excited to have four books up for giveaway with this Gift Guide.  We have two copies of Butter Baked Goods (thank you Appetite by Random House) and two copies of The Pioneer Woman Cooks - A Year of Holidays (thank you Ree!) up for grabs.  All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us what you would like for Christmas! This giveaway is only open to Canadian residents.  The deadline to enter is December 23rd at 9pm Pacific Time.  We'll announce our winners on December 30th.

A big thank you to members of our regional team who helped us pull together this gift guide with some of their favourites!

And with that... from all of us at FBC, we wish you a very happy holidays!

Disclosure Notice: Some (but not all) links in this post are affiliate links.  That means if you purchase anything after clicking them, we earn a small commission and that helps us maintain this site.  But rest assured, we loved everything we put into this gift guide!

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