A Gift to Send Instead of Flowers

Braided garlic bread would be much better. Who is ever going to use that much garlic, even if you like to cook? Nobody who has a new baby or is going through a hard time would find that useful.

Reading all these comments (while hilarious) makes me really miss the days when we could read something and take from it what might apply to our lives, leave the rest, and instead of focusing on all the ways how wrong the specific content is for our own life, appreciate the underlying intent behind it. In this case…encouraging or giving permission to think beyond the vase and getting creative and having fun when choosing a gift to replace the typical flowers for some occasions where flowers are the norm.

This is a very niche recommendation, and I do think the “pro” is so overused and rubbing people the wrong way. I do not enjoy receiving flowers though, I find it annoying to find a vase, trim the stems, change the water, and then try to stuff them in the trash a week later without getting dried flower parts all over the floor. I’d rather have chocolate.

Who knew a garlic braid would be so controversial? I use SO MUCH garlic! And the braids are rustic and pretty. And lucky for me, this is my sis in law’s family business.

I like to send gift baskets from local farms that do baked goods, a really cozy throw blanket, an actual potted houseplant, and yes, cut flowers. They brighten up a room.

So far this series seems to be much more “pro debates” rather than pro tips. :)

Maybe this is meant to troll us. Garlic is so cheap and 70% of US garlic is imported from china. If I brought it as a gift my loved ones would roll their eyes and I’d be considered broke lol. It would be easier to say sorry I can’t afford flowers. Cup of Jo team we love you and appreciate you so much but this new series is missing the point so far. I used to take pineapples as housewarming gifts and that was always a weird and random hit. Also miss the comics. I liked seeing them.

I’ve never really disagreed with a COJ rec until today!! This feels like rage bait lol or maybe I’m just too Latino to think this would be a gift jaja. Like hi! Happy new baby – here’s a raw hunk of garlic in a braid that’s going to sprinkle little chunks of garlic paper crust all over your floors or counter. Wipe you enjoy it before it goes bad! 🤣

I read garlic bread! That I would have taken as a new mom. But a garlic braid? When would I cook that up?

I’d love to receive a garlic braid! They are beautiful and useful. I use enough garlic to run out fairly quickly but not enough to remember to buy it at the shop. And good garlic is not always easy to find. A great idea, I’ll keep it in mind.

I’ll admit, I hadn’t double check if this one was satire. For the right people, I’m sure a garlic braid is lovely. In rural WNC, getting a garlic braid would result in a story retold at every family event. Appalachians bring a meal, not an ingredient!

A super thoughtful gesture was when friends delivered dinners when we’d first come home from hospital. I am a little conflicted about flowers, too, but they’re such a rare extravagance it feels super special and celebratory/comforting.

These pro tips are amaze-balls! Great addition to the weekly offerings, CoJ!!!

While I like garlic, a garlic braid is not for me. Chocolates,please.

Oh, goodness – you get through so much garlic when you have a newborn, don’t you? Nobody warns you, but the garlic bill has gone through the roof! Where does it all go?! I don’t know. Don’t ask me. What I wouldn’t do for a couple of braids of garlic. Sigh.

PS I would actually quite like a garlic braid as a gift, but would have been slightly baffled to receive one as a new mum

I was warned off garlic tasting foods as a new mum – I was told if you’re breastfeeding it can make the milk taste funny and put the baby off! I’m not sure how true it is (I certainly didn’t notice any issues after eating garlic bread) but I’m always a bit cautious cooking for a new mum just in case!

Either way I don’t think this is a helpful gift – it’s not a meal, it’s almost a chore to work out how to use it before it goes bad! Hard pass from me, I’ll stick with flowers, cards, a meal, a treat for the new parents, offers to help with chores…

I think the best gift tip is to know your audience, and buy appropriately. I love garlic but my two-person household would never use all of a braid before it went bad. Some of the other suggestions in the thread are also just not for me! Cookie delivery is delicious but a sugar crash in the works. I absolutely don’t want a Lego set ever–to me, that’s just a pile of plastic (which I have to assemble myself??) to get dusty and clutter up my house. I have extremely reactive skin and don’t use gifted skincare if it’s outside my safe brands. Etc. But I’m sincerely thrilled to get flowers or a houseplant, even though it’s something I need to take care of. We’re mostly vegetarian but I’ll eat a gifted meal no matter the cuisine or ingredients. (And I absolutely will demolish a cookie delivery against my better judgement.) It’s funny how a perfect gift for one person is a hard pass for another.

Please do not send me a garlic braid that will rot and spill paper in my kitchen, please just send garlic bread.

Haha I don’t know about this one! Definitely a “know your audience” kind of gift. I think it could be a fun housewarming gift for someone who likes to cook, but for most other occasions I would just give (and prefer to receive) food.

Best gift I received after having a baby was hands down a big basket of fresh fruit. I had no time to grocery shop and I can’t tell you how delicious the gifted oranges and pears tasted. Years later, I still think of my dear friend whenever I see fruit at the market.

This feels very niche to me . . . I’d much rather receive a small indulgence that I would never spend money on myself – new slippers, a fancy hand cream, lush kitchen or bathroom hand towels, a fancy candle, a beautiful serving dish, cute S&P shakers . . . there are so many good gifts out there and this one wouldn’t do it for me. This is a case of good for her, not for me!

Okay, I’m sorry but I’m imagining opening this gift as a new mom- and being like “WTF? A garlic braid?”

I’m sorry, it just makes me chuckle.

Naive questions that could be answered on google: Do you hang it on a nail on the wall? (“Hanging in the kitchen.”) Do you just peel off a clove when you need one? is it papery and messy? How long does it keep? Is it cute for like, a few uses and then looks half-eaten? the garlic stems still braided or do they unravel? So curious!

A dear friend gave me a beautiful tote bag with brownies, bread, and a blanket during a difficult time in my life. It was the best gift I have ever received!

For new parents or just busy times – frozen smoothie bags. *Flattened* Ziplock bags (because I am NOT fighting to stuff the contents into a narrow blender) filled with spinach, half a banana, quartered avocado, cubed yogurt, plus whatever berries, fruit, nuts, seeds, and peanut butter or protein powder. Similarly, if it’s winter, frozen, cooked, steel-cut oatmeal cups that can be thrown in the microwave. I cannot imagine a better trick to power through the day than having breakfast sorted.