Hassle-Free Gifts for the Foodie on Your List

Courtesy of the Texas Food and Wine Alliance

Ship It!

You know what's a real pain? Buying, wrapping, and shipping presents. That's like three whole steps. Offload all that work on somebody else! The Texas Food and Wine Alliance's new Texas Treats boxes (order munchmail.com/texas-treats) come in two sizes ($59, $99) and corral munchables from small-batch producers all around the state, such as sea salt crackers from Austin's the Sourdough Project and saucissson d'Alsace from Wimberley's Visca Charcuteria... For the carnivores you care about, send meat. And if that carnivore cares about Texas Rangers pitching legends, then consider sending meat from Goodstock (goodstocktx.com), Nolan Ryan's boutique butcher shop in Round Rock; choose individual cuts of brisket, filets, Angus beef chuck, or get the best of every world in a sampler pack... Partial to pork? Family-owned the Salumeria (thesalumeria.com) raises its pigs on a 200-acre farm and ships its cured meats individually, in gift boxes, or in monthly subscription boxes... For the host or hostess on your list, ship a straight-out-the-box charcuterie board from Casero (caseroaustin.com) featuring seasonal, regional products. Add on a couple jars of the house-made chicken liver pâté, a recent Good Food Award finalist.

Courtesy of BOXT

Sip It!

A wine subscription is a stellar gift for the budding oenophile on your list. House Wine (housewineaustin.com) offers a Wine Geeks Club that supplements their monthly wines with shop discounts and virtual or in-person tastings, while urban winery Austin Winery sweetens its Wine Club subscription with a free glass anytime you visit them in South Austin. Glou Glou Girls (glouglougirls.com) delivers their monthly picks of all-natural wines around Travis County. Traveling farther afield, the boxed-wine-but-sophisticated startup BOXT (drinkboxt.com) delivers one of nine wine red, white, or rosé "profiles" to serve as your own stylishly packaged house wine.

Courtesy of the Thinkery

Sniff It!

Holiday season goals: 1) Make your house smell great. 2) Keep the kids busy. The Thinkery's gingerbread kits (thinkery.myshopify.com) tick both boxes. Prebaked by Lady Quackenbush's Cakery, the all-ages kits include house building and cookie decorating, all available for scheduled pickup to ensure maximum freshness. Know somebody who'd rather be doing the baking themselves? Wimberley-based Maggie's Micros (maggiesmicros.com) specializes in micro-batch extracts and sugars, like the Kentucky Bourbon and Caribbean Añejo rum flavored Madagascar vanilla extracts. Know somebody who'd rather eat dirt than attempt baking themselves? They can cheat their way to that fresh-baked smell with the Burlap Bag's "Baked Bread" soy candle (theburlapbag.com).

Stuff It!

Look, if it fits in a sock, it's a stocking stuffer. So let's get random! For the poop joke aficionado on your list, El Arroyo (elarroyo.com) mines their jokey signs for prints, holiday ornaments, and even three-ply toilet paper rolls. Design studio Letterpress Play (letterpressplay.com) sells unique paper products (paper toys, recipe cards) with a vintage vibe. Parents, why not give the kids a hint and drop some pretty thank-you cards in their stocking? Their grandparents will thank you both for the kindness. Are you passionate about print media and hot beverages? Combine two loves in one with a mug from the Chronicle's online store (austinchronicle.com/store). And cheers to you!