I agree husband points for sure!

My favorite was the new backsplash my husband installed for me and then the cute snowman cookie jar he also bought for me.

So, I am curious what everyone else's favorite Christmas gift was. I realize I worded the title wrong.

Please, chime in here!

Sorry I can be a bit of a thread killer, lol. I'm dying to find out what everyone got too! :)

We didn't exchange gifts this year, but since it was just the two of us I got to spend a good part of the day stripping the paint off a french door with a window in it so my contractor won't be so turned off by the appearance that he refuses to use it. We're meeting on Tuesday.

BTW, I found the door in my neighbor's trash. I love the idea of having a french door that is also a window so I don't need a screen door. The contractor...maybe not so much.

Merry Christmas, again, Kellie!

I received two kitchen related gifts, if you exclude actual food items. They were both cookbooks. Sweet DS was at the bookstore with DH buying a gift card for another family member when he saw a Giada De Laurentiis cookbook. He insisted on buying it for me. His favorite pasta dishes came from watching her show once over the summer, and he remembered her.

DM gave me the new CI cookbook covering 20 years of the mag.

Think my family knows I like to cook? ;)

I got the electric pasta machine I wanted and DH also picked out the nicest pasta drying rack I've ever seen. He went high end....SO happy!!

santa gave me the cuisinart ice cream maker - made some yummy mango sorbet! i also recently got the Cooks Illustrated Cook book and used the receipe for the mango gelato. Great book for those considering it!

Kellie--I forgot to say how good it was of DH to get the hinges. Weren't you just saying the other day how you missed no having them? Seriously huge cutting boards are can't-live-without-in-the-kitchen thing for me. Which wood species is it?

Remodelfla--pasta machine! OK, I'm green. Thats the one thing, electric or hand-cranked as I'm not picky, I've been saying for years that I wanted. That, and some cool egg cups I mentioned over and over to everyone this year. No one seems to listen. What's your secret?

Babushka--we make a lot of ice cream around here. Good to know the mango gelato recipe from my new book is a good one. And DS adores mango. Thanks!

"Santa" gave hubby all new Forschner kitchen knives and a Rev-A-Shelf knife drawer.(:

Athomesewing--So THATS the trick! "Santa" needs to get me the things I want. Mental note for next year. ;)

Actually hubby loved the knives! He's quite the cook. I'm going to love the knife drawer! (:

DH gave me Ina Garten's Back to Basics and the 75th Anniversary Edition of Joy of Cooking. DM and DF gave me a vintage penny candy jar and vintage Pyrex ice cream bowls. The kitchen's almost done. Can't wait to use them!

Breezy-It is a bamboo cutting board with stainless steel handles that look just like the ones you are using on the wardrobe drawers!

"Santa" is very good at filling in the gaps.

Getting a new kitchen for Christmas but won't start work til March. In the meantime, Santa gave me a SpiceStack and I think it is great! It holds 27+ regular spice bottles (square on the back spots and round or square on the front row).
Now to week my spices/herbs down to 27+ (I plan to get some new little bottles for seeds and lesser used items)
https://spicestack.com/index.php. I got the middle one.
I think for the metal tins -I might snag some of the magnetic strips for the new kitchen and mount under a shelf to use the "wasted space"
Happy Holidays.

I got a tagine, and im excited but it came with no markings or instructions. I read that there are two types, serving and cooking, So i'm trying to figure out which mine is, and if i can cook with it, how to cook with it. I also got an america's test kitchen cookbook (with lots of clear instructions since Im newly interested in cooking) and i received 25 1year old white dogwood trees to plant in the woods off the deck beside my kitchen window. The state forestry nursery sells them every year for a dollar each. And i got a serving tray with snowflakes on it, from crate and barrel. Our family puts a 25 dollar limit on gifts that adults exchange and i thought everyone gave very thoughtful gifts to me, i hope they enjoyed their gifts as much as i enjoyed mine. Hubs got me camera stuff, a good lens for my camera!

My favorite gift was the box of old photos and mementos that my mother gave me and which included the apron my grandmother sewed for me on her treadle sewing machine when I was about 6 years old. Grandmother was going to teach me how to bake a cake, but none of the aprons she had fit me, so she whipped one out real quick on that treadle machine. It was a vintage cherry print then, and gosh knows but it might be considered "antique" by now! LOL! It's too small to wear, and I don't have kids to pass it on to, so I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but it brought back lots of happy memories in my grandmother's kitchen.

My second favorite gift was sorta from the spouse. It was an Amazon GC, and I used it for the Zojirushi induction rice cooker that I've had my eye on. The old one served well so it was a no brainer to step up to induction. Got an open box price on one, and used the savings for a Kuhn spice grinder which looks like it'll do a better job than the cheap coffee mill I had been using.

I received a KitchenAid stand mixer from my mom. It's beautiful and has a ton of attachments. It's still in the box, and has been for two weeks, because I really want to make its first use something extraordinary. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Live wire oak......you could have your apron mounted and framed in a shadow box and hang it in your kitchen.....you'll have a unique piece of art for your kitchen and fond memories every day.....

Joanie, that's a great idea! I know someone who did the same thing with a couple of her grandmother's hand-written recipes.

Curtains to finally finish off the kitchen, family room and dining room. They'll be installed mid- February and I am so excited.

This was my first year that I didn't get a cookbook. DH says its because I don't need them anymore (riiiiiight....). My favorite kitchen gift was the Debuyer mandoline that can make waffle fries too. I'll have to take it for a spin today or tonight! I also got a ton of beautiful platters from my mom so we do lots of entertaining in our new kitchen!

I also got a KA stand mixer in Ice color. Never had one on the wedding registry as is typical for a lot of people. It's more of a gift for us vs. just me. DH is interested in the meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachments, LOL.

Remote digital meat thermometer. Opened it up early to grill the tenderloin on Christmas Eve.

Bobby Flay "Bar American" cookbook

I received so many wonderful, thoughtful gifts this Christmas I couldn't pick just one so I took a pucture of them all.

The pots that I would have been more surprised not to receive but also the Julia Child cookbooks in a slip case which I have secretly, I thought, wanted for years as well as some books to read from DH.

From my kids: the sketch of our family that my talented DD drew, the Van Gogh print, the foot pampering set since I constantly complain about my dry feet here, ramekins because I made individual creme brulee in a weird assortment of dishes before, the new beautiful copy of Pride and Prejudice since mine is from my mother and is so fragile I hate to pick it up anymore, even the gaudy earrings from my youngest DD because I mentioned in her presence that I had only one pair or earrings with me (the rest of my jewelery is in storage, I can't remember the thinking behind that decision anymore)

I'm a happy girl : )

I have trained everyone not to give me kitchen-related gifts at all, except occasional cookbooks (of which none this year). I seem to react badly to them-- I prefer presents that involve pure pleasures, unrelated to work in any way, like reading, music, and movies. This despite my TKO status.

Well, after over a decade of beating by hand or hauling out the big KitchenAid, I finally once again have a hand mixer--a tough little Cuisinart, courtesy of one of our kids and a few hints.

Actually, a close second is a gift (officially to my noncooking DH) from a friend who's addicted to auctions and always surprises everyone with her gifts of various items she couldn't pass up. This time his turned out to a very nice quality 6" paring knife that fits absolutely perfectly in MY hand. I was sitting there fondling it instead of getting on with opening gifts actually meant for me. :)

Btw

Breezygirl - that is too cute, your son getting you a cookbook from a cooking show he watched - he's off to a good start!

Remodelfa - ooh nice, would you believe I have a manual one but I let my kids use it for clay, I'm kind of sorry now. Pasta dryng racks are cool.

I don't know what a tagine is and I've never heard of soft close hinges - I guess to prevent slamming? A mandoline would be nice and so would an ice cream maker. Time to start making a list for next year.

I love getting cookbooks (and other books) and cooking stuff because cooking feels like fun and creative to me like my daughter getting art supplies for a present.

Sounds like everybody had a good Christmas. Thanks for sharing.

sciencechick- try the caramelized onion pizza- it is devine! Waterdamage- I had to train hubby on that too. But kitchen gifts do make great and easy gifts for my inlaws to give me.

We got the Breville panini press and have used it multiple times already! Wow the sandwiches are SO good. My favorite is cranberry pecan bread with ham, salami, cheddar and spicy mustard.

Also, I gave DH a copy of "Poorly made in China" (learned about it from the recent made in America thread). I just finished it - it has been a long time since I finished a book so quickly. Absolutely fascinating inside account of the Chinese production game. Has renewed my hope to put as much Made in USA stuff into my new kitchen.

Merry Christmas.
I hope everyone had a wonderful day.
I have not opened this yet. I will try it out this
week. A Kuerig coffee maker. I love coffee so I think
this may end up being a favorite. (this was gift for
my DH and I)
I also have a few other faves...
Kitchen aid utensils, cook book, gourmet coffees, William
Sonoma Olive oil (the aged one), Holiday dish towels,
Casserole dish, candles for my kitchen,....

And a handbag to go shopping with, not necessarily for my
kitchen. Wait, I might use it to shop for kitchen stuff.
: )

Sounds like everyone was good this year! No coal. I received a super-plush terry cloth robe. Which I know is not kitchen related. However, it's replacing the one I caught fire Thanksgiving morning while cooking for dinner. That IS kitchen related! (Memo to self: large doman sleeves and gas burner flames don't go together) Kitchen gets ripped out this next weekend!

My DH gave me a Danish dough whisk, which I used Christmas day to mix up some pizza dough which I will use tomorrow night. It worked great, I think it will become a fave and I will be using it again this week to make meatloaf for DH as it is a favorite.

Merry Christmas everyone. I got a Wellness mat for Chistmas. My new porcelain floors are beautiful but they are hard on my feet! The mat feels like heaven.

Merry Christmas! I am the ever-so-grateful recipient of the Breville Smart Oven. It's so pretty! Is it wrong to have a crush on an appliance? My new kitchen wasn't able to accommodate two ovens, so the Breville was my solution. I gave multiple hints leading up to Christmas, but when it got to be crunch time, I emailed the link to my husband. It seemed best to take no chances!

My wife has been wishing for new knives for a while now, so Santa brought her a set of Globals and a Sakai Takayuki. With all these ultra sharp blades in the house, I'll have to be a good boy... ;)

A slim, digital kitchen scale to replace the old, bulky, not-so-accurate hand-me-down. I love the tare feature.
I'll start with bread...

My wife gave me a couple of Le Creuset pieces, an oval French oven and a braiser. I used both right away to make Christmas dinner. The French oven for the Ragu alla Bolognese and the smaller braiser to roast six heads of garlic in olive oil. It was a good Christmas.

My DW gave me an 18 inch paella pan and I didn't waste time putting it to use!

Billy

an email from my brother on Christmas morning letting me know that he and two of his workers have booked a flight from the UK and will be spending 10 days working on my Kitchen and the remainder of the house!

I'm not trying to be hokey here, but seriously, the best gift I received this year for my kitchen (besides my kitchen!) was having my friends and family IN my kitchen on Christmas. This was our 14th annual hosting of Christmas Day & dinner and just to have all our loved ones gathered around in our new room was so rewarding. My brother (who is a real foodie) said he thought it was our best dinner yet :) Hearing everyone's lovely compliments let us know our planning and hard work has really paid off. Here's hoping the warm glow of the day lasts throughout the New Year!

Brianadarnell, thanks for the heads up! That looks awesome, plus I can make the pizza dough in the new mixer!

Besides the kitchen itself, definitely my 20-year old son spending the first 6 nights of his college break in the kitchen with me baking and preparing for Christmas. He was what he called my "sous chef!!!" What a great opportunity to talk and laugh and teach and learn!!!! It was the best.

SQ

My fave is the Breville Smart Oven. I'm baking some biscuits in it as I type!

joaniepoanie: live wire oak......you could have your apron mounted and framed in a shadow box and hang it in your kitchen.....you'll have a unique piece of art for your kitchen and fond memories every day.....

I LOVE this idea!

Susie,
That is the best gift ever!
~boxer

I received a dozen stainless steel water bottles. We already used a water filter pitcher to fill up recycled plastic water bottles but found them difficult to sanitize and they degraded over time.

My husband, who died a number of years ago, made brightly coloured fishing lures for salmon fishing. I get quite sentimental over this type of thing (the only one in my family that gets emotional over physical reminders) and couldn't bear to throw them away. I mentioned to my daughter once that I would like to mount them in a shadow box but I never seemed to get around to it. She totally surprised me, secreted them away, framed them and gave it to me for Christmas. I was very touched.