Ideas for a snack exchange

[Phoenikia]

I’m taking part in a charity gift exchange involving snacks.

The idea is that you send another person in the exchange $100 work of booze and/or snacks, and make a donation of $100 to a food bank in your region.

I’ve participated for 5 years now. The person receiving the gifts can make requests

When I have taken part previously, these are the gifts I sent:

$100 worth of Italian chocolates, savoury snacks, nuts and pepperoni from Eataly.

$100 worth of Japanese snacks and several fancy Levain style chocolate chip cookies from local bakery in Calgary

$100 of booze from Dillon’s Distillery in Niagara Region, including ready made Negronis and strawberry cocktails, a bottle of gin

$50 of local craft booze and $50 of local ice cream from Good Behaviour in Toronto.

I have received 2 gift baskets with treats, 1 case of beer and seltzer from a local brewery, and a really incredible selection of snacks from a grocery store.

This year, the person I’m given to likes wine and ketchup chips. She’s also local, so I can drop it off at her place. The most stressful part sending snacks to Calgary and somewhere near Hamilton was the Delivery. I paid extra to deliver it quickly, and those 2 times the Delivery was late.

I was planning on buying each variety of ketchup chips that I can find at my favourite indie grocery store, and a bottle of red wine from a local bottle shop. This person I’ll be giving the snacks to is local so I’ll hand deliver. I was thinking of including a $20 6 pack of custard tarts from Café Bélem in Toronto. Any ideas for how to round out this snack package?

So far. I’ve got:
$25 of Ketchup chips
$25 for a bottle of red wine
$20 for 6 custard tarts at Café Bélem

I’ll be spending around $25-$30 on the snacks I add to the package!

Thanks for any ideas

[kobuta (The Original Passionate Cucumber)]

How about stuff that pairs well with wines? Cheese? Crackers? Cheese crackers/twizzles? I have a fairly broad definition of snacks too. While I don’t drink, I love pate and crackers. That can be a nice elegant touch that counters the ketchup chips.

Personally, I love popcorn, but I like more usual favors - cheese, plain or light salted, butter and maybe occasionally caramel (I’m a sucker for Cracker Jack too). I do love hot/spicy cheese popcorn when it can be found though. I don’t like chocolate coated or other novel flavors.

[Phoenikia]

Thanks! All good ideas!

Earlier this week. I dropped off a Welcome Back package for a family friend who moved back to Ontario.

This is what I included:
A local soft cheese from Quebec, something like a brie
A package of prosciutto salami from a salami maker in Niagara Region
Some walnut and honey crackers
Some sesame crackers
A half pound box of assorted local dipped chocolates

[iluvcookies (Jen)]

This Welcome Back package sounds wonderful!
I checked out the site where you got the salami mentioned, and I think that any of the cured meat products they have would pair well with the red wine for the snack exchange.
Of course, you could just make it easy on yourself and pick up a second bottle of wine

[mts]

What a great idea involving the food bank in your snack exchange!

[Phoenikia]

Hilariously, the recipient has not sent a thank you email (or call or text), since she received the Welcome Home gift 72 hours ago. She was a bit of a when I stopped by to give her the gift. I got sucked into a longer visit than I anticipated. She was bragging about her 55 yo son, his 55 yo wife who is big shot, one of her grandchildren, and then she stated interrogating me, and tried to put down where I went to school 25 years ago. LOL. Her son went to a more prestigious school than I did.

She’s staying at a dear family friend’s house until her new apartment is ready. I’m hoping the dear family friend enjoys the cheese and the salami.

[Saregama]

How interesting — how does everyone in the exchange know each other?

If she likes ketchup chips, she probably likes ketchup — if there are artisanal varieties, a few of those might be an interesting inclusion.

Otherwise another bottle of wine, or a box of chocolates (honeycomb?) might be easy and well-received.

[Phoenikia]

Nope, we don’t know each other. It’s run through Elfster, a Secret Santa- type site, to help us meet new people. The organizer lives in Ottawa

Secret Santa App - Gift Exchange Website | Elfster

Our event is an online networking event across Canada. Up to 90 people took part at one point. Our event started as an online event during 2020 when Ontario was locked down, to bring some joy and social connection to the Victoria Day weekend.

This year, there’s a shift for people to meet up in real life with their Santas and recipients.

My Santa last year happens to be a foodie who I met though a cookie exchange that was held in Toronto in 2021, 2022 and 2023. We are now also friends on LinkedIn and Instagram.

[iluvcookies (Jen)]

Oh dear. I admire your restraint in not telling her where to put that salami! Sounds like the Dear Family Friend will need a bottle of something stronger than wine when she leaves

Honestly, I’m sorry the recipient wasn’t more graceful. Some people just don’t have the manners we hope they would.

[medgirl]

My workplace sometimes uses Elfster to organise Secret Santa events around Christmastime. It’s interesting that you’re using it for the snack exchange. With this sort of thing it’s always inevitable that there will be a thoughtful foodie like yourself @Phoenikia who will put in time and effort to make a lovely selection for the package, and some people who won’t be as discerning. I hope you always receive as good as you give!

The older lady not appreciating your Welcome Home package and bragging to you about her family - perhaps she is developing a degree of dementia? Some older members of my family are like this and my sister and I wonder if we’ll get like that in our old age and now we keep telling each other “You must be upfront with me and tell me if I start behaving like a !” But if we both start behaving like s simultaneously, who will save us from our fate?!?!

[Phoenikia]

Human nature is interesting. The goals behind this exchange was to spark connections, add joy, and support charity.

I love shopping, and I’m okay with whatever someone else chooses for me.

The first 2 baskets I received were generous. One was from a company that specializes in baskets. The next was a really large box of healthier snacks run by a small ocal business.

The last one was a windfall, from a fellow foodie.

The one that was a bit of a miss was the case of beer. I don’t really drink. I don’t like beer much. I had let the Santa know I wasn’t a drinker and he seemed frustrated and flustered. So I told him to just sent what he wanted to send.

I suspect that he had a favourite brewery he wanted to support, had already spent the hundred bucks before drawing my name or just didn’t want to give anything else. I used one can of Italian beer for cooking and i regifted the rest of beer to a beer loving friend and a 20something neighbour. I guess I tried 2 or 3 seltzers. LOL.

The participants are mostly lawyers. Quite a few are epicures and very into the idea of finding cool gifts. It’s all voluntary, so it’s attracting people who want to take part, and many put their heart into it.

What has been funny, is that out of the 4 people I’ve gifted to so far, none of them have wanted to connect professionally or socially.

Whereas I connected to 3 of the 4 people who gifted to me and I’m still in touch through LinkedIn and BlueSky. I’m social with one of them, as well.

The first person who gifted to me didn’t seem to want to connect. She was friendly and down-to-earth when I thanked her for the gift.

I almost didn’t participate this year because I was a little turned off by the last recipient, who barely acknowledged the gift. She seemed really entitled.

[Phoenikia]

Here is the gift I gave today:

11 bags or tubes of chips and crisps

a bottle of wine from Paradise Grapevine,

and a Ba Noi butter tart.

[mts]

A chip lover’s delight!

[iluvcookies (Jen)]

That is a lovely gift. I’m going to let you pick out presents from now on LOL!