The annual "gift ideas for the person that has everything"

Are you looking for a few less expensive gifts so she has several to open with the rest of you?

How about a book or two?
a night nightgown or pair of pjs?

I would love a comfy pair of PJs, slippers, cozy throw & book.

I also enjoy wine, so a bottle of wine with a book & cozy throw would be nice as well.

Does she like handbags? On occasion, I have caught great sales at the Coach outlet and purchased nice leather bags for $75 after discounts. Last Christmas I bought crossbody bags for $40.

crazy4scraps, I would love your recipe please.

Oh, me too please!

Regarding gifts...can you gift her a playlist/album/book through iTunes? Does she drive a lot - if so, what about an audio book?

Last year I got a heating pad that goes on my shoulders and neck--Sunbeam Renue--that I absolutely love. I don't need it for any pain, but I love the warmth.

What about some kind of 31 tote? Most people can find a use for a tote bag. I would also get some stuff from bath and body or something like that. I might also get her a piece of jewelry if I could find something that seemed her style.

I bought this for myself on Dec. 26th last year, with money I got for Christmas. AWESOME gift! It feels soooooo good. I'm sitting here with it on right now, in fact!

I'm only mentioning this because you said that you'd love a comfy pair of PJs. As you can see by my signature, I sell very cozy and comfy Karen Neuburger nightgowns and pajamas. Take a look on my site. You might see something that your mother will enjoy. Good luck. You could do a nice basket with the PJs, a new coffee mug and a pound of a delicious coffee. Add a pack of biscotti and you're all set.

I've ordered many of those Lands End personalized tote bags for teachers, hard-to-buy-for-people, and others on my gift list. I think they are a practical gift for most people.

DH has his birth mother (who we found 25 years ago and integrated into our family) and his father to buy for.  Both live alone now, as both their spouses have died in the past few years.  We get them food baskets from Costco, filled with snacks and treats that we know they wouldn't buy for themselves. Salmon, crackers, cheeses, Coffees, teas, chocolates, cookies, etc. Tasty things to nosh on at their leisure.

DH's father has always lived in a small apartment, but has recently downsized even further to senior living housing since his second wife died.  He has no room for permanent things.  His birth mother lives in a modest sized house, which contains a lifetime of decor collected with her late husband (who also was a cherished member of our tribe), she also doesn't need things.  

We we find getting them enjoyable consumables to be the most welcome gift, according to them.

How cool that you're both photographers! Is this something you both did prior to meeting one another?

As for gift suggestions... What about a heated throw? I bought my mom one and then loved using hers so much I bought one for myself. They're amazing.

For small gifts to open, what about those mini bottles of OPi or Essie nailpolish that are in gift packaging this time of year? The colors are always fun and the bottles are small enough to collect a bunch. You could always put these with a new nail file, mini travel bottle of remover, and a small pkg of travel sized cotton balls too.

A bottle of booze to flavor coffee with a pkg of coffee (or K-Cups)? Like Baileys Irish Creme or similar.

A new Tervis mug or insulated mug to take out with her on photo shoots?

Dang it, had the whole thing typed out and my ancient iPad took a dump on me! Grrr! Trying this again.

Vanilla Sea Salt Caramels
From "Brittles, Barks & Bonbons: Delicious Recipes for Quick and Easy Candy" by Charity Ferreira.

3/4 c (1-1/2 sticks) unsealed butter, plus more for pan
2-1/4 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup
1 c heavy cream
1/2 c water
2-1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out, OR 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Generously butter sides and bottom of an 8x8 disposable foil cake pan; place on a baking sheet for stability.

In a large pot over medium-low heat, stir together butter, sugar, corn syrup, cream, water, salt and vanilla bean and seeds (if using vanilla extract, don't add yet) until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted.

Increase heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, until mixture turns a pale golden brown and registers about 250 degrees on a candy thermometer, 18-25 minutes.

Remove from heat and carefully stir in vanilla extract, if using (mixture will bubble up).

Immediately pour caramel into prepared pan. Let stand at room temperature until top is set, about 20 minutes, then refrigerate until firm enough to cut, about 2-1/2 hours.

Bend sides of pan to remove caramel and place on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut caramel into 1" squares. Wrap each piece in 4" square of food safe cello or other paper, twist ends closed and store airtight in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. The caramels will taste best if you bring them to room temperature before eating.

NOW, having made this recipe many times, these are my own comments and changes. First of all, I use an 8x10 pan instead of 8x8. With the smaller pan they are just way too thick. I also make them smaller, maybe 1/2"x1" or so, and that (to me anyway) makes a satisfying bite of caramel. Not to mention it yields a higher number of candies.

I've never used a vanilla bean, I don't have time for messing with that! I also don't use a foil pan. I wrap Reynold's Release heavy duty foil with the release side on the inside, around the outside of a regular 8x10 cake pan, pull that off and slide it inside the metal pan. I still butter it generously. The foil allows you to pull the whole thing out and will peel right off.

When cooking the caramel, I take it off the heat at about 242 degrees. The result is a slightly softer caramel which I prefer, because I don't like yanking my fillings out with harder caramels! I would recommend making it per the recipe once first and see what your own preferences are and go from there.

I use pink Himalayan sea salt with this and I love it, but you can use whatever you like. You can also sprinkle a tiny bit on top of the caramels after they're cut if you like. Or dip the cut caramels in chocolate if you like and sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top. If you dip them then you won't need to wrap them in the papers though.

One note about the paper. You can use waxed paper if you want to, but cutting it is a huge pain in the butt. If you want to use the precut little candy papers from Wilton that Michael's or JoAnn's sells (probably Hobby Lobby too), I would highly recommend buying those SOON because the stores around me always sell out well before the holidays, and once they do they are almost never in stock after that. This recipe sounds a lot putzier than it actually is, the only bad part is wrapping them.

My first thought was warm and comfy too....slippers, warm throw. Of course it's rainy and cold today so that might be coloring my opinion.