What to give

I tend to shy away from "gift recommendation" posts, because I feel like "what will be a good gift" for someone is incredibly idiosyncratic and personal.

For example, some people (like me) would be touched beyond words if someone who knew them well enough to know about a toy they loved and lost as a child managed to track down one of those toys on Etsy or somewhere and get it. Or if someone who had some kind of skills (at art, at woodworking, at sewing) made something for me. Even something small, even someone who could do cartooning drawing a Pony version of me. (That's actually a gift I'd really treasure).

I will say that there are some Useful Things that if a person (a homeowner, a grown-up person who takes care of themselves) doesn't have or doesn't have good versions of, they would make a good gift:

1. A heavy, cast iron/enamelled Dutch oven. I have one of these (From Lodge, but if you want to go super high end, Staub or Le Crueset are good brands). Mine is something like 4 quart, but six quart ones can also be had. It's incredibly useful to me. And I discovered that these are the best possible vessel in which to roast a chicken - it doesn't dry out.

2. An instant-read digital kitchen thermometer (with probe). I don't know how I got on without this so long. (Well, I did - by "jiggling" the chicken leg to see if the bird was cooked, or using the cut-and-peek method on steaks).

3. America's Test Kitchen cookbooks, if they like cookbooks: sometimes ATK goes a little crazy with the detail and extra steps to make things *perfect* but the recipes are extremely good.

4. A decent set of large bath towels. I finally broke down a couple years ago and bought a set of these (merely "decent," not luxurious - mine came from, IIRC, Target). Most long term singles (That's what I'm thinking about here) tend to limp along on the same cruddy towels they've had for years, because who wants to spend their disposable income on TOWELS?

5. Likewise, sheets, if the person seems like someone who's using the same old set.

6. A GOOD flashlight. Ideally a battery powered one; I've had a few of the "emergency" flashlights with a crank or something that gave up the ghost after a few years. I have a battery powered camp lantern (with a fluorescent tube, and a second one with an LED) that keep on going. Actually, a lantern-shaped light is probably a better bet for dealing with power outages - easier to read or work by, and you can also carry it outside if need be.

Also, I find the hand crank ones have terribly underpowered bulbs, so their light is dim. As, in my household growing up, a major use of flashlights was "Will you look at my throat and tell me if it looks infected?" a flashlight with a good strong light is important.

There are also, for people seriously concerned about the "grid" and its potential failings, old-fashioned lanterns that use lamp oil. Lehman's has them. (Lehman's website is super slow, but they have some really interesting things.

There is also an "emergency lantern" that will run off of cooking oil if need be and I keep thinking I should get one of those in case of a major power outage.

7. This is dead-practical and not very romantic at all, but I would appreciate it: a selection of lightbulbs, ideally the new LED kind (or, if you can find 'em, sturdy versions of the "bad old" incandescents. I don't have much truck with the CFLs, I have not found a single kind that gives light I like, and also, they're a pain in the neck to dispose of). Because it's a pain to have a bulb burn out and find you have no replacements. (Of course, if LEDs live up to their promise, there will be a lot LESS replacing, so maybe just buy a few....)

8. A GOOD small set of tools - screwdriver, drill, hammer, tape measure, maybe one of those gadgets you can use to turn the gas off in an emergency (or the water at the water meter). Not the "Tools For Her" packaged-kit garbage you see at some stores around Christmas - those tools are crummy, they're too lightweight, they break easily. Go to a real hardware store or a home center and buy a real tool. Ask the person working there if you're unsure. It's frustrating to want to hammer something and have a wimpy hammer that won't do the job.

9. A GOOD knife or two for the kitchen. (N.B.: Depending on superstition, the recipient may wish to give you a penny in exchange; there is an old story about "don't GIVE someone a knife lest it cut your friendship"). Again, go to a specialty store and ask, don't buy what the wal-mart or bed bath and beyond puts out specifically as gifts, those are often poorly made.

10. If your recipient lives in the South: Large glass canisters with very firmly-attaching lids. Because insects. You want to be able to store sugar in a way that ants absolutely cannot get in, because if you live in an old house in the South, there will, eventually, be ants. The best way to avoid ants (or other worse things) is to have all the food closed up in stuff that they can't get into.

11. Those glass storage bowls with lids. I use these exclusively for storing leftovers: they can be frozen, they can be refrigerated, you can microwave in them without worrying that there are going to be weird chemicals migrating into your food, you can see what's in the bowl, you can put them in the dishwasher. And for many single people, again, this is something we may not think of or may not wish to spend disposable income on and there are few things sadder than a 40-something professional using old margarine tubs to hold leftover pasta in the fridge.

12. Or, heck, a decent but not expensive set of everyday china. I keep thinking I want to replace the 15+ year old Corelle I have - I've broken a few of the pieces and I would like a change. But again, it's one of those, "Meh, I really don't want to spend my 'book money' on this"

I also know some long term singles still using the melamine they snagged from Granny's house when Granny passed on.

I will say very few people these days (at least very few I know) need or use "good" china, like what brides used to register for. Or maybe that's just my circle but I admit I look at my parents' 3 sets (two sets of regular "good china" and a Christmas set) and wonder what will happen to them when their household is finally broken up - I don't want any of it (except maybe the Pink Tower teapot, solely for sentimental reasons) and I don't have anywhere to store it, and I doubt my brother and sister in law want the three sets (plus the partial set of something inherited from grandparents)