We love food! Some of our favourite gifts for the holidays involve delish things to eat or drink. We have found a lot more friends and family favouring edible items as gifts whether food, spirits or accessories that compliment cooking, baking or creating delish refreshments at home. In East Van, there are so many amazing options to choose from. On a recent trip to The Drive, we found a great selection of panetonne in Bosa Foods, Fratelli’s Bakery and Donald’s Market. There are quite a few flavour variations now, but last year we were gifted one and the last bit became french toast. If you haven’t tried this, we do recommend giving it a try. We’ve set out some suggestions for easy to find edible gifting this holiday season below. Whether it’s a hostess gift, thank you or maybe create your own basket from things you know the person would like, there are many great options close at hand in East Van.
Gift Baskets
There are many shops locally that will create custom gift baskets for you with a food related theme. The include LaGrotta delFrommagio, Bosa Foods, Gourmet Warehouse and Second Nature Home to name just a few.
Cooking Classes
Looking to gift an experience? Gourmet Warehouse always has a great line up of demonstration cooking classes. They usually run for 3 hours often on the weekends, sometimes in the evening during the week. The Italian Cultural Centre also features hands on cooking classes. Most classes you get to eat what you make afterwards.
Craft Beer
No way we could just skip over craft beer as a gift for the beer lover. So many great breweries to choose from each with their own unique offering, but pretty much all offer growlers. If you prefer to give the gift of a brewery tour, our friends at Vancouver Brewery Tours have that covered.
Spirits
Looking to gift some locally made spirits, we are pretty fond of Odd Society Spirits 1725 Powell Street with a great selection of locally made spirits including East Van Vodka, Wallflower Gin, Cassis, Bittersweet Vermouth and Oaken Wallflower Gin. During the holidays, we love to serve their cassis with prosecco. It’s an easy cocktail when entertaining. There’s also Resurrection Spirits at 1672 Franklin Street. Down side is they are only open Thursday to Saturday from 6:00 pm to 12:00 am whereas Odd Society Spirits has easier hours for popping in and picking a bottle or two. Odd Society is open Thursday to Sunday 1:00 pm to 11:00 pm save for Sunday evening which they wrap it up at 7:00 pm.
Pies
I mean who doesn’t love a delicious pie? Andrea and Stephanie French of The Pie Shoppe at 1875 Powell Street make seriously delicious pie. If you need to bring dessert for Christmas dinner or get together and want to wow family or friends, this is where you pick up your pie.
We are big supporters of small business. They are the heart of our respective communities. They are opportunities to connect, support other local makers, keep money in our community, a more eco-friendly way to shop which includes less travel time and often less packaging. It’s all around win win in our eyes. We’ve set out a list of some of our favourite stores for shopping local. One of the many reasons we likes these stores is because they all support other local artisans, makers and small business. So visit them in person or online and see what items they have that will make that perfect gift for someone special this holiday season.
Looking to kick up your heels this holiday season with some live music and dancing? If so, you may wish to grab your ticket for A Very Swingin’ Christmas happening this Saturday at the Hungarian Hall at 728 Kingsway near Fraser Street. The evening features the live music of Dane Warren (Vancouver’s Premier Frank Sinatra Tribute Artist), vocal sensation Mandy Rushton and John Cronin of the Irish Show Band “Killarney” along with the Bruce James Orchestra, a 17 piece jazz orchestra. Tickets are $35 until December 13th after which they are $45. Tickets include some appetizers and one complimentary cocktail, but a cash bar will also be available. To purchase your ticket in advance, visit 
This weekend you are invited to check out 
Odd Society Spirits plays host to another unique event this December. You are invited to stop by and check out the 
Music On Main presents Music for the Winter Solstice December 11 and 12, 2019 at the Heritage Hall. Winter solstice is a time of contrast: light and dark, cold and warmth, endings and beginnings. As such, as this decide comes to a close, they invite you come take a moment away from the hustle and bustle that is everyday life and come relax and enjoy the sounds of winter solstice music while basking in a candlelit glow. Performances include Caroline Shaw (Roomful of Teeth, Kanye West), Gabriel Kahane (Book of Travelers, The Ambassador), and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa (Queer Arts Festival). Concert begins at 8:00 pm both. The event is for all ages. Tickets are $42 for adults and $15 for students. To learn more, or to purchase tickets, visit 
Have you made your way down to the walking trails along the Fraser River in SE Vancouver? If you have, you will come across an area called Tugboat Landing at the foot of Victoria Drive at East Kent Avenue South. If you aren’t familiar with this area, it once housed tugboats at this landing on the Fraser River hence the name. It was redeveloped into a community of condos and townhomes that enjoy river front living. The area is located on a public walkway and cycle path just steps away from Gladstone Park and less than a mile West of the new River District development.
