Try The Hutong on for Size for that Perfect Holiday Gift
Every year I hit the Beijing holiday bazaar circuit in hopes of scoring that perfect Christmas gift for friends and family back home. And every year I come away a tad disappointed – because most items for sale fall into four distinct categories:
1. Stuff I purchased last year: and to make matters worse, I can't remember exactly what I bought for whom, so entire tables of goods have to be eliminated for fear of giving someone the same gift twice.
2. Stuff that has nothing to do with China: Those Indian saris are just lovely, but to most of my people back home, I'm the "China guy," so I can't really turn up with Indian saris.
3. Stuff that is just a little too religious for my tastes: Yeah, I know the true meaning of Christmas, but for us non-denominationals, even charming Sinofied nativity scenes are not gonna fly as gifts.
4. Hand-crafted stuff that's just a little to hand-crafty: Nice job, enterprising youngster/noble charity/hard-working underprivileged person. I'll buy something to support your cause, but I ain't wrapping it up and sending to anyone as a gift.
So thank God for The Hutong, which has come up with a range of holiday items that have the Holy Trinity of gift-giving: they're unique, exquisitely designed, and are just Chinese enough without going over the line towards Mao lighters or Chinese character print ties. And best yet, they're all priced between RMB 30 and RMB 180.
For your teenage siblings/neices/nephews, get them one of The Hutong's t-shirts with clever sayings (RMB 100) like 吃饭了吗 ("have you eaten?"). It'll make a welcome gift for them to add to their range of Plastered T-Shirts you've already bought for them.
For Uncle Fred, the home cooking enthusiast who seems to cover everything he eats with Tabasco, purchase him the Sichuan Recipe Collection (50 RMB). Perfect size and shape for mailing and he'll be sure to get a kick from learning to make these spicy classics.
For your mom: a Chinese Chef’s Knife (RMB 180) which will make her realize her butcher's block set of nine kitchen knives can be forever tossed in favor of this one-knife-does-it-all solution (while you're at it, get her a Finger Guard as well, RMB 30).
And of course for your local friends and family, you can always get 'em Hutong cooking class vouchers (RMB 280 for one, RMB 600 for three or RMB 1,200 for six) where they can learn to cook on their own here in Beijing.
The Hutong will be selling their wares at the following bazaars this year: The British Embassy Bazaar (Nov 26); the BCIS Bazaar (Nov 29); the BSB Fair and Canadian International School Gift Charity Bazaar (Nov 30), Couleurs de Chine (Dec 4) at Missa restaurant, and their very own Hutong Winter Fayre (Dec 13). You can also buy them at the Hutong itself, 9am-9pm daily.
Photo: The Hutong
