We’ve given you gift suggestions that are more budget friendly and ones that are middle of the road, but today its time for a little excess. For those of you not affected by the recession (of course I don’t know anyone who isn’t), or those just looking for what to dream of next, these gift ideas are definitely for you.

1. Give the gift of Education – Whether it’s a paid cooking lesson for your spouse, a sister who’s newly married, an enthusiastic baker who wants to learn how to make wedding cakes, or an underprivileged High School Student who dreams of being the next Thomas Keller, or maybe Emeril, give the gift that keeps on giving - knowledge.  If you live in suburban or rural areas check out your local community colleges and vocational/technical schools for classes.  For those of you who live in more urban areas most professional culinary schools have a series of recreational cooking classes and even some of your favorite restaurants or kitchen supply stores may offer classes.
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3. Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer 6 quart - I realize that this gift may seem really clichéd, but I remember when the 6 quart version was pretty hard to track down unless you were a professional baker. I personally can’t wait to upgrade my current one for this guy.  I don’t know any Foodie that wouldn’t appreciate this gift, even if they aren’t huge bakers.  It comes in about 9 different colors and retails for $300-$400. They can be found everywhere right now including QVC.  
   

1. Foodie Vacations – If you are a true Foodie the one thing that's of the upmost importance when traveling is where you are going to dine, or better yet a vacation that is planned around various food destinations. Whether it’s a vineyard or a renown farmers market (think London or Paris) plan a vacation for someone that is all about great food.  You can break out the travel books/magazines and plan each detail yourself or, check out one of these great sites for package suggestions: Culinary Vacations, Epiculinary, and Backroads.

1. Wine Storage – Nowadays there are plenty of good reasonably priced wine coolers and refrigeration units for your kitchen, but if you know someone who is a budding connoisseur, someone who requires some real space, than how about building them one of these.
   

1. Personal Shopper – So it would seem that personal shoppers aren’t just keeping wardrobes up to date these days, but also pantries.  I’ve only come across a few self-described Foodies who don’t like to grocery shop or just don’t know what to buy, but apparently there are many of you out there, so Whole Foods is capitalizing on that by offering personal shopping services through select stores in some locations.  Want to have more of a Mediterranean diet? They will outfit your kitchen with everything you need to make that happen, if you happen to be a tex-mex junkie they can do that too.

1. When that old spiral ham just won’t do – Try this on for size, it is the champagne of the ham world, it just recently became available in the United States for only a mere $96 per pound. Jamon Iberico 

1. Technology and the perfect cuppa - I’ve seen some fancy teapots but this one here takes the cake. Preparing tea the proper way is indeed a ritual, but the IQ Innovations Gourmet tea machine takes all the guesswork, and dare I say, romance out of brewing a perfect cup of tea. 
2. The Best kind of adoption – Once again, I’m going a little off course...this gift doesn’t cost anywhere near $200, but it's so unbelievably cool, this is definitely one of my favorite gift finds this season.  Nudo is an olive grove in Italy and for a mere ~$95  (plus shipping) you can adopt an olive tree and reap the benefits year round with two packages, one in the Spring (all the extra virgin olive oil from your tree), the other in Autumn (three flavored extra virgin olive oils) along with a personalized adoption certificate and booklet about your tree.  I know it may sound a little hokey, but it’s for real.  Impress all of your friends by sharing a little olive oil from your very own olive tree. 
3. For the Green Foodie – A solar powered outdoor oven let's you save money and emissions from cooking fuels.  It even has an electrical back-up just in case things get a little cloudy during your cooking adventure.  Check out the models from eartheasy and Global sun oven ($150-$300).
4. Ownership has its privileges – For the devout wine lover in your life, I am sure their dream of dreams is to own a vineyard, well this is as close as most of us will ever get and this is indeed the gift to end all other wine gifts.  A membership to the Napa Valley Reserve for approximately $165K you can experience the following. A fractional membership on the 80 acre property that is overseen by the Harlan Estate viniculture and winemaking team. The idea is to teach serious wine lovers and enthusiasts about the winemaking process, but some say its just a glorified country club for wine enthusiasts. Some of the property features are wine tastings and dinners throughout the year; olive groves; gardens and Beekeeping; custom Wine Label Design; and seminars with noted winemakers, authors, historians. The 400 members come from all over the world and can join in the wine making process as much or as little as they like. Members can choose to receive from 6 to 75 cases of the estate wine each year and can even have a special blend created for them. The Reserve holds events throughout the year for its members and with the help of Harlan Estates aims to produce some of the best wines in the world.  Another fractional ownership source, The Ranch on Soda Rock.

Well fellow foodies, that’s about all I have for this Holiday season, we’ve given you ideas for gifts under $25, gifts over $50 , and finally these gifts over $200. I sincerely hope that you found something from our lists worth giving this year.

I wish you all a wonderful Holiday season and a Happy New Year.

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