Are you a Type A personality?
Or a Type H? You know, someone who overachieves, racks her brain and tests her shopping stamina in an effort to get just the right holiday gift for every person on her list.
Holiday shopping can be stressful. Or it can be playful.
But, remember. One size doesn't fit all, so food is always a safe bet.
Where to start? We're making our holiday list according to some of our favorite foodie types.
Julia Child Wannabe
The runaway success of "Julie & Julia" starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams has made cooking classes with a French theme hot commodities. Since the movie's release in August, local cooking teacher and cookbook author Karen Adler has taught almost a dozen classes. "Beef Bourguignon has really caught everyone's attention," Adler says.
"Julie & Julia" ($29 on Blu- ray, Dec. 8 )
Mauviel copper mixing bowl ($52.50, Pryde's Old Westport, 115 Westport Road)
Whisk ($7.50, Pryde's)
1 1/2-quart ceramic souffle dish (Pryde's)
"If you're afraid of butter, use cream" sign ($40,Sur la Table, www.surlatable.com )
"Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (price depends on the edition)
A strand of pearls (Price ... the sky's the limit)
The Baconista
Mo's Bacon Bar, applewood smoked bacon, alderwood smoked salt and 45 percent cacao milk chocolate by Vosges ($7 for 3-ounce bar, Whole Foods)
Bacon is hot. Sizzling hot. So we've rounded up some fashionable bacon gifts to knock your socks off. Try Mo's Bacon Bar by Vosges. Or a statuette of the patron saint of bacon for your dashboard. Mike McGonigle, owner of Mc Gonigle's Market, may have the corner on the city's best bacon trinkets, including a gag gift box featuring a bacon tuxedo.
The Koodie
Food trends analyst Phil Lempert has coined a term for all those kids who are watching Julia Child reruns. Call them "koodies," as in kid foodies, or the next generation of sophisticated palates. "There's a new kid in town, and instead of the same old chicken nuggets and french fries, this kid wants sushi, pad Thai or smoked salmon in their Happy Meal," Lempert writes on supermarketguru.com.
Panini press ($90, Williams-Sonoma)
Zoku Quick Pop Makers ($90, Williams-Sonoma)
3-quart Lodge red and green apple Dutch ovens ($100, www.lodgemfg.com )
Culinary Indiana Jones
If the economic thrust and parry has kept your globe trotter close to home, why not saddle him up for a little backyard bravado? National Geographic's "Food Journeys of a Lifetime" is armchair inspirational, but the BBQ Sword is tons of fun. Just remember, it's not a toy.
Women's Bean Project: Toni's 10 Bean Soup Mix and Sarah's Spicy Split Pea Soup Mix, benefits a Denver-based nonprofit business that employs women experiencing chronic unemployment and poverty ($6 each, Ten Thousand Villages, 7947 Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park, Kan., www.tenthousandvillages.com)
Hand-carved cookbook easel made in India ($34, Ten Thousand Villages)
"National Geographic Food Journeys of a Lifetime" ($40)
Olive Oyl and Co.
Nudo, a family-run cooperative of olive groves in the Marche region of Italy, is offering the chance to "adopt" a tree and support a local farm family. The return: an adoption certificate, four 500-milliliter tins of first cold-press extra-virgin olive oil from the tree in spring and another three 250-milliliter tins of infused olive oil in the fall.
Nudo's Adopt-An-Olive Tree ($150, includes adoption certificate and a year's worth of olive oil, www.nudo-italia.com )
Farm to Market Piedmontese-style Grissini in herb, sundried tomato and Kalamata olive flavors ($5 for 6 ounces, various markets)
"Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy" ($35)
"Jasper's Kitchen Cookbook" ($20)