What holidays are perfect for the home cooked meal gift?



Mother's Day is the best day to show mom you love her by serving her breakfast in bed. Moms love the opportunity to stay in bed while the kids make breakfast or dinner as long as they clean up the kitchen of course.

Father's Day is a good bet with dad, but instead of serving him breakfast in bed, make him a cup of coffee and bring it to him in bed. That evening, cook up his favorite meal, whether it is steak, chicken, pork chops or whatever.

Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all holidays that work best if you are going to cook a big dinner for the whole family. Often, by only spending $100 to $200 on food, you can save much more by giving the gift of a feast for your family and friends. You don't have to go all out, but do enough so that those who came to dinner don't think you went cheap on the dinner so you wouldn't have to buy gifts.

Valentine's Day is the perfect holiday to cook a romantic meal for that significant other. Serve him or her breakfast in bed to start, complete with a rose in a small vase. One special way to say I love you with breakfast is to spell out the actual words with pancakes. As for dinner, a candlelight dinner with flowers, chocolates and their favorite food is a sure bet for a memorable Valentine's Day.

Labor Day is the day to give the gift of barbecuing to family and friends. It is the end of the summer and the beginning of fall. The kids are going back to school, so you can give a gift to everyone by cooking up a bunch of steaks, hamburgers and hotdogs on the barbecue, making you the hit of the neighborhood.

All of these holidays are great opportunities for you to test out your cooking ability and make some special meals for some special people. One word of warning, don't make cooking your only gift, otherwise people will start feeling you are going cheap on them and soon enough, you may have no one to cook for.