Lidia Bastianich Quotes

Handmade presents are scary because they reveal that you have too much free time.

I love making handmade gifts.

I'm pretty good at surprising friends and family with gifts. I tend to go towards the more sentimental side of giving.

To save money on gifts, give someone their favorite candy in a beautiful, customized vessel with a personalized tag. It's sweet and always appreciated.

I definitely start early and keep items in mind throughout the year for key people in my life. I love wrapping everyone's gifts in hand-painted wallpaper sheets, which gives the gift extra love.

A bag of apples, a pot of homemade jam, a scribbled note, a bunch of golden flowers, a coloured pebble, a box of seedlings, an empty scent bottle for the children. . . . Who needs diamonds and van-delivered bouquets?

If you don't make Christmas presents, meaning making something that's so emotionally connected to people, don't talk to me.

I'm doing a lot more handmade gifts. When I go to a party, I cook whatever it is I need to bring instead of just grabbing a bottle of wine.

I'm the hardest person to buy a gift for.

My love can't be purchased... Best gifts have been well-thought-out surprises.

I'm all about thoughtful gifts. If you put thought behind it - it could be $5 - but if there's thought behind it, I think that's what matters.

I like presents that a man has spent time on, doing them himself, like a card or anything that is made by hand and from the heart.

Don't make anybody a homemade gift. Unless you're really good, or it's going to be really practical. If it's a little thing you think is cute 'cause you made it, just forget it.

The best gifts come from the heart, not the store.

Gifts need not be expensive; after all, "it's the thuoght that counts." But I remind you, it is not the thought left in your head that counts; it is the gift that came out of the thought that communicates emotional love.

I'm not materialistic. I believe in presents from the heart, like a drawing that a child does.

I do give books as gifts sometimes, when people would rather have one than a new Ferrari.

I loved the domesticity of my life as a struggling actor. When I wasn't going to auditions, I could do things like cook dishes from scratch and take them to parties or be really thoughtful about birthdays and anniversaries.

Someone gives jewelry, and there's a bit of romance. If you buy it from a store, the store is trying to romance you. Even when I'm making the jewelry, I have to be romanced.

If you're struggling for gift ideas, my advice is to give experiences rather than things.

Most of my rings are not expensive at all; they're just things that remind me of people that gave 'em to me. And they all have their own stories, their own meanings.

Those gifts are ever more precious which the giver has made precious.

You have no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring You. Nothing seemed right. What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean. Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient. It's no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these. So I've brought you a mirror. Look at yourself and remember me.

I used to be a calligrapher for weddings and events - that was my side job while I was auditioning. I think handwritten notes are a lost art form. When I booked my first pilot, my dad wrote me a letter that I still have. The idea of someone taking the time to put pen to paper is really special.