In the DR, gift giving at Christmas is centred round children, who receive their gifts on January 6th, El Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) usually known simply as Reyes . Adults don't exchange gifts as a rule. What is very common is the gift of a Christmas basket full of edible goodies, usually sent in time for December 24th. The main Dominican family celebration is the Christmas Eve dinner.

The list of contents of a Dominican Christmas basket can range from select gourmet treats often sent by businesses as a token of appreciation to their regular clients - to a basket of staples, which is a great way of helping needier households ensure they celebrate their traditional Christmas dinner.

I thought I d concentrate on the latter, to help those who wish to make a useful gift to friends and neighbours who are under economic strain at this time of the year. Christmas is an expensive time for everyone, and a basket of seasonal fare will ease the pressure on the poorer family's budget. A gift basket is always welcome, and should not make the recipient feel like a charity case.

My suggested list of contents is:

*A bottle of sidra (sparkling apple wine)
*A bottle of ponche (egg nog)
*A packet of mixed nuts or separate packets of walnuts (nueces), hazelnuts (coquitos/avellanas) and almonds (almendras). Dried fruit like raisins, dates and figs.
*A couple of packets of candies: marshmallows and boiled sweets, Hershey s kisses, or mixed packs.
*Some cookies and crackers.
*Seasonal fruit: grapes, apples, pears, tangerines.
*A packet or a couple of tins of pigeon peas (guandules) for the moro. With or without coconut.
*A bag of rice
*A bottle of vegetable oil
*Mayonnaise for the potato salad
*Sugar
*Coffee

Of course you can vary the contents and quantities according to your budget, the size of the household and personal taste and preference.

By Aunt Ilana



Licensed photo by iStockphoto.com. Used with permission.

WOW what a great idea for a christmas gift and here christmas is coming up very fast I can think of several of my family members that would just love this.
Thanks for sharing this great idea.

I would love to be able to give some of these to some of my husband's relatives but I am not in the Dominican and I don't think I can send this by post. Is there a company that prepares baskets online and delivers them, like flowers.

Supermercados Nacional have "Mandale".

nice, thanks for posting that. might give it a go since xmas is only 8 weeks away

Good idea!