The Best Gift I Ever Gave...Even Made My Brother Cry (under $25)

I am not sure whether my grandfather loved to cook or whether he did it out of necessity.  You see, my nana, is not what we call blessed in the cooking department...more like "bless your heart" as I understand it. In fact, my Nana is 99 and I am not sure if I have ever had anything more than a jello salad made by her in my almost 40 years of eating with my grandparents. You need to to understand this background to know why this gift "took the cake" so to speak....

My grandfather retired before my grandmother.  I think that's when he started making dinner each day.  I don't really know where he got the recipes or how he decided what to make but all I know is that every bit of food that you had from him was baked with love - you could taste it.  There is still no one to this day that makes mashed potatoes like him...although my dad sure does give him a run for his money.

Food makes you remember time together. It has a smell that brings back memories of the occasion and the people. My grandfather's mashed potatoes may not beat out Martha Stewart but they made you feel warm on the inside and the love (and lard) made them a special treat for everyone in the family.

Before he died at the age of 97, my grandfather wrote down his famous recipes. My dad is the holder of those recipes that we all hold so dear but the food meant so much to me I wanted to share his handwritten words with all the grand kids.

And that is where my best present  ever comes in....I found these kitchen tea towels here where they took the handwritten recipe notes and transcribed them onto towels that we could use every day in our kitchen...and no more digging up the recipe books.

When I gave these $22 hand towels with my grandfather's handwritten words, there were tears shed and memories revived of our good times with our sweet grandfather.  This is when I knew that the size of the gift is never the goal. It's the thought, the emotions, the memories that make a gift really great.  If you wondered, I bought myself one of these kitchen towels.  I love to have it hang in my kitchen and remember all the time my grandfather spent with us.  #priceless

​If have some recipes or other hand written notes to share, you can grab these hand towels here or click on the picture below. You can also put your favorite recipe on an apron! How cute is that? So what is your best gift that made even your sibling cry? Tell us what it was and why in the comments.