Tea Gifts From the Woman Who Packs Them

Most gift guides are written by somebody who has never met the person you're shopping for. I read the notes people send with these boxes, so I have a fair idea of what lands and what quietly ends up at the back of a cupboard. The hard ones live in here too: what to send instead of flowers, and what to send a woman who isn't sick and isn't celebrating but is clearly having a year. If you'd rather skip the reading, the gift collection is sorted by who you're sending it to, and the monthly subscription is for someone you want to check on all year.

Teacup, folded note and soft throw on a side table, a gift for someone going through chemo
Tea Gifts

A Gift for Someone in Treatment That Isn't Pink

Something soft, something to do while resting, a note that needs no reply, and a friend who keeps showing up after week one. None of it has to be pink.

Tea Gifts

A Gift for Someone in Treatment That Isn't Pink

Something soft, something to do while resting, a note that needs no reply, and a friend who keeps showing up after week one. None of it has to be pink.

Teacher gift ideas wrapped on a kitchen table with a teapot sampler and handwritten cards
Tea Gifts

Teacher Gift Ideas That Aren't Another Mug (Okay, One Mug)

A $5 teapot sampler for the whole class list, a $22 mini tea party for the teacher who went above and beyond, and the one mug I would still give.

Tea Gifts

Teacher Gift Ideas That Aren't Another Mug (Okay, One Mug)

A $5 teapot sampler for the whole class list, a $22 mini tea party for the teacher who went above and beyond, and the one mug I would still give.

What to Say and Send When Someone Loses Their Mother
Tea Gifts

What to Say and Send When Someone Loses Their Mother

3 short card lines that help, the phrases to skip, and why the gift that lands best is the one that arrives after the first week.

Tea Gifts

What to Say and Send When Someone Loses Their Mother

3 short card lines that help, the phrases to skip, and why the gift that lands best is the one that arrives after the first week.

Kitchen table with one cup of tea poured and a chair pulled out, a gift idea for busy moms
Tea Gifts

Holiday Gifts for the Mom Who Never Sits Down

She does not need another thing to manage. She needs 20 minutes and a reason to take them. Holiday gift ideas from a mom of 5 who knows.

Tea Gifts

Holiday Gifts for the Mom Who Never Sits Down

She does not need another thing to manage. She needs 20 minutes and a reason to take them. Holiday gift ideas from a mom of 5 who knows.

Christmas stocking on a mantel beside a teacup, small kraft gift boxes, and tea sachets
Tea Gifts

Tea Lover Stocking Stuffers Under $25

With 5 kids, I fill 5 stockings every December, so I know this list by heart. Every tea gift here is under $25, sorted by price and by who it suits.

Tea Gifts

Tea Lover Stocking Stuffers Under $25

With 5 kids, I fill 5 stockings every December, so I know this list by heart. Every tea gift here is under $25, sorted by price and by who it suits.

A cup of tea, a blanket, and get well cards on a side table in a quiet living room
Tea Gifts

Get Well Soon Gift Box Ideas for Someone Recovering at Home

What someone stuck on the couch actually wants: something warm, something easy, something to do that isn't a screen, and a card they don't have to answer.

Tea Gifts

Get Well Soon Gift Box Ideas for Someone Recovering at Home

What someone stuck on the couch actually wants: something warm, something easy, something to do that isn't a screen, and a card they don't have to answer.

Tea gift questions

What do you give someone who loves tea?

Give her the part of tea she will not buy for herself. That is usually the ritual, not more tea. A proper cup and saucer. A sampler of blends she has never tried. A box with something to do in it while the water heats. If she already has a favorite blend, send her more of it and something pretty to drink it out of.

What do you send instead of flowers?

Something that is still there in week 3. Flowers all arrive at once and they are gone by the weekend, right about when the house goes quiet and everybody else has gone home. Send tea, a cup she can hold, and a note that does not ask her for anything back. And late is still welcome. There is no deadline on this.

What is a good gift for someone going through a hard time?

Something that asks nothing of her. No reply, no hosting, no decisions. A box she can open by herself at her kitchen table works because it hands her 20 minutes that belong to her. I started packing these during my own hard season, so this one is personal.

Is tea a good corporate gift?

It is one of the few things nearly everybody can receive. It works for the client who does not drink, for a team with 6 different diets, and for an office where a shared box gives people a reason to stop at the same table for a minute.

How much should I spend on a tea gift?

Less than you think. 1 sampler with a handwritten note lands harder than a big hamper with a printed card. Spend your effort on the note and on picking a blend that suits her, then match the size of the gift to how close you are.

Send Someone a Tea Party

I started packing these boxes so I could send my kitchen table to people I could not get to in person. Every one holds loose leaf tea and something to do while it steeps, because the part that matters is the hour you sit down for. Pick the one that sounds like the person you are sending it to.

View all