Every holiday season each of us comes face to face with this question at least once… what do you get for the person who has everything? Since the vast majority of us have more than one hard-to-buy-for person on our gift list, it’s a question that comes up time and time again.

One good solution is a gift of handcrafted, small batch, artisan food. For many, your gift may be the first time in recent memory that they have had the opportunity to enjoy food that hasn’t been through factory mass production. Artisan produced food can be wonderfully unusual, it doesn’t require closet space, and it generally won’t overrun your gift budget. And hey, if you’re really lucky, maybe they’ll share!

Artisan cheese is a great gift for those who appreciate amazing food, particularly if your gift recipient lives far from a good source of it themselves or haven’t tried handcrafted cheese before. A few rounds of Cypress Grove Chevre Purple Haze with its lavender and fennel pollen is sure to be a huge hit. Pair it with some Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog and you’ll have a gift that will remembered long after the last bite is savored.

Handcrafted confections are always a wonderful way to say Happy Holidays. For a large, mouthwatering group of artisan made sweets, try searching etsy for members of the juried Edible Arts Team (team tag teameeat). Members are licensed and agree to strict product guidelines, and so the team search is a great resource for some of the best artisan food producers on etsy.

The gift of a small batch honey or jam is a delicious introduction to artisan food, and one of the best producers is Napa Valley’s Katz and Company. Their beautifully packaged, award winning honey and preserves are available individually and as mixed gift boxes. Your gift recipients (and those they share with) will be hooked on artisan honey and preserves from the first bite.

For more artisan food ideas, see Real Food Artisans. And if you’ve discovered some fabulous artisan food products, please share them below!