We are very excited to release our very first Root & Seed Perfect Pairing list. Consider this your ultimate Holiday Gift Guide.
Gift-giving often gets left to the last minute, but for the special people in your life, it’s worth adding something unique to the standard bouquet of flowers or bottle of wine. When we heard what many people from our community were doing last year, we just had to share! They paired Root & Seed Conversation Cards with another item to create a really meaningful gift. So, this year, we encourage you to keep a couple of extra Family or Memoir decks on hand for when you want to offer a beautifully memorable gift.
Whether you are a kinkeeper motivated to get the rest of the family collecting family stories, looking for a special present for a loved one, searching for a thoughtful gift for a colleague, or just want to take your hostess gifts up a notch this season -. Gifting a deck of conversation cards goes a long way to inspire connection, evoke appreciation, and spread love.
Especially for the hard-to-buy-for loved one, a gift of conversation cards is the intention to spend quality time together, and sends the message “I care to hear your stories”.
So, what did we hear the Root & Seed cards got paired with last year?
Wine
Wine-lover, hostess gift, or hopes to share a glass and good conversation? Pairing any of the Conversation Cards or expansion packs with a bottle of wine is a beautiful idea. Whether you tie the cards around the bottle’s neck with a festive bow or just drop the cards into the wine gift bag, it’s an extra touch that will make your wine gift notable.
Every wine has a story. And so naturally we appreciate the synergy with our love of storytelling. Elena Galey-Pride (Principal at Winestains) suggests this 2021 Pinot Noir as a perfect pairing with a touching back story:
Celebrated Canadian winemaker Thomas Bachelder has released a very special single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the 2021 vintage. It’s called “Ivy & Warren” in memory of the Saunders, an African Canadian couple that established a vineyard – and a family – on the Beamsville Bench in Niagara in the 1960s. While Ivy passed away in 2015, Warren reached 102 before passing away earlier this year. Daughter Ann-Marie and son Leslie manage this vineyard organically today, honouring the wishes of their mother.
Serving Dish
Gather round and nourish yourselves with a memory.
We love this charcuterie board from our favourite local gift shop (who also stocks Root & Seed Family Card Decks). The handmade, live edge board makes us want to share all the nooks and crannies of every family story!
Now, imagine you made the board or designed a tray? Handmade gifts are extra special!
Recipe Cards
One of the 4 categories is FOOD! So a recipe card can help make sure those favourite family dishes are never lost. These adorable set of 12 blank recipe cards from Concession Road (another gorgeous store that sells Root & Seed) are highly recommended.
Blank cards could be a promise to do some baking together, while recording the exact measurements of a family recipe that is usually stored in a loved one’s memory. Or better yet, have an old recipe card that is written in a loved one’s hand? Sounds like the best card ever… extra points if it has the oil stains of past preparations!
Preserves
Storytelling with a little spice included? Yes please :)
Do you jar your own pickles? Make jam from the raspberries in your garden? Or maybe it’s your family’s tradition to make tomato sauce. Whether it’s from your kitchen or not, a jar of anything is love… and perfectly paired with the conversations that bring those preserves to life.
If you are looking for a yummy jar of something to pair with Root & Seed cards, might we suggest Cucina Calabria’s sauces. Owned by Rosemary Cocq-Barbara who grew up in a humble Italian family raised by her Italian-speaking grandparents, and since she was a kid she watched, helped, and learned how to cook and prepare meals and sauces - garden to table. Every year she would harvest all of her family’s tomatoes and vegetables from several family gardens and prepare homemade tomato sauce, hot pepper sauce, pesto, and chili-infused olive oils.
Tea
Sharing a cup of tea with a loved one is never just tea. It’s an opportunity to chat, connect, and reminisce. It’s a quiet time of bonding, so it’s the perfect intentional gift to pair with Root & Seed cards.
Tease teas were created to be functional and botanical based so they complement each other without compromising convenience, sustainability or impact. Founder Sheena Brady recommends Crimson Cranberry, “it is immunity boosting and versatile to enjoy as a base for mocktails, cocktails and of course, tea during family gatherings”
Travel
Travel for new memories, or travel to walk in the footsteps of our ancestors?
We whole-heartedly endorse meaningful time together and often during traveling, it’s the perfect time to connect and focus on relationships between generations. Perhaps it's a milestone anniversary or important birthday and the whole family is coming along, or you might be inviting a special elder in your life for some one-on-one time.
Sororal is top of our list to plan custom trips with thoughtfulness at its core. Why not gift a Root & Seed pack with your itinerary promising even more connection on your adventures?
If the itinerary isn’t ready yet, then travel often gifts well as a photo frame - as it’s a promise to fill it with a new memory!
Flowers
The flowers may not last, but the memories will!
From your garden, a local florist, or let’s be real - sometimes the bouquet is a quick grab from the grocery store! Doesn’t matter… because flowers make a perfect centrepiece when a deck of conversation cards is paired with them!
We love the idea of dried flower arrangements, and we recently partnered with Full Vase Decor to craft a festive Thanksgiving centrepiece. We paired this with the Thanksgiving Holiday pack to get our guests in the nostalgic mood of the holiday!
Heirlooms
Sometimes a gift doesn’t have to cost a thing. This was by far our favourite pairing!
Sometimes it feels underwhelming to just gift an old item (don’t get us wrong, it’s never just an “old item” but sometimes the significance is lost on other people… UNTIL the story is shared). So pair it with a Root & Seed deck to instantly give the item more importance.
Do you have an old family photo? A hand knit baby blanket? A broken locket? A set of crystal wine glasses? Maybe a well-loved wallet. If it comes with a history, then it’s more than what it appears, and the legacy can live on. We think this is the ideal card to write that story inside! (Thanks Fuzzy Whale Paper for always knowing exactly what to say!)
Gift Basket
Or just let the experts take care of it for you!
Our friends at the Happy Box have curated a cozy gift perfect for a family, client, colleague, or anyone who enjoys the comfort of good company around the holidays. In one click, the perfect Root & Seed pairing can be delivered right to their door.
It's a gift of cozy fireplace moments, designed to make recipients laugh, share stories, enjoy meals, and create new memories with their loved ones this holiday season. The 'Around the Fireplace' box is perfect for warming someone's heart and home.
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What would you pair a deck of cards with? Let us know in the comments below.
