A Bay Leaf Wreath – one of our favorite holiday decorations & perfect for the hard to please person on your list

It's Pink Saturday and Beverly of How Sweet the Sound, our hostess for Pink Saturday, has asked us to post about our favorite holiday decoration and to tell why it is special.

I’m sure you’ve had a hard to please person on your Christmas gift list from time to time. I know I sure have and I well remember the very person who always topped the list – my husband’s father’s late second wife Wanda, which would make her my stepmother-in-law if there is such a word. At the time she and my father-in-law lived in New York City and could buy anything imaginable whenever they pleased. Both were gourmet cooks and most especially Wanda. My husband referred to her as, “the best darn cook in the world that I’ve ever seen that wasn’t a professional.”

The trouble was at that time I didn’t know Wanda well, but I sensed that she could be hard to please. I’d met her once, earlier in the year during the fall, when my husband and I had flown to the city and stayed with them. I was a manger in the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Houston and, as a part of the trip, I had planned to go to the store and work with my buyer while we were there.

Before we left home Wanda called. “Sam, I thought you might want to know that in New York we don’t wear white shoes in the fall.” I was flabbergasted. I hadn’t worn white shoes since I was a small child and colored them pink, much to my mother’s horror. My entire career has been in fashion merchandising. Did she think I was some kind of country kid?

I wanted to reply that I planned on bringing my little Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress to wear with a soft shade of chestnut brown Bruno Magli sling-back pumps that look nice with my Vuitton bag, but I was so taken back by her call that I think I stuttered something like, “Thanks Wanda. I’ll keep that in mind when I pack.”

This is a time in life that thankfully I had been raised with good manners, because if I could have found a tacky pair of white heels, I would taken them to New York City and put them on in her apartment right before I left for Saks and asked, “Wanda, what do you think? Do I look all right?"

So now you know Wanda was hard to please and it’s time to buy a Christmas gift for her and my husband’s Dad. Knowing their love of cooking, I began flipping through the Williams-Sonoma catalog looking for ideas. How about monogram glasses – no, we got them that last year. Here’s a cute wooden acorn twine holder – nope, they gave that to us last year. I turned the page to find the fresh Bay Leaf wreath, shipped directly from the grower in California. We had gotten a bay leaf wreath for ourselves the previous year and were pleased with its elegant look and continued to use the leaves in cooking well into the year. Perfect. A bay leaf wreath it would be.

I worried that the wreath didn’t come gift wrapped, but I placed the order anyway and crossed my fingers she would like it. About two weeks before Christmas the phone rang.

“Sam, this is Wanda. UPS just delivered a bay leaf wreath.” Oh my, she’s going to tell me she doesn’t like it or, worse yet, she has two already and this will make three and they have a tiny apartment….

While I was lost in my thoughts, I heard her say, “I’ve never heard of a bay leaf wreath. It’s absolutely gorgeous; in fact I’ve never seen anything like it before. I adore it and I know Jim will too. Thank you and Meakin so very much. What a nice surprise. How long do the leaves stay fresh?”

“You’re very welcome, Wanda. I’m thrilled that you like it. Yes, we used our leaves until they began to dry up later in the year. If you leave it inside, it will last longer than if you put it outdoors.” Whew. I finally pleased her. I just about broke my arm patting myself on the back that year, but these kinds of things only happen once or twice in a lifetime for me – pleasing the hard to please.

Williams-Sonoma has been shipping bay leaf wreaths to happy people for thirty-five years, so if you’re looking for a lovely gift for someone that is hard to please, or even hard to buy for, I recommend this gorgeous holiday wreath. We hang one in our home each year on our early American chest on frame and I think it’s one of the most beautiful decorations we have. Every time I look at our wreath, I think of Wanda and how thrilled she was that year.

Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see what other bloggers are featuring as their favorite holiday decoration. Happy Pink Saturday everyone and enjoy the holidays.