Giving Thanks Near And Far

Acknowledging our Thanksgiving Hosts

With Thanksgiving approaching, we have much to be thankful for here at Boston General Store. Our doors are open, our shops are busy, and you, our customers, continue to show us your support. For that, we are grateful. 

Although our Thanksgiving gatherings may look and feel a little different this year, we hope that you are able to connect with loved ones for a moment of grateful reflection. Whether you do it virtually, in smaller groups, or in the great outdoors, we offer our thoughts on showing love and thanks to family and friends with thoughtful gifts that will make you their MVG (Most Valuable Guest)! 

Preorder Thanksgiving Floral Arrangements

Bring the abundant beauty of flowers to your Thanksgiving gathering this year. We are excited to share that we’ve partnered with Providence, RI, floral designer Semia to bring you ready-made, fresh floral centerpieces and bouquets that can be preordered for pickup on the day before Thanksgiving. 

Heirloom mums, apricot roses, and peach ranunculus are artfully accented with sprigs of fragrant rosemary, rainbow eucalyptus and dried brunia. Leucadendron pods and wheat add an autumnal touch, and the result is an arrangement that celebrates the colors and textures of the season and graces the Thanksgiving table with botanic artistry. 

Preorder your bouquet or centerpiece today and pick it up on Wednesday, November 25, at either our Brookline or Dedham location. 

Orders must be placed by Monday, November 23, at noon.

Hostess Gift Box

Heading to a holiday gathering but don’t want to show up empty-handed? Or perhaps you’re thinking of a friend or family member you won't get to see this holiday season and want to send them a little love. OurHostess Gift Box is the perfect gift to bring or ship. We carefully selected four of our favorite products to nestle into this gift box. A handsome box of teas from Steven Smith Teamaker tucks neatly next to an amber glass soy candle by PF Candle Co.—the Warm Leather & Fir scent is an exclusive for Boston General Store. Bee’s Wrap food wraps are a practical addition (your host will get three of them,) and some local honey sweetens the arrangement. Choose a kraft gift box or a reusable wooden lidded box and impress your hostess with your thoughtfulness when you arrive with this heartwarming gift. 

More Hostess Gift Ideas

Take a look at these easily giftable items for more hostess present ideas:

•        Steven Smith Black Tea Assortment Gift Box is a fine selection for the tea-lover.
•        Hibi Incense Match Gift Box is a great starter set of this best-selling product.
•        Curio Spice Gift Set features three of their best spice blends.
•        Cocktail Kingdom Essential Set has everything you need to set up a home bar.
•        Callahan’s Hot Sauce Gift Set is a spicy trio to heat things up!
•        NY Puzzle Company Puzzles feature nostalgic designs and New Yorker covers.
•        Manready Mercantile’s Noble Series Soy Candle is hand-poured into a reusable whiskey glass.
•        McCrea’s Candies Advent Calendar has twenty-four days of caramel. ’Nuff said.  

From My Family to Yours

We take the holidays very seriously in my family. We're always baking, comparing recipes, and trying to one-up ourselves from the year before. Though we love trying new recipes, we have a few staples that we repeat every year without fail. While our table this year will be quite a bit smaller, there are a few tried-and-true dishes that will still grace our plates. One of these is the historic Jennifer House General Store Molasses Cookie. The story of how we acquired this recipe is a little suspect, but it included my Nanna marrying a man who may have dated one of the bakers. (But we aren't at liberty to discuss names.) Since it's the season of giving and everyone could use a treat these days, I've decided to share the recipe. I should thank my Mom, who gave me her blessing to share. (Hop over to her blog to get the full story of the cookie.)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed (4 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 large eggs 
• 3/4 cups molasses
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 3/4 cups unbleached flour
• 1 Tbsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground clove
• 2 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Instructions:

• In a large bowl (or in a stand mixer bowl if you have one), cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the molasses and water and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until well-blended. If you are doing this by hand, it does take persistence and strength to get it thoroughly mixed. Wrap dough and place in the refrigerator overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Using an ice cream scoop, form dough into balls. You can make them any size you want by using a different scoop. Then roll each ball in granulated sugar and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Then eat a ton in front of the fire.

Wherever you go and whatever you do this Thanksgiving, know that we at Boston General Store are grateful for YOU! We are so thankful to have such a dedicated community of customers who support what we do.

With gratitude,

April