1.
A Bountiful Book
A Chef's Bounty: Celebrating Oregon's Cuisine is an excellent gift idea for book lovers, cooks, and those who simply love to eat great food.
Discover a number of exquisite recipes from each of Oregon's seven regions, featuring such meals as marionberry barbeque elk chops, chicken and waffles and oyster stew. Pick up a copy or two for the foodies in your family, or pick one up for yourself and master the art of Oregon cuisine!
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2.
Pendleton Blankets
Give a gift that’s full of Oregon history. Pendleton Woolen Mills got its start in 1909 in the northeast Oregon town of Pendleton, manufacturing trade blankets and robes for Native American tribes, including the Nez Perce.
Today, these beautifully detailed and vibrantly colored blankets and robes are still bought and worn by Native Americans. So, if you know someone who wants to bundle up in a bit of living history, a Pendleton blanket or robe might be a perfect fit.
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3.
Bonfire on the Snow Adventure with Wanderlust Tours
Take your friends or family on a nighttime snowshoe adventure with Wanderlust Tours. After a short, guided trek through the Central Oregon forest you’ll arrive at an amphitheater that has been hand-carved out of snow, with a vibrant bonfire in the middle. Warm up next to the fire while your guides serve hot drinks and desserts and rhapsodize about area plant and animal life.
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4.
Chocolates and Luxurious Spa Treatments
Give your lady a box of Portland’s own delectable JaCiva's Chocolates and send her off to a day of pampering at the brand-new Ruby’s Spa at McMenamins Edgefield. She can pick from a menu of such fun treatments as a Wine & Berry Body Cocktail or a more traditional Deep Tissue Massage. Or, join her for a couple’s massage and stay the night at this historic Georgian-revival-style manor. It sits on 38 acres of scenic former farmland in the town of Troutdale, which is just east of Portland and on the edge of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge.
For more ideas on decadent chocolate treats in Oregon, please visit our blog.
5.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Tickets
How about tickets to A Midsummer’s Night Dream or August Wilson’s Fences or Julie Marie Myatt’s Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter -- or all three? These are just a few of the 11 total plays that mark the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s 2008 season (February 15 thru October 12). Don’t be fooled by the festival’s name, however, because Mr. Shakespeare penned just four of the 2008 plays.
If you’re feeling extra generous, treat your loved one to a night or two at the historic Ashland Springs Hotel and dinner at nearby The Peerless, Chateaulin, Larks or any one of the area’s charming restaurants serving locally sourced foods.
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6.
Oregon Wine
Give your oenophile friend, family member or host a gift of Oregon wine. The Oregon Wine Board’s online Wine Explorer allows you to search for that perfect bottle according to wine type, price range and/or variety. Or, hit the Advanced Search button to choose a wine based on vintage, appellation, certification, rating authority -- even bottle size.
And remember, if you start to feel overwhelmed you can’t go wrong with a bottle of Pinot noir, that little grape that has made Oregon wine country so famous.
Also be sure to visit the valley's wide selection of local wineries, including Ankeny Vineyard Winery, Argyle Winery, Carlton Winemakers Studio and many more.
And don't forget to check out the Willamette Valley winery recommendations on our blog!
7.
Whale Watching on the Oregon Coast
Gift wrap a pair of binoculars and a lodging gift certificate to stay at the Oregon coast during Winter Whale Watching Week, December 26, 2007 to January 1, 2008. During this week, volunteers will be stationed at 28 locations along the entire Oregon coast to answer questions about this peak migrating time.
If December doesn’t work out, plan ahead for the Spring Whale Watching Week, March 22 to March 29, 2008. And while you're visiting the Oregon Coast, make a weekend out of it! Check out our Oregon Coast lodging options and plan your perfect getaway.
BONUS: Amazingly, there are 33 resident gray whales that, thanks to a found food source, call the Oregon coast their home. If you’d like to spice up your gift, order a copy of A Guide to Resident Gray Whales along the Oregon Coast by Marine Biologist and Oregon resident, Carrie Newell, who recently teamed up with Jean-Michel Cousteau to film and episode of “Ocean Adventures” for PBS.
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8.
Windsurf and Kiteboard Lessons
This holiday season, give your adventurous friends a gift certificate to learn how to windsurf or kiteboard in the mother of all wind-propelled water sport locations -- the Columbia River Gorge. Book a weekend at the Best Western Hood River Inn in the heart of downtown and choose from a number of excellent windsurfing schools and shops. Check out our Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge Trip We Love for details!
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