Gastro Gift Guide: Stocking stuffer edition

Ah, the Christmas stocking. It's an entirely essential object in the Christmas experience, yet its gift-bearing abilities are often misused and abused. Nothing is more annoying than the Santa whose stocking stuffer doesn't even fit in the stocking. In the event that you're one of these misfits, this final edition of the Gastro Gift Guide offers suggestions on gifts that actually stuff the stocking. Onion Goggles (Sur la Table) It happens to the best of us. You start chopping and your eyes start flowing. These awesomely geeky onion goggles protect your eyes from onion fumes and prevent you from slicing off your finger as your tears start to blur your entire vision field. If the onion goggles aren't your style, then pick up any of the little gadgets that sit near the cashiers at Sur la Table: Getting suckered into spending that extra twenty bucks will actually go toward filling someone else's junk drawer this time. Wine Away (Cost Plus World Market) When the person you're giving this to receives it, they probably won't give it a second thought. But let Wine Away, which does exactly what its name implies, come to the rescue just once, and they'll swear your seemingly meaningless stocking stuffer was the best thing you've ever given to them. Wine Away comes in a variety of forms and sizes, and I swear on my mother's corkscrew, this stuff really works. Anything from the Savory Spice Shop This fantastic spice emporium, with locations throughout Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs, consists of an entire store filled with culinary goodies, the majority of which are stocking compatible. They carry nearly every spice known to man and they're ground weekly to ensure freshness. The Savory Spice Shop also carries a plethora of spice blends, extracts, grinders, and gift sets -- and you'll get the good karma that comes along with shopping at a locally owned store.