RedPlum Presents: My Frugalicious Holiday

Great gifts under $30 are not easy to find, however, with the help of RedPlum, they can be!

Last night I was invited to attend an event hosted by RedPlum at Continental in Old City with Leslie of AndHerLittleDogToo. The invite to the event promised a preview of their Cheap & Chic Holiday Gift Guide with 30 gifts under $30. Add in cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and friends, and you have a great night. The timing was perfect as the holidays are just around the corner.

All of the featured gifts were laid out on tables in the back room of Continental (a Steven Starr restaurant) with descriptions of the gift, its price, why RedPlum likes it and how to use it. There were several items appropriate for children, but many other gifts as well. Here are my favorites!

IKEA’s Classic Centerpiece

IKEA’s Holiday Table Setting ($233.51 for a table setting of 6)

Neela Market Pack $28

Bagladies $26

Busy Body Book $18 (book)

Engraved Greensender Bottles $28

I especially like this last item because most of us use SIGG bottles. Wouldn’t it be great to have a personalized one? It’s a great gift to give this year!

Wines are another great gift, and for less than $20/bottle, the ones we tried are very reasonable! I tried two of them, one of which was a dry riesling from… Bonny Doon! This was the Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Dry Riesling, and it was really refreshing (but really dry too)!

I also tried the Mirassou Pinot Noir as I have heard great things about this particular bottle. I asked for just a taste and was thankful when I was served this small glass as I had already had a RedPlum Cosmopolitan and the wine above:

With our drinks we had a few hors d’oeuvres:

It was great seeing some new gift items and I feel inspired for the holiday shopping! From this event I already know what I am buying for one of my good friends (hint: engraved Greensender bottle!!!) I also know that it is time to go back to Continental for dinner as I haven’t been in over a year!

The night wasn’t over yet. Lucky for me Leslie (who told me about tonight’s event) insisted that we all go across the street for a mojito at Cuba Libre to celebrate being out during the week (we needed some sort of excuse!)

I was still hungry so I ordered some small plates off of the new menu to share with Kate and Leslie. I am not sure when Cuba Libre started this new menu but I can’t wait to come back for dinner with PhillyBoy! There are several menu items I want to try! My mojito was absolutely perfect and had just the right balance of sweet, tart, and MINT. I love when mojitos are made with lots of fresh, sweet, mint like these were.

Our small plates were great too. We had the Batata con Camarones (Roasted sweet potatoes and arugula salad, Cuban pesto marinated grilled shrimp and Pimenton vinaigrette) and Guacamole Cubano (Avocados, golden pineapple, fresh lime juice and extra virgin olive oil. Crispy plaintain chips). The Guacamole Cubano was a bit sweet, and tasted even sweeter when coupled with the salty plaintain chips. Fabulous combination!

Kate, Leslie, and I had a fabulous and informative night tonight. Thanks RedPlum! I am ready to start my holiday shopping!