Gift Baskets Galore

Below is a picture of a gift basket I helped to put together for clients at the Huarochiri office yesterday.  Not all clients get these special baskets- only borrowers who have taken out five or more loans.  This is more folks than you would think.  Women (who are more than 80% of the borrowers) will borrow a small amount of money every four months for years and years and years.  It's like a permanent loan.

There are basic essentials in the gift basket- like cooking oil and toilet paper (yes, it is TP and not paper towels) and also traditional Peruvian Christmas treats.  Most important among the Xmas treats is the panetón (in the blue packaging).  This Italian-like fruitcake baked good is all that Peruvians eat for dessert at Christmas. And, surprisingly, no one bakes their own panetón- you have to buy it at the store.  There are tons of brands of this stuff.  I have tried it and I was not a big fan.  I'm hoping that if I try it again dipped in hot chocolate (also included in the gift basket), I'll like it more.  A popular kind of Christmas party here is a called a Chocolatada in which you get hot chocolate and some panetón to go with it.  Not a bad idea for a party, but I'd switch out the panetón for some butter cookies.