Tamales as holiday gifts: the dozen that beats a fruit basket

Tamales as gifts started in my family the way most good ideas do: by accident. My mother sent a dozen to a neighbor who had driven her to the doctor, and that neighbor talked about it until the following Christmas. Now every December I wrap dozens for people who have figured out what she figured out, which is that a warm pan of tamales says thank you louder than anything that comes in cellophane.

The short answer: a dozen tamales is one of the best holiday gifts you can send in north Dallas because it is generous, personal and gone by the weekend. One dozen from my kitchen costs $60 and feeds a family of four to six; it reheats in a steamer in twenty minutes. Order it online a week or two ahead in December, with delivery to their address on the date you choose.

This guide covers who a dozen suits, how many to send, how delivery works when the person receiving it is not the person paying, and what to tell them so the tamales taste as good on day three as they did at the door.

Why tamales make better holiday gifts than a fruit basket

I have nothing against fruit. But think about what happens to a fruit basket: it sits on the counter, the pears bruise, the little jar of jam goes in a cabinet, and by January the basket is holding mail. A pan of tamales gets eaten that night, with the family standing around the stove, and the person you sent it to calls you while their mouth is still full.

Three things make tamales work as a gift where other food does not.

• They are a meal, not a snack. A dozen of my tamales, which are big, is dinner for a family of four with leftovers for breakfast. You have given someone a night off from cooking in the most exhausting month of the year.
• They mean something. In Mexican families the tamal is the Christmas food, made by hand in a crowd the day before the holiday. Sending tamales says “I made room for you at my table,” even to someone who has never folded a husk.
• They keep. Tamales hold for days in the refrigerator and months in the freezer, and they reheat better than nearly any other dish. The gift does not have to be eaten the hour it lands.

Every tamal in that pan is made from scratch the same morning, with corn masa that is naturally gluten-free, pork simmered in red chile or chicken breast in green tomatillo salsa. The recipes come from the women in my family, and I describe them on the menu page if the person you are sending to wants to know what they are eating.

Who to send tamales to

These are the people my customers send tamales to most, and the reason each one works.

• The neighbor who helped. Watched the dog, took in packages, jumped the car. A dozen at their door on a Friday afternoon is worth more than a gift card and easier to accept.
• The teacher or the coach. Teachers get mugs. Nobody gives them dinner. A half dozen, delivered to their home on the last Friday before the break, is the gift they talk about in the lounge.
• Family who cannot cook right now. New parents, someone recovering from surgery, a parent who lost a spouse this year and is not making tamales for the first Christmas in fifty. Send the dozen, then send a text saying it is coming.
• The host of Christmas dinner. If your sister is roasting the turkey for eighteen people, two dozen tamales delivered the day before means one thing she does not have to make, and the one thing everyone asks for.
• Your office or your clients. A pan on the break-room counter beats a tin of popcorn. I cover this end to end in my guide to tamales as corporate gifts, and the office catering page explains ordering for an office by the dozen.
• Yourself. Plenty of people order a dozen “for the freezer” on the same day they order gifts, and I do not judge.

How many tamales to send as a gift

Match the size to the household, not to the budget. A couple does not want three dozen, and a family of seven will be quietly disappointed by six. My tamales are big: two make a lunch, three make a dinner. Here is how I size a gift when a customer asks.

Split anything a dozen or larger between pork in red salsa and chicken in green. Write “red is pork, green is chicken” in your note, so a household with a child who does not like heat and an uncle who wants it goes home happy. For a gift to someone with a gluten concern, the masa is naturally gluten-free, though I should say plainly that our kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility.

How gift delivery works when you are not the one at the door

My kitchen in Plano is a catering kitchen, not a store; there is no walk-in counter. You order in the online store, choose delivery or pickup and the date, and pay online, and the kitchen works 9 AM to 2 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. For a gift, that means a few practical things.

1. Somebody has to be home. Hot food does not sit on a porch in December, or in July for that matter. Check that the person will be home on the delivery day, or pick a day you know works, like a Saturday.
2. Tell them it is coming. Enter the recipient’s name and address for delivery, and send them a short text so nobody at the door is confused about a pan of tamales they did not order. A text from you on the morning of delivery is the best card there is.
3. Check the address is in our area. I deliver to Allen, McKinney, Fairview, Frisco, The Colony, Plano, Murphy, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Far North Dallas, and the service area page lists each city. If the gift is going farther, pick it up at the kitchen and hand it over yourself.
4. Same day or a date ahead. A half dozen or a dozen can be ordered for today or a date ahead in the online store; the ordering page explains how. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day, and only confirmed orders will be delivered as requested.

The tamales arrive wrapped in their husks, with the salsa cooked inside. They are not in a ribboned box, and I have decided that is a feature. A ribboned box is a present; a pan of tamales is dinner.

When to order tamales as gifts in December

The weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas are the busiest of my year, and gift orders compete with every family in north Dallas ordering for Christmas Eve. The delivery days people want most, the Friday and Saturday before Christmas, fill first. My honest advice: the day you decide to send tamales, order them. I explain the whole calendar in when to order Christmas tamales.

Two more timing notes. The kitchen is closed on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, so a gift for a Sunday brunch goes out Saturday and gets reheated; that costs nothing in quality. And if Christmas or Christmas Eve fall on a closed day, pick a delivery date earlier in the week. The holiday tamales page covers the season, and for a gift that waits in the freezer there are frozen tamales.

What to tell the person you are sending them to

A gift of tamales comes with instructions, and the best gifts come with them written down. Text the recipient this, or say it in the card.

• Eat them tonight if you can. They are at their best the day they arrive. If dinner is later, keep the pan covered in a low oven or move the tamales into a steamer on the lowest flame.
• Refrigerate the rest in their husks. They keep for several days that way. Do not unwrap them until you are about to eat.
• Reheat with steam, not a dry oven. Twenty minutes in a steamer basket, or a damp paper towel and a couple of minutes in the microwave in a pinch. My guide to reheating tamales covers every method, and the freezing guide explains how to bank the rest for January.
• Red is pork, green is chicken. Say so in the note; people love being told. The red has a little kick; the green is the mild one.

And tell them who made it. Every review I have ever gotten, more than 600 of them, 5.0 stars on Google, comes from someone who was handed a tamal and asked where it came from. The reviews page is a decent card in itself.

Ready to send a dozen?

Pick the size from the table above, enter the recipient’s address and the day you want it there, and pay online; the delivery fee is shown at checkout. Maggie’s has fed teachers, new parents, grieving families and whole offices, and the tamales arrive ready to open. Order online now, before the December days are gone.

Frequently asked questions

Are tamales a good idea as holiday gifts?

Yes, for anyone who eats. A dozen big tamales is a full dinner for a family of four to six, it carries real meaning in Mexican tradition as the Christmas food made for a crowd, and it keeps for days in the refrigerator and months in the freezer. Unlike a fruit basket or a tin of popcorn, it is eaten the night it arrives and remembered afterward. Send it to someone who cannot cook right now and you have given them an evening.

How much does a dozen tamales cost as a gift?

One dozen from my kitchen is $60 and a half dozen is $30. That works out to $5 per tamal at any quantity, so two dozen is $120 and five dozen is $300. The delivery fee is shown at checkout. There is no gift-box upcharge, because there is no gift box; the tamales arrive in their husks, pork in red salsa or chicken in green.

Can you deliver tamales to someone else’s address?

Yes. I deliver to Allen, McKinney, Fairview, Frisco, The Colony, Plano, Murphy, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Far North Dallas. Enter the recipient’s address for delivery in the online store, pick the date, pay online, and make sure someone will be home. Tamales should not wait on a porch. A text from you on the morning of delivery is the best card.

How far ahead should I order tamales as a Christmas gift?

As early as you can in December. The two weeks before Christmas are the busiest of my year, with every family in north Dallas ordering for Christmas Eve, and the Friday and Saturday before the holiday go first. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day. A week or two of notice is usually comfortable; a large office order deserves more.

How long do gifted tamales keep, and how should the recipient reheat them?

Kept in their husks in the refrigerator, several days; frozen, a few months. Reheat with steam: twenty minutes in a steamer basket over simmering water brings them back to the morning they were made, and a damp paper towel and a couple of minutes in the microwave works in a pinch. Avoid a dry oven, which hardens the masa. Tell the recipient this in the card so the last tamal is as good as the first.

Can I send tamales to several people or several addresses at once?

Yes. Place one order per address in the online store, each with its own delivery date, and pay online; the delivery fee for each address is shown at checkout. In December, the more notice you give, the more choice you have about which day each gift lands.