Food Gift Baskets

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Imagine fruit ripened to perfection, imported cheeses, vintage wines, extravagant desserts, maybe even fresh seafood, artfully arranged in a basket and given to you. Who wouldn’t love to receive a gift like that? Who wouldn’t love to see the look on the recipient’s face after giving it? Food gift baskets answer the question, “What do you give the person that has everything”? These gastronomical delights can be anything from personal to quite generic.

Location, Location, Location

The yellow pages are a good place to start when looking for the perfect food gift basket. In addition, grocery stores and food clubs are incorporating gift baskets into their lineup of services. If all else fails, surf the net. Type in “food gift baskets” and you’ll have pages and pages of options to choose from.

What To Look For

To avoid cookie cutter type baskets, search for companies that allow you to customize your selection. You can ask ahead of time if this option incurs an added cost. You can also ask questions about how the basket is packed. It’s useless to pay for a tasty and beautiful creation to then find it disheveled when it arrives at its final destination. When ordering a food basket, it is suggested to inquire that the basket contain more food than filler. The amount of packing material can often outweigh the actual food products.

Inside The Food Gift Basket

As a means of enhancing a food gift basket, non-food items may be included. This is especially true when a basket is assembled around a theme or hobby. Theme baskets are where the giver has the opportunity to tailor it to the receiver’s personality.

Be it specialty or theme, it is easy to put together a food gift basket on your own, especially if the receiver is close to home. Investing your time and talent, along with the necessary expense, adds to the personalization of the gift. Choosing the container or basket is easy as a trip to the local hobby shop or dollar store. After choosing the appropriate basket/container in the correct size, find your filler. Keep the amount to a minimum; choose a smaller container if need be so that the basket holds more product than stuffing. Next you will need ribbon, bows, and maybe some cellophane to wrap your creation. If the theme and your budget allow, add a few extras to augment the foods inside. Items such as small kitchen gadgets, toys, personal grooming items, candles, glasses, and mugs are a short list from endless possibilities. Now that you have the container and add-ons, it’s time to think about the food and how to put it all together. Consider the following ideas for your culinary gift-giving.

Specialty Baskets

Heart Healthy - Pack a natural looking basket or small gym bag with organic or natural food, low-fat pretzels or crackers, grainy mustards, fat-free dips and spreads. Tuck in a towel and a gift certificate in place of the tradtional fresh produce.
Wine and Cheese - In an ice bucket or basket, place a bottle of red or white wine, imported cheeses, crackers, chocolates, wine glasses, and a corkscrew.
Pasta - Toss in a variety of pastas, assorted sauces, wine, cheeses, a cheese grater, crusty bread, and dipping sauce in a colorful ceramic bowl suitable for serving the completed meal.
Breakfast in Bed - On a breakfast tray, present the lucky recipient with pancake and waffle mix, maple syrup, assorted jams and jellies, coffee, teas, and smoked country ham.
Consolation/Sympathy - There are times when words aren’t enough. Place coffee, tea, flavored syrups, muffins, gourmet chocolates, cookies, along with a pillar candle and inspirational reading material in a shallow basket.
Kids - Gummy bears, jelly beans, cookie lollipops, small toys, popcorn, and movie rental gift certificates, piled high in a pail, beach bag, or brightly colored gift bag.

Gender Specific

For Her - Any type of basket deep enough to hold chocolates, cookies, muffins, coffee, tea, flavored syrups, and chocolate spoons. Maybe she would enjoy something more savory. How about imported cheeses and olives with hot and spicy nuts and summer sausage? Add a romance novel or personal grooming items.
For Him - Mr. Fix-it or the weekend warrior will appreciate a basket or suitable container with chocolate, coffee, popcorn, cheese and crackers, and a bottle of their favorite wine or imported beer.

There’s More

Food baskets can also be all inclusive. You may opt to give an all baked goods, candy, cheese, fruit or wine basket. Many online retailers carry towers and tins as well. Towers are stacks of boxes or tins arranged in descending order that are filled with the foodstuff of your choice. Again, it can be of the all or nothing variety or an assortment of whatever you choose. Whether you decide to build the basket yourself or let a professional do it for you, send it with love.