Gift Baskets
« Previous EntriesRocky Mountain English Toffee Gift Basket
Sunday, December 14th, 2008When I think of toffee, I think of old men and people who ride English saddles. I guess I’m just prejudiced that way. Oddly enough, that seems to be a lot more acceptable than saying something like, “When I think of grape soda and watermelon, I think of black people.”
Regardless, I think this Rocky Mountain Toffee - Wine & Cheese Gift Basket is a pretty cool gift set. It comes withwine, cheese, and ONE POUND of English toffee (which, by the way, actually sounds pretty good, despite the fact that I am neither an old man nor a person who rides English saddles).
Rocky Mountain Toffee - Wine & Cheese Gift Basket
Price: $29.99
Wine & Cheese Gift Basket. Over one pound of our English Toffee (crunchy, buttery center enrobed in milk chocolate and coated with almonds), Dark English Toffee (it’s companion piece but drenched in our semi-sweet chocolate)…
Wooden Reindeer with Gourmet Christmas Cookies
Sunday, December 14th, 2008Have I mentioned how much I love Christmas cookies? From the middle of November until Christmas day, I typically bake at least 3-4 batches of cookies each week. I know what you’re thinking, but no, I’m not fat.
When I don’t have time to bake as many as I’d like, I also buy quite a few. This Christmas Wooden Reindeer will make a great complement to the UGG boots I’ll be getting my cousin.
Christmas Wooden Reindeer - 12 Gourmet Cookies
Price: $44.0
Back by popular demand this all wood custom made reindeer for The Cookie Garden stands over 19 inches tall and 17 inches long. Sure to last for many generations. Each Rudolph is hand made in the USA. Loaded with 12 gourmet cookies in its back, this reindeer will still be able to pull Santa’s sleigh!. Remember to ship early so they can enjoy their reindeer for this holiday season. Each Cookie Garden cookie bouquet is hand made to order in our own gift department..
Fruit & Gourmet Gift Basket
Saturday, October 25th, 2008I received an amazing fruit basket the other day, and it has completely changed my opinion on fruit baskets in general. This particular fruit basket was fresh and local, and it included a lot of fruits that aren’t typically included in fruit baskets - starfruit, pineapple, and pomegranate, to name a few. It also included a several types of nuts few fresh cookies and brownies for good measure. All things in balance, right.
Given that I need to send out a basket or two over the coming weeks, I’ve been shopping around for something that could match the splendor of that basket. The basket below comes pretty close, and it would probably top it if they were more specific about the fruits offered. I understand that mail order companies can’t always offer the same fruits year-round, though. For those of you who buy a lot of business gifts, this is the Cadillac of fruit baskets. Just stick in a card and a few promotional pens and you’re set.
Season’s Bounty Fruit and Gourmet Gift Basket
Price: $199.95
Some of our regions finest confections are united with our famous fruit in our classic basket. We assemble everything by hand specifically for you and your lucky recipient to create an outstanding display of thoughtfulness. Rogue Creamery Garlic Cheddar Cheese, Chocolate Toffee Almonds, Dried Fruit Medley, Marionberry Preserves, Sweet n Hot Pepper & Onion Relish, Butter Toffee Nut Popcorn, Rogue Creamery Medium Cheddar Cheese, Mixed Nuts, Smoke Sockeye Salmon, Chocolate Covered Cherries, Raspberry Preserves, Honey Wheat Crackers, Beef Summer Sausage
Northwoods Morning Gift Basket With Ham & Sausage
Thursday, September 4th, 2008A male friend of mine is turning 30 soon, and I did a quick search to see if I could find a decent “man gift”. I know some people turn to gadgets when they think of men, but I decided pretty quickly that he’d enjoy something edible a lot more than he’d enjoy the kind of gadget-y trinket I’d otherwise buy him. He’s definitely in the sub-$50/gift friend range.
Anyway, I saw this very cool Northwoods Morning Gift Basket with ham, sausage, and a couple of breakfast mixes. While I don’t think it’s right for this particular recipient, I did think it was really cool. It’s the kind of thing I’d send in advance for a significant other if we were spending a weekend in a mountain cabin or something. Because, you know, I spend so much time in mountain cabins living here in the very flat Midwest.
Northwoods Morning w/ Coffee, Pancake & Muffin Mix, Ham, Sausage, Preserves - Wisconsin Cheeseman
Price: $39.99
Around the woodlands of Wisconsin, a breakfast of ham, sausage, coffee, and plenty of pancakes is the only way to start the day! Included are easy-to-fix Buttermilk and Apple Spice Pancake Mixes, Blueberry and Strawberry Muffin Mixes, Maple Syrup, Peach and Strawberry Preserves, Cooked Ham, Original and Mesquite Smoked Beef Sausages, and assorted Gourmet Coffees. Net wt. 3 lb. 6 oz.
The Sort-of Healthy Fruit and Gourmet Gift Basket
Monday, August 11th, 2008It’s not often that you find an appealing food gift that doesn’t make you want to run to the gym and hit the ellipticals, but this Large Fruit and Gourmet Basket pulls it off. For $110, your gift recipient gets at least 24 pieces extra fancy fruit (what is extra fancy fruit, anyway?), Custom House coffees, Sarments Dumedoc chocolates, Lady Walton cookies, cheese, crackers, Droste chocolates, 1 pound of Trophy giant mix deluxe nuts, Peerless candies, a Simpkins candy tin, Wagners teas, Lindt chocolate truffles, and Toggenburger chocolate-covered wafer cookies.
Okay, so maybe I lied just a little. If you eat all of that at once, you will want to do some exercise afterwards. On the other hand, the inclusion of fruit, tea, and nuts makes it a much healthier option than a lot of traditional gift baskets (though perhaps a little less healthy than the average fruit basket). I think it’s a nice compromise, and a lovely gift.
Fruit and Gourmet Large
Price: $110.0
The Summer Entertaining Gift Basket: Spice Rubs, Gourmet Salsa, & More
Friday, May 23rd, 2008There are some food gifts that are about as fun as a natural acne treatment. Sure, they’re functional, but no one’s going to care. Things like crackers and mustard feel that way sometimes. This Summer Entertaining Gift Basket is quite the opposite. Instead of boring recipients with the usual, uninspired items, this includes chili mix, BBQ spice rubs, gourmet salsa, raspberry lemongrass tea, mango peach tea, and three different kinds of bean dips (Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Mexican). That’s a party (or more than one party) in a basket! Just add alcohol.
PMS - Party Monday - Sunday Gift Basket
Friday, April 18th, 2008In college, I remember a guy who would ask people at parties, “What channel are we watching tonight?” and then wait for a response. When the person he asked got confused, he’d yell out, “ABC - Absolute Beer Consumption! YEAH MAN!!!!” or something to that effect. He was insanely obnoxious, the kind of guy who needed a personality transplant and a large bottle of Leptovox to shed a couple hundred pounds. I have to wonder if he was behind the naming of this next gift basket.
The PMS - Party Monday-Sunday Gift Basket comes in at around $100 and includes cookies, pretzels, French Brie, Baby Gouda, some other assorted items, and your choice of wine. While I tend to think more of beer and hard liquor when it comes to “parying Monday through Saturday”, this sounds like a pretty nice gift basket.
Nostalgia in a Basket - The 50s Candy Gift Basket
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008Although Father’s Day isn’t coming up for about two months, it’s never too soon to start gathering ideas. Oh sure, I could buy something useful like a cell phone repeater or a new weed whacker, but where’s the fun in that? I think my own father would get a lot more enjoyment out of something like this 50s Candy Gift Basket.
The 50s Candy Gift Basket includes over 30 full-size pieces of candy - roughly 5 pounds of wonderful processed sugar. You get Nik-L-Nip Wax Bottles, Sen-Sen Breath Refreshment, Chuckles, Charms Ass’t Squares, Vanilla French Chew Taffy, Haviland Wintergreen Patty, Candy Buttons, Necco Wafers Chocolate, Cherry Mash, Necco Wafers Ass’t, Mary Janes, Zagnut Bar, Violet Scented Gum, Charms Pop Sweet, Walnettos, Bubble Gum Cigars, Smoothie Peanut Butter Cup,Teaberry Gum, Candy Stix Cigarettes, Oh! Henry Bar, Gold Mine Nugget Gum, Wax Lips, Skybar, Chocolate Moon Pie, Black Licorice Pipe, Abba-Zaba, Slo-Poke Jr. Sucker, Cup-o-Gold, Chocolate Cigarettes, Slap Stix, Sno-Caps, Chick-o-stick, Butter Rum Lifesavers, Clark Bar, Goetze’s Cow Tail, Vanilla Bun Bar, and Bubble Gum Cigarettes.
Funny story about the Goetze’s Cow Tails, though - As a child, I can remember my grandmother taking me out to the local Rural King (that’s a farm supply / clothing / toy store, for those of you who didn’t grow up in the middle of nowhere) and buying me a Cow Tail. I was pretty young, so I still believed…pretty much everything…and I spent hours squishing it around and feeling bad for the cow that lost its tail. As small as it was, I figured it had to have come from a baby cow…
So I guess the moral of the story is that even if you didn’t grow up in the 50s, this gift basket may stir up some funny memories from the past. If your dad (or mom, or friend, or whomever) did actually grow up in the 50s, I can pretty much guarantee that this gift will be a hit. Just make sure you have time to stick around and listen to stories about riding bikes down to the general store and how all the candy cost a nickel.
The Most Expensive Picnic Gift Set Ever
Monday, March 31st, 2008Okay, so maybe this isn’t THE most expensive picnic ever, but it’s certainly not cheap. At $265, “The Picnic” set is perfectly stocked for a slightly snooty afternoon in the park.
So what do you get with your almost $300 picnic basket? Quite a lot, actually. It comes with a picnic basket with a green gingham liner, forks, knives, plates, plastic wine glasses, containers, a cheese knife, cheese board, a disposable camera, and napkins. As for the edibles, you get:
Santa Barbara Garlic Stuffed Olives
La Tempesta Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti
Tony Packo’s Pickles and Peppers
1 Bottle of Forest Glen Chardonnay
French Brie Cheese
Havarti with Dill
Carr’s Assorted Biscuits
Maille Mustard
5 Lindt Chocolates
Lindt Chocolate Bar
Of course, I think this gift set would be best enjoyed on patio furniture instead of the cold, hard, ant-ridden ground.
Caribbean Island Gift Basket
Sunday, March 9th, 2008It’s that time of year where every recent college grad dreams of cheap flights and sunny beaches. All the college kids are heading off to spring break, and yet you find yourself in 40 hour/week employment. Instead of moping or quitting work to run away, something like this Caribbean Gift Basket may be just what you need.
At $35, it comes with Macadamia Brittle, Caribbean Crunch Cookies, Mango Salsa, and Rum Flavored Coconut Treats.
Tuscan Delights Italian Gift Basket
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008The other day, my dad got a clock as a gift from some company that wanted his business. He didn’t much care for it, as it was (a) ugly, (b) emblazoned with the company’s logo, and (c) non-edible. While I don’t doubt that the company spent a lot of money on it (it was a fairly nice clock), the end result was worse than if they had sent nothing at all.
That’s why I advocate sending gifts like the basket below. Nobody complains when you send them a delicious Tuscan Delights Gift Basket (barring any strange religious or dietary restrictions, but even still, most people can re-gift it, unlike a personalized clock). Whether you’re sending it to a potential client, an existing client, or in the name of investor relations, food is always a good move. This basket in particular comes with a bottle of Chianti and an assortment of Italian treat. At $49.99, it’s very reasonable.
Champagne & Fruit Basket
Sunday, February 24th, 2008I never really saw myself as the fruit basket type, but the long, cold winter is making me think again. It’s been over 6 months since we saw truly hot weather here in the midwest, and the fruit selection at the grocery store leaves much to be desired. This Fruit and Champagne Gift Basket is starting to look really, really good.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I still dream of Willy Wonka-style candy stores where Delta faucets dispense chocolate, not water.
The Girly-Girl’s Oreo Cookie Gift Set
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008While I wouldn’t exactly call this the perfect gift for the giant button remote controls and shower stool set, the Good Fortunes “Shopping Maniac” Cookies would be a great birthday gift for a high school or junior high-aged girl. Of course, at that age, getting any kind of delivery at school is totally awesome.
The gift set includes Oreo Cookies that are covered in white chocolate and pink sugar. Each one has a girl-related design like shoes or handbags. From Macy’s.
I Love Easter Chocolate Gift Basket
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008While I’ve never met a person who actually sends Easter gifts, I might have to start doing it myself. I love holidays and I love sending gifts to the people I know, so why not do it for Easter? This I Love Easter gift basket would be the perfect gift, too. It comes with Ghiradelli Raspberry chocolate squares, white chocolate-covered pretzels, Vanilla Pecan cookies, Raspberry Drops, and a Chocolate Tulip.
It’s enough to make you dream of weight loss pills.
The Wolfgang Puck Coffee Gift Basket
Friday, February 8th, 2008If you know a coffee lover, this French Press Basket might just be the perfect gift. It comes with a coffee press and Wolfgang Puck coffee, along with a bunch of other treats like biscotti and cookies. At $44.95, it’s a great, moderately-priced gift basket that would work well for both business associates and friends.
This, a notebook, and a handful of new personalized pens would make a great Saturday morning in bed.
Valentine’s Day Fruit Basket
Monday, January 14th, 2008 Food and Candy GiftsIf your loved one is teetering somewhere between the “few extra pounds” and “morbidly obese” range, you may want to consider a healthy Valentine’s Day gift. As much as I hate to say it, there are some people who simply do not need a super fudge brownie 50-pack sampler. Instead, try something like this Sparkling Toast and Fruit Valentine Crate from Got Fruit. And of course, it’s a great gift for people who just happen to love fruit, too.
In addition to 2 red pears and 2 Fuji apples, the gift basket has a small tin of chocolate, 3 oz of chocolate covered cherries (a satisfying, but modest portion), a small chocolate bar with a love poem attached, and a bottle of sparkling cider. So no, it’s really not that healthy, but if your significant other has forgotten what it’s like to eat fruit (as opposed to say, Cheetos and pork rinds), it’s still helpful to get things moving in the right direction.
I’d say it’s worth the $64.95 for the love poem alone. If your loved one has a sense of humor, the two of you will probably be laughing at that all night.
Another Valentine’s Day Pick
Sunday, December 30th, 2007 Food and Candy GiftsWhile most of us think about what men will buy women for Valentine’s Day, this post is more for the girls looking to buy gifts for their boyfriends and/or husbands. Sure, you could probably get him something car-related like a Chrysler 300 accessory, which would be nice, but it’s not necessarily the first thing you think of when you think Valentine’s Day. I think I would have better luck with this Beer Gift Basket.
In addition to having a variety of different beers, it also comes with snacks like pretzels and snack mix and pistachios. If you’re lucky, he’ll like it so much that he forgets to try to celebrate another holiday
Let the Valentine’s Day Countdown Begin - Wine & Truffles
Saturday, December 29th, 2007 Food and Candy GiftsValentine’s Day is just over a month away, so you can count on at least 10-20 gift ideas here over the next few weeks. Remember people, everyone loves SOME kind of food. We’ll start out with this Mrs. Beasley’s Anniversary Wine and Truffles set.
The set comes with a bottle of 2003 Beringer Napa Valley Founder’s Estate Cabernet and a small drawer that contains 8 of Mrs. Beasley’s signature chocolate truffle cookies and 4 Lindt truffles from Switzerland.
If you can’t afford remote condos for sale, you can at least get this gift set and create an evening that makes it seem like you’re far away.
Top 5 Popcorn Gifts of 2007
Monday, December 10th, 2007 Food and Candy GiftsPopcorn is truly a miracle of the earth. Obviously, good popcorn is a little more complicated than planting a seed and harvesting the results, but I think there’s something very cool about the fact that you’re eating something that was once a seed. Anyway, these popcorn gifts are nothing like that. They’re still popcorn, but they’re altered and packaged to the point that they’re almost nothing like the boring, plain popcorn you make in an air popping machine.
1. Dale & Thomas Twelve Pack Sampler - If you don’t read anything else that I write, read this and go get yourself some Dale & Thomas Popcorn. Dale & Thomas is pretty much the Rolls-Royce of popcorn, and they have flavors that range from Peanut Butter & White Chocolate to Toffee Crunch to Country Smokehouse Cheddar (and of course, all the old standbys like caramel).
Their flavors are inspired, their packaging is simple but attractive, and the overall eating experience will ruin you for other popcorns forever. There’s a reason that Oprah swears by it. My tip - The best way to try Dale & Thomas Popcorn is in a sampler. It’s cost-effective and absolutely delicious. This particular sampler will set you back $48.
2. Kettle Corn from iGourmet - It’s sweet and salty and a it might even stir up some nostalgia. Remember, sometimes simple works just as well as something completely over-the-top. At $39.99, it’s pretty reasonable, too.
3. Popcorn Balls - These popcorn balls look an awful lot like snowballs. Their largest package gives you 100 balls for $39.95, but they have smaller packages starting at $14.99. This is a great choice for a party, since there’s plenty of popcorn for everyone.
4. Holiday Sweets & Snacks Tower - If you’re looking for a “popcorn hybrid” gift, a tower may be the answer. Most will fill the bottom layer with popcorn, and possibly other middle layers as well. This one is interesting in that it has blueberry cookies and southern pecan rolls. At $39.95, it’s also very reasonable.
5. Ultimate Snowman Bundle - As usual, Mrs. Field’s gets an A+ for presentation with this Snowman Tower. It includes toffee popcorn, 48 cookies, 24 brownies, an entire cake, and enough other stuff to keep someone busy for weeks after the holiday season is over. This magnificent display will set you back about $170, but for the right recipient (perhaps yourself!), it’s definitely worth it.
And if none of these things do it for you, you can always get your friend or loved one one of the usual, boring gifts that you can’t eat - ties, sweaters, makeup mirrors, perfume - I’m sure they won’t mind that you didn’t care enough to get them something totally awesome and delicious 
Wine & Fruit Basket
Saturday, December 8th, 2007If you’re looking for a Gourmet Fruit Basket with Wine, Gift Tree can definitely help you out. Their basket includes wine, fruit, and a number of extras like crackers, cheese, and hard salami. At $99.95 for the basket, it’s a great holiday gift for business associates or maybe even potential in-laws. They might actually be willing to listen to your term life insurance pitch if you get them something this delicious.
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