Party News and Ideas

Please stop giving my favorite gift category a bad name.  Join the revolution by refusing to ship those disgusting collections of unidentifiable cylinders claimed to be sausage and the awkward containers of processed cheese spreads.  Quit giving away those fruit baskets that are cushioned with tissue paper in an ugly box that takes up all that space in my recycle bin.  I can find apples and pears that are just as good in my local super market.

You see, I love food gifts.  I love giving them and receiving them.  But when I send a food gift, it is given with thought and is always high quality; please return the favor.  There is a difference, you know, between true quality and the convenience of buying from one of those ugly mall kiosks.  Food gifts deserve at least as much careful thought as that after-shave you bought your dad year after year in your childhood–oops, not a good example, perhaps.

Instead of the mostly chemical box from the mall stand, think about a selection of genuine artisan cheese from some cheesemaker who actually understands what cheese is and what it can be.  Let’s keep the goats and cows happily employed instead of just putting more chemicals in our food.  Speaking of myself, and I’ll bet you, too, I would much rather have a small amount of a real cheese instead of an overpriced huge box of the fake stuff.

A wine gift basket will be a perfect gift for the appropriate recipient.  Just be sure that the person to whom you send it appreciates a good wine.  Like millions of other people, I haven’t had anything alcoholic in years, because I seem to be unable to handle it.  I prefer not to be tempted, especially during the holidays, but my sister would be an ideal recipient.  Whereas I know how to chug and pour again, she actually knows how to slowly savor each sip.

We all have a special friend or a dear relative who has moved away.  Think about a present of a gift certificate for live lobsters or even lobster dinners.  Indeed, after you read this article, I hope you feel friendly toward me, because that is a gift that I would enjoy!

While I made fun of fruit gift baskets earlier, there actually are places where you can order a basket of gourmet fruit–fruit that does not grown in my back yard.  This is a terrific gift for someone who is a fitness fanatic or anyone who appreciates the simple beauty that is fruit.

I hope you understand…  If you give a food gift the thought that it deserves, stay out of the long lines at the mall kiosks, and hasten the journey of the boxes filled with fake cheese to the garbage bin, which is where they are going to end up if you send them to me.  Spend an evening with me, shopping from my home office, using the Internet for all my food gift shopping.  Just remember that you’ll have to bring your own wine, but I’ll supply the real cheese.

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Please stop giving my favorite gift category a bad reputation.  Quit sending the boxes filled with processed cheese spreads that are mostly chemicals and the unidentifiable tubes labeled as some sort of sausage.  Extend the protest to include those tree killing enormous boxes that contain a couple apples or pears.  I can find apples and pears that are just as good in my local super market.

You see, I love food gifts.  I enjoy giving them, but I enjoy receiving them even more.  But when I send a food gift, it is given with thought and is always high quality; please return the favor.  Oh, and by the way, high quality is not the same as easy to buy from a temporary, seasonal kiosk in the mall.  Food gifts deserve at least as much careful thought as that after-shave you bought your dad year after year in your childhood–oops, not a good example, perhaps.

Instead of that big brand name box of gelatinous cheese spreads from the mall, consider a assortment of gourmet cheeses from some cheesemaker who actually understands what cheese is and what it can be.  Let’s keep the goats and cows happily employed instead of just putting more chemicals in our food.  Speaking of myself, and I’ll bet you, too, I would much rather have a small amount of a real cheese instead of an overpriced huge box of the fake stuff.

A beautiful wine gift basket will be a perfect gift for the appropriate recipient.  Just be sure that the person to whom you send it appreciates a good wine.  You see, I haven’t had a drink in years, because I’m an alcoholic.  While my sister would be properly grateful for a wine basket, I would not.  She knows how to sip and savor; I remember only how to gulp and refill.

We all have a special friend or a dear relative who has moved away.  Consider a gift of live lobsters or a couple complete lobster dinners.  Indeed, after you read this article, I hope you feel friendly toward me, because that is a gift that I would enjoy!

I made light of fruit gift baskets a while ago, but, if you take the time, you can find a basket of gourmet fruit–the kinds of fruit that I can’t find in my own back yard.  This can be a truly thoughtful gift for someone who is into fitness or who has started the sort of logical diet that allows the consumption of fruit.

See?  If you give a food gift the thought that it deserves, stay out of the long lines at the mall kiosks, and hasten the journey of the boxes filled with fake cheese to the garbage bin, which is where they are going to end up if you send them to me.  Spend an evening with me, shopping from my home office, using the Internet for all my food gift shopping.  Just remember that you’ll have to bring your own wine, but I’ll supply the real cheese.

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Technorati Tags: food gift, fruit basket, fruit gift baskets, gift idea, gift ideas, gourmet cheese, gourmet cheeses, lobster, lobster dinners, wine and cheese basket, wine gift basket

Giftbaskets are soooo last year!  Or is it last decade?  Actually, I hope the correct response is neither.  (Lock it in; that’s my final answer.)  You see, I make my living by selling gift baskets (among other food gifts).  While I agree that it’s not quite the same as being a test pilot or a neurosurgeon, it’s an honest way to pay for tuition for my grandson.  Or at least it would be a good way to do so if more of you bought my products.

I can read your mind: “All of his gift problems are solved; he just gives the same boring baskets year after year to everyone.”  How dare you think about me in that way!  In fact, I face the same dilemmas that you face during any gift giving, decision making crisis.

I don’t give only baskets of joy to my loved ones.  However, even if I did, the choice would still not be easy.  At my store, we offer scores of fruit baskets, gourmet meals, wine gift baskets and far more than that, even.  (I know what you’re thinking right now, “Please, oh please, just tell me where this wonderful paradise is located so that I can go there to buy your most expensive offerings for everyone on my gift list!”  Please be patient.)

Before you bribe me (or threaten me) to share my store location with you, I want to tell you about my own decision making approach.

First, I decide on an appropriate category of gift.  If Uncle Milton really has managed to eliminate his drinking problem after a decade of trying, then the wine gift baskets are out of the running.  Instead, I’ll opt for a fruit basket with something seasonal.  After years of ignoring the nutritional value of what he consumed, he could use a few extra servings of fruit in solid form.

Dear, dear Aunt Mildred is a great wine talker.  I don’t think she truly enjoys sipping her wine, but she loves to try to impress everyone with what she knows about it.  She loves to let everyone know the best vintage years, the kinds of grapes that are used in various blends and, most of all, how much she spent on the wine you just spilled all over her new carpeting ($95 a square yard).  She’ll get a simple wine gift basket, but I’m not going to spring for the champagne!

My nephew, Alfred, recently married his long time girlfriend.  To tell you the truth, even I agree that it’s about time.  Alfred spent the last eight years trying to decide if she was worth the cost of a diamond ring.  (I suspect that he eventually settled on crystal, which, considering Alfred, would be thought of as generous.)  What he wants is a check.  Well, he’s not getting that from me.  I’m sending them a chef-prepared gourmet meal for two.  I figure it’s the only way to get that cheap guy’s new bride out of the kitchen for an evening.  (They honeymooned by visiting me!)

My second step, after choosing a category is to select a price range that I’m willing to spend on these people.  Then my wife makes me double that amount.

My grandson is getting the latest video game system.  Let’s face it; he is truly special.

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Technorati Tags: food gift, fruit basket, gift basket, gift idea, gourmet meal, wine gift basket

New neighbors have finally arrived next door. We’re very excited to meet them. They appear to be about our age and our kids are looking forward to playing with theirs. Lasting friendships develop rapidly on our street so we’re sure that our new neighbors will become our friends. Can you think of a better way to greet these new neighbors than with a festive fruit bouquet?

Gourmet fruit baskets are the perfect memorable gift to give for his occasion. They exude friendliness. There are many variations of containers and the selection of different delicious fruits can be as creative as your imagination permits.

A more sizeable fruit giftbasket could consist of a sturdy box, which can be used for other items later, filled with wrapped choices of ripe fruit. Just think of juicy oranges, sweet nectarines, fragrant strawberries, and tangy grapefruit. The delicious selection of these fruits stimulate any discerning appetite.

A bigger fruit giftbasket could consist of a sturdy box, which can be used for storing other items later, filled with individually wrapped choices of ripe fruit. Just visualize juicy oranges, sweet plums, fragrant raspberries, and tangy grapefruit. The flavorful selection of these fruits stimulate any appetite.

Using a wicker basket is another way of presenting the fruit. Select a white or natural-colored basket. Healthy fruits of fragrant pineapple and distinctive coconut are surrounded by exotic kiwi. Add citrus selections of oranges, lemons and limes with aromatic bananas carefully positioned among them. This makes a fun, tropical fruit basket choice, which is appetizing, healthy, and eye-pleasing. Top it with a lime-green ribbon tied in a large bow.

Fruit baskets can be personalized, depending on your preference. We noticed a beautiful, wooden wine rack being moved into their home, so a bottle of wine could be added to the selections of fruit. In order to incorporate the fruit theme, a citrus peeler or a paring knife could be added, too. Hard tack or chocolate candies, or shortbread cookies, or even nut selections of almonds and walnuts would add an extra touch to the fruit basket gift, as well.

Fruit gift baskets can be given in a variety of containers filled with every kind of delicious fruit imaginable. No matter which container you select to hold the fruit and no matter which fruits you choose to fill the container, it is a colorful, flavorful, and healthy option. What a wonderful “Welcome to the Neighborhood” gift fruit baskets are!

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I am not a shopping enthusiast. Except around the winter holidays, I hate the parking problems, I don’t enjoy browsing aisle after aisle looking for something that would be honestly appreciated by Grandma or Uncle Arthur. I certainly do not like standing on line with frustrated people waiting for the lone employee to handle yet another exchange. During the holidays, I enjoy strolling through stores just people watching, without being weighted down with packages. The experience for whatever reason puts me into a holiday mood, but I do my actual shopping and buying almost entirely online. That’s a practice I developed in the very early years of the Web.

While online shopping keeps me from being pushed around in a busy department store or standing in line at a little boutique, it doesn’t keep me from the most dreaded part of any gift giving event; choosing the right gift for a birthday, a holiday, a sick friend or whomever. Then about five years ago, I discovered food.

Of course, I actually discovered food when I was still an infant, but it didn’t occur to me as a great gift until I had suffered through many rounds of birthdays, baby showers, and countless other events that seem to always pop up. I received a gift basket of little sausages, spreadable cheeses and plain crackers. It was terrible! At the same time, though, I thought what a great gift this could have been. All they had to change in the gift was the quality of the contents!

Since that moment of momentous insight on my part, I have been a dedicated sampler of a variety of food gifts that I buy for myself on the Internet. I have found that the online gift food stores handle everything from shipping to the accompanying gift cards. Yes, I actually send myself a gift card to test the store’s dedication to detail. The Internet boutiques are now the sources for all of my gifts, except those gifts of my loved ones who happen to live very nearby.

These Internet shops offer everything from gourmet fruit baskets to live lobster dinners (well, they won’t be alive when they are actually eaten), from wine gift baskets to cookie bouquets. The array of gift foods is really quite amazing.

I do keep gift foods around the house, beautifully or cleverly arranged, for my guests who come to my house or for those whom I visit in person during those gift giving times. The Internet provides assistance to me even in these cases, because it is packed full of great ideas for arranging and wrapping gift food.

If you happen to see me walking down a store aisle with a smile on my face when everybody else seems frantic, you will now know my secret. But don’t tell my Uncle Arthur.

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Technorati Tags: food gift, Food Gifts, fruit basket, gift idea, gift ideas, live lobster, lobster dinner, wine gift basket

A few days ago, I talked with a family friend who recently learned that his huge manufacturing company was closing his plant. He is actually luckier than most of the people working for that company. He very recently reached the magic age at which he qualifies for early retirement, so he will continue to have a steady income. Those who did not reach that milestone of the specified number of years with the company will get a small severance package and be left to search for a job in that difficult market. That got me thinking about giving gifts for special occasions to those people who are finding themselves in tough situations. I came up with a few ideas that make more sense than a piece of home decor or a new tie. Here are some of them:

A fruit basket is healthy, beautiful, yummy and always enjoyed. If you live near your gift recipient, you can find a lovely basket or other attractive container and fill it with fruit that is in season in your region of the country, obtained at a farmers market, and then fill it out with a few exotic fruits picked up at your neighborhood specialty store. If your loved one is farther away, you can arrange for any of a large range of beautiful fruit gift baskets to be delivered directly to the person’s home. It will help them to reduce their grocery bill that month.

A unique meal is another way to remember a special occasion. One alternative might be to take the friend to a special restaurant. If price is no object to you, be sure to suggest some of the pricier entrees on the menu, so that your guests know that they should not worry about ordering whatever they prefer. For example, you could say something like, “The crab legs are perfect here, but, if you don’t like seafood, try the filet mignon.” If they live too far away for that, you can actually find delicious, gourmet, chef-prepared meals online that arrive frozen and can be heated in almost no time. (I actually keep my freezer stocked with these.) Or you might send a gift certificate to a special place in their town.

A final recommendation is a scrumptious dessert. Now, lets face it, nobody should indluge in too many desserts, but on a birthday, anniversary or holiday, everyone deserves a chance to feel a little pampered. Bake cookies, if that is a skill of yours, and hand deliver or have them delivered. For something a little more special consider giving them a delicious pie or a New York cheesecake. Whether you make it yourself or have others do the work for you doesn’t matter. It will be appreciated and definitely enjoyed either way.

You may observe that all my recommendationinvolve food. Someone who is going through a difficult time may not want to accept charity, but nobody can reject a genuinely special gift. If it reduces the grocery bill by a bit, that’s just a bonus. To make it even most festive, invite yourself to share in the delights with them!

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Considering buying a gift can cause me to be uneasy: what should I give Stan for his thirty-fifth birthday? What should I give my perfect dad for his retirement? How can I surprise my husband with something useful on our anniversary?

Buying gifts is not my specialty. When I’m the one that has to select a present for someone, I am a complete wreck: what should I buy Aunt Sue for her retirement? What would my parents like for their fifty-first anniversary? How can I possibly surprise my husband on his birthday? And what can I possibly locate to congratulate my son, the young man who has everything, on the successful completion of his college career?

And suppose I do find the perfect gift for each one of my loved ones, how would I send a gift affordably to my father, who just moved to Florida?

Can I surprise my pop with a gift at his volunteer job? And could I send George a terrific birthday surprise without driving to Fort Worth? How can I get a gift to my husband at work on Veterans Day? And could I send my parents a meaningful wedding anniversary gift without driving all the way to Baltimore

Fortunately, I recently found that ‘the perfect gift’ is available online: a gourmet fruit basket is quickly becoming the most efficient and expressive way to say, “I’m thinking of you!”

Given the wide choice of gift baskets available, it has been easy for me to select the appropriate present for everyone I have in mind. But the really great thing about purchasing gift baskets online is the perk of not having to become concerned about sending anything through the mailmyself or even worse—making a long trip! And, if I really want to surprise my husband on our anniversary, I can fill his day with hearts and flowers before he even comes home from work.

Since discovering gift baskets, choosing the best presents for my friends and family is no longer difficult. If you’re finding yourself overwhelmed when selecting gifts, I recommend you give gift baskets a try.

Even my daughter appreciated a gift basket, so I know you’ll find a great gift for anyone on your list!

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