Gourmet Gift of the Day Blog

I love this time of year!  The apples are abundant, the leaves are turning and the kids are looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  To celebrate this time of year, Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets is offering a Fall Snack Chest that showcases rustic colors and a great mix of gourmet treats.

My mom’s birthday was a couple weeks ago, and we sent her this snack basket since we weren’t able to deliver a gift in person.  She called to thank us and explained that she wasn’t able to try everything in the basket since dad hid the snack mix and butter cookies from her – apparently they were so good that he didn’t want to share!  She did enjoy the fruit candies, chips and dip.  She was even able to sit down and relax with a cup of the Vanilla Spice Tea while she controlled the remote for the night (dad’s birthday gift to her).

We visited mom and dad house last week-end and I was pleased that the gift chest was being used to store her scarves. It was nice to see that the gift was not only tasty but also contained a practical item!

Perfect for graduation, retirement, a new home or new job, this gift basket conveys best wishes to your recipient and provides them with a bevy of gourmet foods.  The large gift box is tied with a “Best Wishes” ribbon, sells for $62 and includes:

• Chocolate Mints
• Assorted Fruit Bonbons
• Chocolate Truffle Cookies
• Sweet Butter Cookies
• Fruit N Nut Snack Mix
• Cashew Roca
• Smoked Almonds
• Bavarian Dill Pretzels
• Dutch Gouda Cheese Biscuits
• Classic Water Crackers
• Fontina Cheese Dip
• Artichoke Spinach Cheese Spread
• House Blend Coffee
• Sparkling Apple Cider

It’s pretty tough to go wrong with a basket of sweets when sending a gift, although we have ran into a few stinkers on our online purchasing journeys.  But I’m happy to report that the Sweet Tooth Gourmet Gift Basket is not one of them!  The basket itself is very sturdy and lightweight and can be reused by your recipient as a mail basket, fruit basket or candy basket!  The goodies inside are a step up from standard candy bars, they include such gourmet items as crepe suzettes, almond roca, pure dark chocolate and mocha caramel popcorn.  These treats, along with truffle hot cocoa and Bellagio coffee, are packaged in pretty colors and wrapped with a matching bow to complete the gourmet experience.  The basket is available for $63 plus $11.95 for ground shipping.

Fitting for a somber occasion or a large celebration, this handsome wicker basket holds more than 20 gourmet food items and four delicious drink options.  We found this basket while searching for a sympathy gift for our colleague whose mother passed away recently.  Food is a great way to provide comfort to grieving family and to offer your condolences to people you may not know very well.  We were told the gift was well received and our colleague’s family appreciated our thoughtfulness, so in our opinion it was a good investment.  The large gift basket sells for $104 at All About Gifts & Baskets.

A great gift for soldiers returning from service or for someone traveling over the 4th of July, this patriotic gift box is packed with snack-time favorites and an inspirational book entitled “I Pledge Allegiance”.  The box retails for $50 and includes the following All-American snacks:

• Chex Mix
• Chips Ahoy Cookies
• Twizzlers
• Microwave Popcorn
• M&Ms (Plain and Peanut
• Skittles
• Starburst
• Oreos
• Cheez-Its
• Peanuts
• SweetTarts
• Cracker Jacks

Morning break time has been much tastier in the office lately, thanks to the addition of this delicious gift crate we ordered from Persimmon Hill Farm.  Specializing in homemade jams and butters, the company offers a gift crate where you can choose 6 of their gourmet fruit spreads for $39.25.  They are shipped with two bags of buttermilk biscuit mix, which is the perfect base to try the wide variety of flavors.  We chose some of the more exotic sounding spreads for our gift crate – Nutty Blue Goose Jam, Elderberry Preserves, Persimmon Butter, Gooseberry Walnut Jam, Sugar Free Plum Blackberry Fruit Spread and Apple Butter.  I brought the biscuit mix home to bake, and the next morning we indulged on these spreads.  My favorite turned out to be the Sugar Free Plum Blackberry spread, partially because it was sugar-free so I felt I could have a little more than I normally would have!  The spread was thick, rich and full of flavor, which was surprising to me since it was also sugar free!  My boss took the Persimmon Butter and hid in his office – not to be seen again until the jar was almost gone!  He did finally share with the rest of us, and I found that the persimmon taste was light and crisp.

Overall the gift crate earned 5 stars in our office, and the website has made our list to “try more of these products”.  We love that the spreads are made in small batches, just like homemade, and each batch is carefully tested to ensure perfect flavor every time.  We all agree that these products would be great as a housewarming or retirement gift, and we look forward to sampling more great flavors from Persimmon Hill Farm!

Bottled in the height of grape-crushing season, this Napa Valley Cabernet has a full-bodied flavor that compliments the foodstuffs included.  The dark willow basket includes a bottle of Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Ghirardelli chocolates, pecan chocolate chip cookies, gourmet nuts, California crisps crackers, creamy jack cheese and beef salami.  This basket was a great gift for my aunt and uncle – who had lived in California for years but just recently returned to the midwest.  They sponsored my son in so he could attend summer camp and this was a great way to thank them.  We found the gourmet basket for $65 at All About Gifts & Baskets.

If you want a something more out of your peanut butter, try this Gourmet Sampler offered by P.B. Loco.  Not only does this company own some of the most unique PB&J Restaurants, they also sell 10 flavors of refined, “grown up” peanut butter.  Their Team Morale Booster Kit contains a jar of each flavor with a box of tasting spoons for $60.55.  Flavors include:

• Dreamy Creamy
• Munchy Crunchy
• PB with Asian Curry Spice
• PB with Sumatra Cinnamon and Raisin
• PB with Raspberry White Chocolate
• Jungle Banana Peanut Butter
• Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Duo
• CoCo Banana Peanut Butter
• PB with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
• Caramel Apple Peanut Butter

We have found that this golden gift bucket is a great way to thank our clients for their business.  It has a great mix of snack items and a reasonable price.  The bucket retails for $37, and has become so popular that some of our clients have asked for the website information and they have ordered it themselves.  The bucket features star cut-outs along the upper edge and is filled with:

• Gourmet Cookies
• Roasted Peanuts
• Hard Candy
• Popcorn
• Pretzels
• Chocolates
• Sparkling Cider
• Gourmet Coffee

Two of my uncle’s favorite pastimes are golfing and beer.  So when my cousin was looking for a Father’s Day gift, I knew I had to tell her about the basket I found at beeronthewall.com.  The gift consists of 12 assorted microbrews, gourmet popcorn, kettle corn, pretzels, cookies, a bag of golf tees and a pack of 3 golf balls.  A wire golf bucket serves as the basket for this gift, which neatly ties everything together and keeps the theme alive throughout.  The bucket can be delivered for $77.95 plus $19.95 shipping, but there are a few states that have shipping restrictions on alcohol (these states are listed on the website).