Monday, May 24, 2010

Gourmet Food Baskets Are Thoughtful Alternative Gifts

By Robert Stephens

Gift giving is making a comeback, with more thought going into personalized gifts. The gift of food in beautiful gourmet food baskets is one way to show that though and care went into the selection of the gift.

A gourmet food basket can also be a quick solution to a forgotten birthday or other important anniversary, as many florists or caterers supply a service to pack a gourmet basket for you. Your basket can be as expensive or as cheap as your budget allows. Creativity and careful thought as to the contents are more important than the cost.

A couple of pointers for the perfect, delectable gourmet gift basket:

Choose your container carefully

Gourmet baskets do not have to be baskets, although a beautifully plaited bamboo or cane basket certainly adds to the charm. Simple boxes covered with interesting wrapping paper or cellophane, stacked and tied with ribbons, also make a lovely alternative.

A stacked gift of various sized covered boxes with different gourmet food products in each can be a lovely surprise packet of discovery.

Your choice of product to go into the basket will depend on the size of your container. Choose products of various sizes and different heights to create an appealing contrast.

Thematic choices

If you wished, you could choose to go with a theme: regional, based on the type of products used in the basket, the interests of the recipient, the occasion, even the colors used in the collection and decoration of the gift.

A French basket may contain a baguette, a bottle of delectable French wine coupled with cheeses like camembert, chevre or brie, some lovely meats like saucisson sec and a sweet like madelines and Dijon mustard. The options are endless.

For the enthusiastic cook, ingredients for their favorite recipes, spices, oils and vinegar would be a welcome gift! Coffee and chocolate make for lovely partners in a gourmet food basket.

Theme options are limited only by your creativity, and the person the gift is meant for!

Final touches

you could use double-sided mirror tape and shrink-wrap to keep your products in place.

Packaging your products in peanuts or other nuts could be fun! Using wood shavings is a cheaper alternative, but make sure that your foodstuffs are wrapped well, since fumigation or treatment of the wood may have taken place before sawing or shaving.

Finally, for a beautiful, thoughtful gift, add a pretty ribbon, raffia or scarf!

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