Gift baskets are out of fashion! Or is it that they’re just plain boring? My fervent hope is that you’ll eventually come to the conclusion that both statements are wrong. You see, I make my living by selling gift baskets (among other food gifts). Granted, it may be less significant that solving the global warming problem or removing a pesky mouse from under your kitchen cabinet, but it’s an honest way to pay for the roof over my family’s head.
I can read your mind: “All of his gift problems are solved; year in and year out everybody on his list gets stuck with another gift basket.” How dare you think about me in that way! I actually have the same problems you have in deciding what gift is best for everyone on my list.
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!” A little patience is called for on your part.)
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 has his drinking problem under control for the first time in ten years, I should not even consider the wine baskets. 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 thrills to have a new member of her audience so that she can explain what makes a good vintage year, the varieties of grapes that are used in her favorite blends and, especially, how much she paid for each bottle (as well as how much she paid for the carpeting you just ruined by spilling your glass). I’ll give her one of my better wine gift baskets, but I refuse to give her the best stuff. Sure, I get it wholesale, but I still have to pay for it! (I’m also not going to pay for the carpet cleaning; not after what that cat of hers did to my new coat.)
My nephew, Alfred, recently married his long time girlfriend. Frankly, it’s about time. It took him eight years to decide that she was worth parting with enough money to pay for a diamond and another five when he found out that it is customary to pay the minister who performs the ceremony. Alfred always loves to receive cash as a gift. There’s no way that I’m satisfying that desire. His wife wouldn’t get a dime of it. I’m sending them a delicious lobster dinner for two. My thinking is that this is the only way to get his bride out of the kitchen. Alfred would never pay for a restaurant meal, so, in a sense, I’m sending the restaurant to them. (They honeymooned by visiting me!)
Second, I decide how much I’m willing to spend on these losers.
My grandson is getting the latest video game system. Let’s face it; he is truly special.
Tags: food gift, fruit basket, gift basket, gift idea, gourmet meal, wine gift basket