Special Gifts Elite

Please stop giving my favorite gift category a horrible name.  Quit shipping the containers filled with processed cheese spreads that are mostly chemicals and the unidentifiable tubes labeled as some sort of sausage.  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.  Those of us who live in the north can get apples and pears with real flavor every fall.

You see, I love food gifts.  I love giving them and receiving them.  However, when you send me something, please make it the same quality I give those on my gift list.  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 require the same thought as any other gift category.

Instead of that big brand name box of gelatinous cheese spreads from the mall, consider a selection of gourmet cheeses from some cheesemaker who actually understands what cheese is and what it can be.  Join me in endorsing the thankless labor of goats and cows rather than joining the chemical additive bandwagon.  I would love even a small gift such as that more than the biggest box of the fake stuff that your mall displays.

A beautiful wine giftbasket makes a delightful gift for the right person.  Do remember though that this gift is not suited for everyone.  Like millions of other people, I haven’t had anything alcoholic in years, because I seem to be unable to handle it.  While my sister would be properly grateful for a wine basket, I would not.  Whereas I know how to chug and pour again, she actually knows how to slowly savor each sip.

In our mobile society, we all have a beloved relative or a dear friend who has moved to some distant location.  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!

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.  Join me at home some evening, shopping from the Internet.  Just remember that you’ll have to bring your own wine, but I’ll supply the real cheese.