Here are some tips you shouldn’t forget to make unforgettable:

Make a research on the recipients’ favorite foods. Days before the actual celebration, be a spy! And discreetly investigate on your friends’ most preferred foods. Before you get gourmet gift baskets for your friend, consider the items included in it. For chocolates, determine what type or brand they like the most. For wines, look out for their favorite taste. For dishes, probe on their favorite cuisine. Do they favor Italian dishes over Asian flavors? And after these strenuous but worth-it and funny task, be sure to include them in your gourmet gift baskets and you are surely on your way into your friends’ long term memory.

Be the delivery crew! Make extra effort by hand-delivering the gourmet gift baskets to your friend. It will appear more personal and more touching, since you really take time to personally carry the package from the gift shops to their homes. Plus, some shops offer discount if the gourmet gift baskets will be picked-up by the buyer themselves instead of getting their delivery service. With this, you do not only make yourself unforgettable, but you also save lots of money.

Be creative! Add some little twist in your usual gourmet gift baskets. Instead of the usual containers, use your imagination and create something really special. You can hand paint the basket making it more colorful and home-made. If you have the enough creative skills, you can also try to make a specially designed holder. Put some ribbons, and cut some fabric. Add tweaks and designs all over you gourmet gift baskets and make it look more personally made. By doing such, you are honing your artistic skills plus enjoying the entire gift-giving process.

Travel the memory lane. Is there a specific food that makes you remember your friend? Such as when you ate chocolates and you saw your friend’s teeth all covered up with brown tinge. Or that time when you had lunch and your friend accidentally spill red wine in your clothes. Utilize that memory! Include that food item in your gourmet gift baskets and when your friends found out what you gifts actually contain. They will surely have a funny time remembering those incidents.

After being a spy and a delivery crew, and after painting and remembering funny incidents, the list on making gourmet gift baskets as the most memorable gift you can give (or receive) doesn’t end here. The sky and your imagination is the limit!

For a diabetic friend, fill the gourmet gift baskets with sugar-free breads. You can also add some diabetic chocolates, or cookies made from sugar substitute. Try also adding fruits that have low glycemic index, such as apples and pears. This may give your friend the impression that you really thought hard for this gift and that you really care.

The population of vegetarian people is growing larger as more and more become health conscious. With this statistics, it is sure that you will, or already have friends who are living the “green” way. And when their birthdays come, you are anxious on what to give them as birthday presents. It is possible that usual shirts or gadgets came into your mind. But you still want to make your gift appear special and personal. Gourmet gift baskets are among the few things that can be customized depending on the needs of the recipient. You can request that they only contain vegetarian food like vegan meats made from gluten or soya. Also add some of the usual “greens” and make it more special by choosing their favorite fruits and vegetables. With these vegan inspired gourmet gift baskets, you will definitely warm your friends’ hearts!

Another illness that requires special diet is Gluten intolerance. Persons with this condition are restricted to eat anything with barley, rye, oat, wheat, among others. You can make them feel you understand and care for them by giving them personalized gourmet gift baskets that are filled with foods that don’t contain the ingredients restricted to them. Aside from making them feel good, you are actually helping them to get hold of these hard-to-find foods. And as a help, these are some of the food you can include to your gluten-free gourmet gift baskets: quinoa, corn, chia seed, millet, sorghum, rice, and gluten-free oats.

Your special someone may have lactose intolerance, and you are afraid to have a romantic candle-light dinner because the restaurant may serve foods that are banned from their diet. You can stop worrying now, and be much sweeter by delivering lactose-free gourmet gift baskets. Actually, there are lots of help you can find. Some gift shops are already offering gourmet gift baskets that don’t contain lactose in their ingredients. You can also browse the internet and look for foods that you can include in your gift, since much study had already been done regarding this condition.

In truth, you can never do away with special diets. If not you, an acquaintance or even a family member can need some special consideration when it comes to what food they can eat. However, there are still ways to cope up with it. Make these people feel more appreciated by giving gourmet gift baskets that specially cater their needs. And with it, you did not only feed their mouth but also their hearts.

Gourmet gift baskets can save you money for many reasons. It is also the most cost-effective gift that is available in the gift shop nowadays. Plus the fact that it will not really appear that you are being too frugal. In fact, by giving gourmet gift baskets, it will look like that you really take some personal time preparing the gift (which is really touching) and that you put aside your budget constraint for a while, since they look very expensive. But really, they are not.

First reason why gourmet gift baskets are good for those who have little budget is that these presents are really cheaper. In fact you can have a simple gourmet gift basket for just Fifty Dollars. Of course, prices depend on the contents of the package; but if you compare gourmet gift baskets to other usual gifts such as jewelry and electronic gadgets, you can really save some serious bucks!

Some shops selling gourmet gift baskets offer special promos and discounts. This is another way you can save some money. Personally talk to the salesperson and ask what gourmet items are on sale or on marked-down prices, and quite sure, there are lots of choices available. If the salesperson cannot offer you discounts, ask for the store managers personally, they have the authority to take some price off.

You can also volunteer to pick up you gourmet gift baskets after ordering them. Some store can slash some amount from your purchase if you volunteer to deliver them yourself, since you are no longer using their delivery service that usually comes with an extra charge.

Gourmet gift baskets can also save you money by being a wise choice during the time when other gift items are expensive. For example, during Valentine’s Day, the prices of chocolates and flowers are soaring high. So instead of buying these traditional gifts, opt for gourmet packages that can be a lot cheaper without losing the essence of a thoughtful gift.

Moreover, gourmet gift baskets do not only save you money but also save some expenses of the recipient. Take for instance, if you are to receive gourmet gift baskets containing grocery items. You now don’t need to shop for grocery supplies anymore since they are given by friends “for free.”  With this way, you do only stick with your budget but also become caring enough to save your friend some expenses.

In the end, during this financial depression, our thoughtfulness shouldn’t also be in crisis. The essence of gift-giving should always remain, since not everything is financially equitable. Gourmet gift baskets are just some of the wisest choice for a gift amidst this financial crisis. And with this gift choice, we no longer have to hide during occasions, or deny invitations, just because we are trying to do away from the expensive gift-giving tradition.

            A typical gourmet gift basket would include a single or two packages and/or containers of various gourmet foods such as caviar, chocolates, sweet meats, truffles, cakes, patè and cheeses, among others. A gift basket may also contain gourmet foods specific to a culture or a country. For instance, shops will offer an Italian gourmet gift basket, a French or a Spanish one. But a gourmet gift basket will not be complete without a bottle or two of wine.

            One issue a giver should take into account is what kind of wine to include in it. Usually, a gourmet gift basket purchased from stores will contain either a red wine or a white wine. Many shops also offer gift baskets with both kinds in them. However, a giver should still think whether a red wine or a white one is appropriate to include. Or if it is within his or her budget, should he or she give a basket with both kinds.

            First, we shall distinguish the differences between the two kinds of wine commonly included in the gourmet gift basket. Both red and white wines are alcoholic beverages that originally came from grapes or grape juice. For obvious reasons, red wine are thus so called because of their color and because they came from red or purple grapes. Meanwhile, white wine came from white grapes. However, their colors are not the only one distinguished among the two kinds.

            White wine has many types. There is champagne, chardonnay, chenin blanc and pinot gris to name a few. They differ a bit in taste and flavor, brought on by the way where the grapes are grown and processed. If a giver of the gourmet gift basket is thinking of celebrating a feat for the receiver such as project well done or an office promotion, white wine is the way to go. White wine is usually brought out for toasts and congratulatory parties, and would go with buffet or light meals.

            Red wine likewise has many types including cabernet sauvignon, merlot and pinot noir. These types may also differ a bit in flavors some of which are comparable to the taste of cherry, plum, strawberry or raisin. If a giver of the gourmet gift basket is thinking of an occasion in a more intimate setting, then red wine is the ideal bottle to include. Red wine is usually brought out more for a relaxed atmosphere and is suitable for a gathering of a few people or a couple. Another difference of red wine from the white is that red wine is believed to be more beneficial for a person’s health.

            These are just a few tips on what bottle of wine to choose in your gourmet gift basket. The important thing to remember is that every occasion should not go without some bubbly to celebrate.

One might wonder, why should you give a fresh supply of herbs and spices to a receiver who loves to cook? Well, simply because herbs and spices are things that a cook cannot do without. And they are the ones always being replenished in the kitchen cupboard.

In choosing what kinds of spices and herbs to include in your gourmet gift basket, a discreet inspection of the receiver’s kitchen will not go in vain. Maybe, a friendly visit once in a while and asking a well-loved home-made recipe from the receiver will give you a whole lot of context clues on what to give. Let us examine the usual roster of herbs and spices out there that are ideal for your gourmet gift baskets.

For your list of culinary herbs, it’s usually ideal to balance out the tastes for variety. It’s suggested to have not only a few jars of sweeteners and salination but other flavorings as well. For instance, a good gourmet basket is suggested to contain a jar or a pack each of the most common herbs used in cooking, such as oregano, basil, chives, stevia and thyme. The good thing is that these manufactured culinary herbs come in different sizes, so a medium-sized or small-sized jar would be enough for your gourmet gift basket. Another advantage of using herbs is that preserved, they last longer than the spices so it would be perfectly fine to have a ratio of 2:1 for containers of herbs against spices in your gift basket.

As for the spices, since these culinary flavorings are less commercially available and are more expensive—as  they usually are imported from Asian countries—a few jars of these would be fine for your gourmet gift basket. Further, spices are not as commonly used as flavorings, since not all people appreciate spicy, hot or chili-tasting flavors in food. Usually, a cook only needs one or two teaspoons of a particular spice to a dish that would serve 15 to 20 people, so they are not used in copious amounts compared to herbs. Therefore, a good gourmet gift basket may contain a small-sized container each of some of the most used up spices such as black pepper, cayenne pepper, curry powder, chili and paprika.

After choosing your herbs and spices for your gourmet gift baskets, a bottle or two of well-known brand of seasonings such as an oyster sauce or Tabasco sauce would also be a good bonus. Adding a small-sized healthy food cookbook can also go in the basket so that the receiver will truly know you have been complimenting his or her culinary talents as well as inform him or her that his or her efforts are well-appreciated.