You see, I love food gifts.  I enjoy giving them, but I enjoy receiving them even more.  But when I send a food gift, it is given with thought and is always high quality; please return the favor.  There is a difference, you know, between true quality and the convenience of buying from one of those ugly mall kiosks.  Food gifts deserve at least as much careful thought as that after-shave you bought your dad year after year in your childhood–oops, not a good example, perhaps.

Instead of that big brand name box of gelatinous cheese spreads from the mall, consider a assortment of genuine artisan 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.  Speaking of myself, and I’ll bet you, too, I would much rather have a small amount of a real cheese instead of an overpriced huge box of the fake stuff.

A beautiful wine giftbasket

While I made fun of fruit gift baskets earlier, there actually are places where you can order 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.

I hope you understand…  If you give a little thought to a food gift, 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.  I share my real cheese with you, but you’ll have to bring the wine for yourself.

One good gift idea is to get them a membership to a local health club or gym.  They’ll be among others with the same goals, and plenty of equipment to help them take on their challenges.  Some of the equipment can be intimidating or tricky looking, and the staff is always willing to demonstrate how to work them.  Many health clubs will also offer trainers to guide customers in a work out regime that best suits them.  Getting a friend a membership is a great way to motivate someone to get out of the house and get started on shedding the pounds.  If your friend is already a health nut, chances are they already have a membership, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give them a free month or two at their club of choice.

If a gift of a club membership is a bit more than you planned to spend, there are other gifts in the same spirit.  A stop at your local sports shop is always a great place to find loads of gift ideas for your health conscious friend.  Health stores can give you plenty of gift ideas, too.  You might find a video guide on a popular exercise routine or an inspirational book.  

Being healthy does not mean giving up food entirely!  Many sports shops will have cook books for the health conscious.  These books are a great idea for those who are fine when it comes to working out, but have trouble controlling their diet.  The sports shop has new ideas at every turn including pedometers and heart rate monitors making your gift hunt much easier.

If you want your gift to express more of a personal touch, try sending a gourmet fruit basket. Fruit can become an extremely healthy habit.  We’ve been learning it since grade school when we first saw the food pyramid.  Fruit is healthy.  Fruit is one of the healthiest foods around; it provides essential vitamins and energy not to mention is cholesterol-free.  There’s no question that a fruit basket would be loved by your health conscious friend.  Fruit baskets can come in several different assortments that will provide your friend with his favorite treats.  However, if your friend has just begun a low carb diet, he or she will not be permitted fruit until later in the diet’s progression.

So whether they’re just starting into fitness or have been exercising for years, showing your support for their efforts to drop some weight by getting them a healthy gift is a great way to wish them a happy birthday.

I can read your mind: “I’ll bet he never has a problem deciding what to give during the holidays; year in and year out everybody on his list gets stuck with another gift basket.”  How dare you think about me in that way!  In fact, I face the same dilemmas that you face during any gift giving, decision making crisis.

I do not give food filled bundles of joy to my entire gift list.  (Well, maybe most it.)  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!”  Please be patient.)

Before you coerce me into giving away my store location, I want to share my own decision making strategy with you.

First, I decide on an appropriate category of gift.  If Uncle Milton really has managed to eliminate his drinking problem after a decade of trying, I should not even consider the wine baskets.  Instead, I think I’ll send him an assortment of gourmet cheeses and a fresh fruit basket.

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 loves to let everyone know the best vintage years, the kinds of grapes that are used in various blends and, most of all, how much she spent on the wine you just spilled all over her new carpeting ($95 a square yard).  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!

My nephew, Alfred, recently married his long time girlfriend.  To tell you the truth, even I agree that it’s about time.  Alfred spent the last eight years trying to decide if she was worth the cost of a diamond ring.  (I suspect that he eventually settled on crystal, which, considering Alfred, would be thought of as generous.)  What he wants is a check.  There’s no way that I’m satisfying that desire.  His wife wouldn’t get a dime of it.  Instead, they’re getting a gourmet meal from me.  Actually two, of course.  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.

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.

A beautiful fruit basket is healthy, beautiful, delicious and always enjoyed. If you live near your gift recipient, you can find a lovely basket or other attractive container and fill it with fruit that is in season in your region of the country, obtained at a farmers market, and fill it out with a few exotic fruits picked up at your local super market. If your loved one is farther away, you can arrange for any of a large range of beautiful fruit gift baskets to be delivered to the recipient’s home. It will help them to reduce their grocery bill on their next trip to the super market.

A unique meal is another way to remember a special occasion. One alternative might be to take the friend to a special restaurant. If price is no object to you, be sure to suggest some of the pricier entrees on the menu, so that your guests know that they should not worry about ordering whatever they prefer. For example, you could say something like, “The crab legs are perfect here, but, if you don’t like seafood, try the filet mignon.” If they live too far away for that, you can actually find delicious, gourmet, chef-prepared meals online that arrive frozen and can be heated in almost no time. (I actually keep my freezer stocked with these.) Or you might send a gift certificate to a special place in their town.

You might also consider a tasty dessert. No person should have too many desserts, but on a birthday, anniversary or holiday, everyone deserves an opportunity to indulge a sweet tooth. Bake cookies, if that is a skill of yours, and hand deliver or have them delivered. For something a little more special consider giving them a freshly baked pie or turtle cheesecake. Whether you make it yourself or have others do the work for you doesn’t matter. It will be appreciated and definitely enjoyed either way.

You may observe that all my recommendationinvolve food. Someone who is going through a difficult time may not want to accept charity, but nobody can reject a genuinely special gift. If it reduces the grocery bill by a bit, that’s just a bonus.