Cheese Gift Baskets Are No Longer An Afterthought

I know it sounds a bit typical. It's almost as if giving cheese gift baskets is an afterthought. You know, you ran to the mall at the last minute and grabbed the first thing you saw. Well it doesn't have to be that way.

My husband and I exchange gifts with several of our neighbors each year for the holidays. It seems that each year it gets more difficult to think of a gift. This year we decided to give them cheese gift baskets. We did not like the pre-made cheese gift baskets that are available in the kiosks in the mall so we decided to create the baskets ourselves.

The pre-made cheese gift baskets included processed cheese spreads. We were concerned about how long some of the baskets had been sitting around. We thought that if we made our own baskets the cheese would be of higher quality and we could choose varieties that we knew our friends liked.

We went to an import store and found wicker baskets to place the cheese in. The store had inexpensive cheese cutters so we purchased one to place in each of the cheese gift baskets. We then went to a local deli. This deli wraps the meat and cheeses in paper. We did not want this for the gift basket. We decided to go to the supermarket and purchase large rounds of four cheeses. We were making four cheese gift baskets so we would quarter each round and wrap the wedges in clear plastic wrap. We also purchased boxes of specialty crackers to place in the baskets. We went to a paper supply store and bought shredded paper to use in the bottom of the baskets as filler. We also bought curling ribbon to decorate the handles of the baskets.

Admittedly, this is a lot more work than getting one of those pre-made baskets. But ask yourself what you did with the last pre-made basket you received. I bet in the darkest corners or your refrigerator sits a block of cheese or a salami role from the early 1990's. (By the way, it's time to clean our your refrigerator).

We brought our purchases home and cut and wrapped the cheeses. I placed the filler in the bottom of each basket then arranged the cheeses, cutters and crackers in each. I used several strands of the curling ribbon and tied the strands to the handles. The cheese gift baskets looked very nice and we knew that the cheese was high quality and fresh.

Each of our neighbor’s was very pleased with the gift basket. They all like entertaining during the holidays and so the cheese would be served at their gatherings.

My husband and I decided that we are going to make similar baskets for our brothers and sisters. This is a gift that can be assembled quickly just prior to giving it so that freshness and storage do not become an issue. We simply purchase the baskets in advance and then the day we are giving the baskets we purchase and cut the cheeses. We decided we could also include a bottle on wine and other goodies for those people that we want a larger present for.

So basically, there's nothing wrong with giving cheese gift baskets. Just put a little more effort into it than a trip to the nearest mall kiosk. You'll be giving a great gift, and the person receiving it will know you've put a little thought and effort into it as well.

And if you really don't have the time for all the shopping, there are some great places online that offer baskets that are almost as good as if you've done it yourself.