Saturday, December 20, 2008

Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets Make a Perfect Gift

By Vina Zevigny

My husband and I have been exchanging gifts with some of our neighbors and discovered that wine and cheese gift baskets make a perfect. They are perfect for those people that are difficult to buy for. They can be purchased at many retail stores, or they can be assembled yourself, allowing you to personalize the gift. Making your own selections for the gift basket can be really fun.

Many of the ready made wine and cheese gift baskets include processed cheese spreads. One of the advantages of assembling your own basket is that you can choose varieties of cheese that you know your friends will like. You can also choose one of their favorite wines if you are familiar with their preferences.

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.

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 wine and 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 wine and cheese gift basket we gave them. They all like entertaining during the holidays and so the wine and cheese could 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 other people that we give larger presents. Anyway, we made wonderful baskets for everyone and could feel really ready for the holidays.

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