Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets are Sure to Please

By Vina Zevigny

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 wine and 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.

It is easy to find attractive baskets for the personalized wine and cheese basket. They can be found at many craft or import stores at reasonable prices. Find an inexpensive cheese cutter to place in the basket as well. You can purchase your cheese selection at any quality deli. Since the meat departments only wrap their products in unattractive paper you can wrap the cheese in plastic wrap. During the holidays it is easy to find holiday design plastic wrap. Next, select the wine to be included. Boxes of specialty crackers are all that is really needed to finish this off. Once you have all the items assembled, place some shredded paper in the bottom of the basket. This serves as perfect filler.

Once the cheese is wrapped, put the filler in the basket and arrange all the items. Use the filler to cushion the bottle of wine and make the basket look nice and full. You can wrap the entire basket in cellophane wrap, but it is not absolutely necessary. Finish it off with some curling ribbon and you are ready to go. Keep in mind that you will have to keep it refrigerated. This is one of the main reasons that the ready made wine and cheese gift baskets incorporate the processed cheeses.

Wine and cheese gift baskets make a lovely gift for anybody. The recipients can use them when entertaining during the holiday season or save them for their own use. You can either pick up of the ready made baskets or get creative and assemble your own. If you make your own you can pre-wrap the cheese and just assemble them right before you give the gift. This makes storage easier. Whether you buy one of the pre-made wine and cheese baskets or assemble your own, it will be a gift that is loved by the recipient. - 16003

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