Fantastic gift (basket)?

November 6, 2024 2:48 AM

I have a $285 budget and I want to get a fantastic gift/gift basket for a friend/coworker.

My friend did something really wonderful for a bunch of coworkers, and we crowdfunded $285 to buy him a thank-you gift. The $285 must include stuff like taxes, delivery fees/tips, shipping, etc.

I'm thinking maybe a gift basket --he loves food and cooking both--probably not kitchen gadgets but more like interesting/new ingredients (we are in California ). So ya a gift basket of gourmet foods and/or amazing produce or some awesome ingredients. I've looked into frog hollow, I know people love Harry and David, and will look more into Delicious Orchards too.

Open to lots of suggestions! I am also open to gift basket + restaurant gift cert or the like. It just needs to be really special to show how much we appreciate him!

Oh he also loves plants, crochet/knitting, and is a musician.

posted by bookworm4125 to Shopping (12 answers total)

Sorry, forgot to mention--he is pretty lactose intolerant but will generally use lactaid--maybe not a super dairy-forward gift. And he is a single man who lives alone, so probably not a bunch of perishable food he won't get through. Also if it makes any difference, he is gay and has a beautifully decorated apartment. He loves flowers, plants (as mentioned above), floral patterns...
posted by bookworm4125 at 3:07 AM on November 6

Penzey’s Spices comes to mind, and they have gift cards. If you want it to be part of a basket.
posted by childofTethys at 3:37 AM on November 6

Honestly, I'd love a modest gift basket with $200 cash in it.

At a certain point, a lavish gift basket becomes a bit much and a large gift certificate becomes restrictive. I've known friends who receive expensive bonus gifts that were nice but not quite to their taste and it was a sort of awkward, "My boss spent how much on this? They could have just given me the cash." A gift basket with a card with two crisp Benjamins might be nice. (Ten crisp twenties are more spendable though.)

You know them better than I do, but keep this in mind.
posted by AlSweigart at 4:20 AM on November 6

If you like, you could DIY the basket. That allows you to really personalize it. So you could have a distinctive planter from a local ceramics artist, some really nice yarn, local seasonal fruit, a book about his favorite musician, and maybe the centerpiece could be a restaurant gift card.

A year-long membership to something he really likes could also be great.
posted by bunderful at 4:22 AM on November 6

I've got a few gift boxes from Here Here Market for coworker pals and they've been well appreciated.
posted by phunniemee at 4:59 AM on November 6

Rancho Gordo! I linked to the "gifts" page, but you could totally make your own gift "basket" by picking anything you want. Comes w rancho gordo branded packing paper, etc. Could be at least part of your solution.
posted by atomicstone at 5:18 AM on November 6

You could make a more lowkey gift basket and include a huge bouquet of origami dollar bill flowers in it! I'd be pretty stoked to get a $5 basket with $80 worth of gifts in it, topped off with a $200 cash bouquet!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:27 AM on November 6

Phunnieme, those look GREAT! I definitely may go that route. To those suggesting cash--I am SO pro cash for so many things, like when families ask what to get their kids' teachers my answer is always a heartfelt card and CASH. However, for this particular gift, I want it to be special/meaningful/curated. Cash feels too impersonal so it is not an option this time around.
posted by bookworm4125 at 5:51 AM on November 6

If you think he might enjoy a change from California foods, Zabar's in NYC has gift baskets.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:11 AM on November 6

Zingermans is a little bit delicious.
posted by pepcorn at 7:03 AM on November 6

Get an $85 gift basket and a Kala U-bass. Every musician who's held mine has played it with a big grin on their face. Many non-musicians too. It's extremely easy to pick up and play. My local independent luthier/guitar store owner told me these have been his best selling instruments for years bc they are (relatively) inexpensive and everyone loves them. Nobody doesn't like the u-bass, so far as I can tell, even serious bassists think it's fun if not their main choice.

Also if you want it to be memorable and special, durable goods make a bigger impact than anything consumable imo, ymmv.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:07 AM on November 6

For California dried fruits and nuts, I've found Bella Viva to be one of the best: https://www.bellaviva.com/
Olympia Provisions out of Portland has great charcuterie boards and baskets:
https://www.olympiaprovisions.com/collections/gift-collection
And Goldbelly features many regional delicacies that can be fun to explore if you know he likes something like Chicago Pizza or NY Bagels.
I'll also say that our family has always loved getting the fruit bouquets from Edible Arrangements, and it looks like there is another place now called Fruit Bouquets that's part of the 1-800-Flowers group. But to get the bouquets you have to be in their delivery area.
posted by drossdragon at 8:29 AM on November 6