Top Presents for Food Lovers

When the holidays come around, a lot of people give food gifts. But their choices are often limited. People always tend to give gift certificates, fruitcakes, or boxes of assorted sausages. And that may be fine for some people, but here are some choices that can help you break out of the fruitcake routine.

Impromptu Gourmet allows you to plan dinners for two to ten people, with everything included. These include the appetizer, entree, side dish, dessert, bread, and even a dinner music CD. And the selections are luxurious, ranging from their "Hazelnut & Smokey Blue Cheese Encruted Halibut" to a "Hardwood Smoked Leg of Duck." These design-your-own-dinner selections range in price from $55 for two to $160 for a holiday dinner for ten people. In addition to these customized menus, they offer a la carte foods and monthly gift plans. They are a fantastic choice for prepared gourmet foods, and a fantastic gift.

Sur La Table is a store which makes it easier for people to make fantastic meals at home. They offer a wide range of products such as bakeware and barware that are difficult to find elsewhere, and a special line of Sur La Table exclusive products which are only available on their website or brick and mortar stores. Not only are their products unique, but they are a reasonable price. One of their most unique products is an ice cream maker that mixes soft serve ice cream with no chemicals, rock salt, or ice required. As it dispenses the ice cream into the cones that fit in the cone holder below, it mixes in up to three toppings. This would make a great gift for a family, and the kids would love having an ice cream cone made their way.

Thornton's Special Toffee is the gold standard of toffee. In fact, it is how all of candy should be judged. This is TRUE English toffee. Most Americans think of English toffee as crunchy, but in reality, the best British toffee is firm, yet creamy. It is more like a very firm caramel than toffee. And of these type toffees, Thornton's makes one of the best. The price of the toffee is not necessarily expensive, but the shipping may be, because it comes straight from Britain. Because of this, it makes a great present for the winter holidays, because it will not melt during shipping. I have literally had relatives who had spent time in England ask for this when I visited London. They did not care about any other souvenir. All they wanted was this candy. When I purchased some for this relative for Christmas last year, other people in the family felt slighted that we had not gotten them the same gift. We laugh about it now that the toffee is good enough to literally cause a family feud.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of the best ways to send a card to someone for the holidays. Hershey's Chocolate offers an online service where they will make a large chocolate card which is personalized with the recipient's name. There are many choices of cards, and some include Hershey's kisses or other types of gifts. The entire family will love to receive this card, and chances are high that they will take a picture of it before they eat it. Also, these cards start at $20, making them a rather inexpensive, but highly enjoyed gift.

Whatever you choose, there are a lot of choices for food lovers that will keep them well satisfied. And your recipients will appreciate that they aren't getting another fruitcake or fruit of the month club gift this year.