Whether centering on a very specific type of gift or type of recipient or just containing some off-the-wall combinations, these gift baskets are meant to be a break from the standard offerings. For those bored of the traditional gift basket offerings, here are our picks for the best unique gift baskets.
Hot heads and spice freaks will get a kick out of this fun gift pack. Few true spicy food lovers will be challenged by what’s in this kit as the name implies, but it still makes a fun gift that stands apart from many other options.
Naturally, a bottle of Sriracha is included, as it is illegal in 47 states for people who like spicy foods to fail to have a bottle in their fridge. (Okay, not really, but it seems that way.) Some even go so far as to put it on their keys so they can have it with them everywhere.
Included in this pack is the following spicy treats:
One approach to a unique gift basket is to find a theme that transports the recipient to somewhere they love. This one is aimed at recreating a tropical feeling even if you’re stuck inside someplace cold in December.
Best of all, the basket itself is a 16 inch straw beachcomber hat which will really drive the point home after the goodies have been emptied out. This nearly four pound basket contains the following:
Coconut Crunch Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Key Lime White Chocolate Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Raspberry Cookies
Key Lime Straws
Lemon Straws
Jazzy Popcorn Mix
Assorted Tropical Fruit Candies
“Sunshine Fruit Mix” (sweetened dried tropical fruits)
Tortuga Rum Companies Caribbean Rum Cake
They offer a similar gift box themed as a Taste of Florida, if you prefer. If Florida isn’t your speed, you could try Maine or Vermont.
My wife is gluten free, so I know how tricky it can be to buy bulk items like this. Inevitably, they sneak in something that contains a wheat product of some kind. This set is specifically geared to the people on your list who must remain gluten free. This is a more standard style of gift basket, but a bit unusual in its focus. Included here is:
The key to this one isn’t so much about what on the inside, but what’s on the outside. This keepsake photo gift box measures 9.5 by 7.5 by 3 inches and allows for the display of five photos long after the goodies inside are gone. Personalize it with photos special to your recipient and the following treats will just add a little extra:
Beth’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (2 ounces)
Deluxe Caramel Popcorn (3 ounces)
Bellagio Chocolate Truffle Hot Cocoa (1.25 ounces)
I personally know a couple of Austrlian ex-pats living in the U.S. now, and know that they would love to get this gift set. It’s definitely more along the lines of a traditional gift basket, with the twist of focusing solely on goodies from Down Under. It might give them a pang of homesickness, but that may be a sweet memory for Christmas morning. This three pound box includes:
Gift baskets celebrating a pregnancy can be given at the baby shower or for any birthday that might occur during that time. I know more than one person who will be pregnant through the Christmas shopping season, so that’s another good opportunity. These Bump Boxes come in four variations, one for each trimester including the so-called fourth trimester when the new mother is tending to her newborn. Each box has a slightly different mix of products to address that phase of the pregnancy. See each of them here:
A unique gift basket can take a thematic approach as seen here. This gift basket is focused on a tasty soup meal, with the main course provided by a Canterbury Naturals chicken noodle soup mix to be served in the two included crocks. Here’s the full list of items in this gift basket:
Mozzarella Cheese Swirls Hot Honey Crunch Mix Hummus Original flavor Valley Lahvosh Original Sesame Canterbury Naturals Chicken Noodle Soup The Peanut Shop Hand cooked Virginia Peanuts Lightly Salted Bamboo Spoon Soup Bowls (2) Wood Tray
Gourmet doesn’t have to mean European meats and cheeses or Belgian chocolate. It could also mean good old-fashioned beef jerky in a variety of flavors. This one is made for anyone who loves both jerky and getting something accomplished, as 25 packs of various jerkies are loaded into a Stanley-branded tool box. You’re not only giving the gift of a ton of snacks, but a useful carry-all, as well. In this gift box, you’ll get:
3 oz. brown ale beef jerky
3 oz. hickory smoked beef jerky
3 oz. maple pepper beef jerky
3 oz. turkey bacon jerky
1.5 oz. black pepper beef jerky
1.5 oz. cajun beef jerky
1.5 oz. sweet ‘n’ spicy beef jerky
1.5 oz. teriyaki beef jerky
1.5 oz. barbecue beef jerky
1.5 oz. chipotle habanero beef jerky
1.5 oz. hickory pepper beef jerky
1.5 oz. honey pepper beef jerky
1.5 oz. mesquite beef jerky
1.5 oz. spicy beef jerky
Beef and cheese beef stick
Chili pepper beef stick
Honey ham stick
Honey stung beef stick
Jalapeno cheese beef stick
Mild beef stick
Pepperoni beef stick
Spicy beef stick
Teriyaki beef stick
Turkey stick
The 15-piece pack comes in a wine bag, if you prefer.
Gourmet gift baskets are best when paired with a useful implement, as we’ve seen a few times on this list. This option combines a handy cheese knife and a bamboo picnic basket with a simple fruit and cheese spread. The cheese is Vermont cheddar from one of my favorite cheesemakers in the world, Shelburne Farms. I’ve been there a few times to get cheese from the source and can verify the excellent quality of the product. In this simple but high-quality offering, you get:
1/2 pound of Shelburne Farms Vermont cheddar cheese
Antipasto is, essentially, Italian for charcuterie. It’s the same basic premise of combining meats and cheeses with olives and other snackery common in the region. As with the one above, this basket features a cheese knife, but also adds a bamboo cutting board that can be used for presentation, too. This basket weighs in at over five pounds and includes:
4 oz. sliced prosciutto
4 oz. sliced salami
4 oz. sliced coppa ham
8 oz. Italian provolone
8 oz. Monte Veronese cheese
8 oz. Crotonese cheese
Mini toasts
4.2 oz. Grissini con Olio d’Olivia baked snacks
190 g tapenade
10.2 oz. Sicilian caponata
All you need for a tasty antipasto picnic, in portions large enough to share with a few friends.
As with the antipasto and charcuterie we discussed above, tapas are small plates generally consisting of cured meat and nuts, among other snacks. Tapas, as a tradition, comes from Spain, and this gift box is stocked with items reminiscent of Spanish snacking. The following items ship in an elegant white box:
Dry-cured Palacios chorizo
Anchovy stuffed olives
San Nicasio black truffle potato chips
Fire roasted piquillo peppers
‘Picos’ bread sticks
Rabitos chocolate bonbons
Gourmet Marcona almonds
Spanish style toothpicks
Cazuela terra cotta dish
This size feeds about four to six people, but you could also opt for the Tapas for Two Gift Box, as well.
In order of importance, holiday meals follow roughly this ranking: 1. Thanksgiving dinner, 2. Christmas dinner, 3. Christmas breakfast. In my house, Christmas breakfast actually took the number two spot. Since the dinners are usually handmade based on family recipes, you’re unlikely to find a gift basket for that. You can, however, buy a gift basket to handle breakfast on Christmas day. This basket includes everything you need to serve up a tasty holiday brunch, including:
Stonewall Kitchen is based in Maine, close to where I grew up. They focus on rustic jellies, mustards, and other sauces, as well as the snacks on which to put them. It’s hard to go wrong with anything this company makes, and this 21 piece set will create an instant collection of their goods. This tasty kit includes:
For the griller in your life, you can add a few interesting and unusual pieces to their arsenal with this gift set. First, they’ve included a couple of bottles of barbeque sauce – a spicy one called Holy Magma and one called Sweet Fire.
To spread those while cooking, they’ve also included a sauce pot to be used wtih the basting brush while cooking things low and slow. This can of course be used with any sauce or even butter.
The kicker here, though is the branding iron that allows the griller to spell out any message they like by branding it on the cut of meat. Simply arrange the letter tiles on the branding iron before you begin cooking.
Do you have a tea lover in your life? This simple gift set is focused on functionality – that is to say, actually brewing tea. The largest item here is, of course, a ceramic, six-cup teapot which is both dishwasher and microwave safe. The full set includes:
Snack gift baskets like this are worth considering for anyone, but they’re especially effective as when thinking of gifts for coworkers. And though vegans get a lot of static for making everyone aware that they’re vegan, the reason for this is that is can be hard for them to know whether they can eat the food presented to a mixed audience.
Give the vegan in your life 30 different snacks to try so they always have something tasty on hand to eat. This package includes:
1.5 oz Hippeas Organic Chickpea Puffs Vegan White Cheddar
We included a very similar set in our gifts for tequila lovers post, in part because these are some of the easiest gifts to give. If you know the person on your list has a special love for a good Bloody Mary, this set will give them a great selection of items with which to create them. Included in this boxed set are the following:
Four highball glasses
Recipe book
Bamboo picks
Bloody mary mix (25 ounces)
Celery salt
Garlic salt
Oregano spice
Thyme spice
Garlic hot sauce (3 ounces)
Ghost pepper hot sauce (3 ounces)
Chipotle pepper hot sauce (3 ounces)
Whiskey habanero hot sauce (3 ounces)
If this happens to be out of stock at the time you’re shopping, their smaller gift set may be available.
