I am not a shopping enthusiast. Except around the holidays, I hate the parking problems, I don’t enjoy browsing aisle after aisle looking for something that would be honestly appreciated by Grandma or Uncle Arthur. I certainly do not like standing in line with frustrated people killing time for the lone employee to handle a complicated exchange. During the holidays, I enjoy meandering through stores simply people watching, without being burdened with bulky packages. The experience for some reason puts me into a holiday mood, but I do my actual shopping and buying almost entirely on the web. That’s a practice I developed in the very early years of the Web.
While online shopping keeps me from being pushed around in a busy department store or standing in line at a little boutique, it doesn’t keep me from the most dreaded part of any gift giving event; choosing the right gift for a birthday, a holiday, a sick friend or whomever. Then about five years ago, I discovered food.
Of course, I actually discovered food when I was still an infant, but it didn’t occur to me as a great gift until I had suffered through many rounds of birthdays, baby showers, and countless other events that seem to always pop up. I received a gift basket of little sausages, spreadable cheeses and plain crackers. It was terrible! At the same time, though, I thought what a great gift this could have been. All they had to change in the gift was the quality of the contents!
Since that moment of momentous insight on my part, I have been a dedicated sampler of a variety of food gifts that I buy for myself on the Internet. (It’s a tough job, but I am up to the challenge as long as I carefully pace myself!) I have found that the online gift food stores handle everything from shipping to the accompanying gift cards. Yes, I actually send myself a gift card to test the store’s dedication to detail. The Internet boutiques are now the sources for all of my gifts, except those gifts of my loved ones who happen to live very nearby.
The wide selection of quality gift foods available is truly remarkable. It ranges from live lobster dinners to a fresh fruit basket; from cookie bouquets to live lobsters; from wine gift baskets to imported caviar or fine Wisconsin cheeses.
For those on my gift list who live nearby, I usually assemble my own gift baskets. Even in those cases, the Internet comes to my rescue with helpful suggestions about how to make my self-assembled gift foods more interesting. The available articles also have great gift ideas for special people who often happen to be especially difficult when it comes to choosing a gift.
If you see me strolling a store aisle with a huge smile on my face when everybody else seems frantic, you will now know how I can be cheerful when surrounded by panic. But let’s keep it a secret from my Uncle Arthur.