Create Italian Gift Baskets or Italian Food Baskets!

Italian Gift Baskets

Create Wonderful Italian Food Gift Baskets

Italian gift baskets would make lovely gifts for weddings, bridal showers, housewarming, anniversaries, birthdays, or for anyone who enjoys eating and cooking Italian food. They are great ideas for corporate gifts as well as gifts for work associates.

Since there are many options for Italian gift baskets, it's a good idea

to spend some time in the planning stage. Here are several suggestions:

Make a gift basket full of appetizers. Line a wicker basket with a cloth napkin or tea towel. Include appetizer-type of food items such as jars or cans of roasted peppers, olives, artichoke hearts, anchovies, bread sticks, small bottle of olive oil, cheeses, or salami.

How about a gift basket all about cooking and dining on pasta with a colander as the container? Add dry pasta, Italian seasonings, pasta sauce mixes or ready-make sauce: marinara, alfredo, or pesto. Other gift items such as a pasta fork, wooden spoon, or a cheese grater are useful when preparing a pasta dinner. A small cookbook would be a nice addition for someone learning to cook. Give these Italian gift baskets a unique decorative touch by scattering dry pasta among the gift items. Pasta shapes such as shells, rotini, or farfalle are good shapes to use.

An Italian coffee gift basket is another idea. Cappuccino or expresso cups, saucers, spoons, sugar cubes, ground coffee or coffee beans, and anisette are a lovely assortment of coffee related gifts. Don't forget to include something sweet such as biscotti or other Italian cookies.

Fresh fruit, cheeses, and a bottle of wine would be nice Italian gift baskets, too. Add mixed nuts in the shell and some gourmet chocolates. Decorate this basket with small bunches of fresh grapes added at the last minute.

All the makings for salad using a large salad bowl as the container. Gift items such as a bottle of olive oil, wine or balsamic vinegar, salad utensils, pepper mill, a decorative kitchen towel, cheese grater, garlic press, a bulb of fresh garlic would be appreciated by newlyweds or anyone setting up a new home.

Romance is another lovely theme using champagne, chocolates, cd of romantic music, book of poetry, scented candle, etc.

Finally, check out my web page dedicated to making a Pizza Gift Basket.

Although most gift baskets are presented in a wicker basket, there are other options you may want to consider. A wire basket, unbreakable tray with a raised edge, colander, pasta or salad serving bowl make nice containers also.

If you have a limited budget, dollar-type stores usually have inexpensive pasta bowls, colanders, and baskets. Look for gift items such as pasta, spices, wooden spoons, kitchen towels, and potholders which you can use as gifts in your gift basket. You'll be surprised how many items you find at reasonable prices.

Should you decide to use fresh foods, assemble the basics of your Italian gift baskets ahead of time and add the meats, cheeses, fruits, or pastries the day you plan to give the gift.

You may want to incorporate the Italian flag colors (which are red, white, and green) in the decorative elements of your gift basket.

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