Fruit basket as a gift: features and interesting ideas
A gift does not have to be memorable - often it is not the present that has been gathering dust on the shelf for years that is more useful, but the one from which soon there will be no trace, except for the one that is engraved in the memory. Take at least a basket of fruits - it doesn't seem to cost too much, and is not some kind of unique thing, and will not be remembered; and yet such a gesture is atypical and very beautiful, it expresses love and care, and most importantly - the desire to please the person being gifted.
In winter, this is also a huge bonus for the immunity of the lucky one who got something similar - thanks to natural vitamins, he will be able to strengthen his health. It turns out that the expediency of such a gift as a whole does not raise any questions, and it remains only to decide how to properly arrange and present it.
Peculiarities
Somehow it happened that a basket of fruits is not a very common gift in our country, although it looks especially impressive in our climate. Considering this option from different angles, you can highlight a lot of advantages of such a presentation for any situation.
- This gift will suit almost anyone. Few people refuse fruits - they are both tasty and healthy at the same time. In addition, there are people who are especially sensitive to their diet, trying to eat only healthy food - so they will be literally smitten on the spot with such a hit.
- A well-designed fruit basket itself is perceived as an attribute of some kind of holiday. This is largely achieved at least due to the fact that ripe fruits are distinguished by bright warm colors, a well-chosen set looks like a toy or decoration. Such a present will surely delight everyone present.
- Regardless of whether you think the best gift is one that is made by hand, this option is right for you. If you want to make a beautiful gesture, but are not confident in your abilities in terms of creating aesthetically attractive compositions, the entire basket, along with the filling, can be ordered by the masters - they will only ask what types of fruits should be included in the set, and they will undertake all the decorating work.
Those who want to try to do something similar on their own should search the Internet for beautiful examples of ready-made compositions and try to recreate them. Finally, if everything is in order with your imagination and creative flair, you can completely rely on your feelings, creating a unique masterpiece.
- The fruit basket is suitable both for someone with well-known tastes and preferences, and as a universal gift - say, for the boss, about whose culinary preferences you know quite a bit.
- The gift is not necessarily limited to the actual basket and fruit - something more valuable can also be added there, which is the main gift. It is in this form that elite alcohol is often presented - although fruits only insignificantly increase the cost of an aristocratic bottle, the presentation is perceived in a completely different way. Other gift options that you can put in your fruit basket are gift certificates and jewelry.
- This is not to say that a fruit basket is a gift from which nothing will remain as a keepsake, after all, the basket itself is definitely not going to be eaten by the person being gifted. If you do not choose the first wicker structure that comes across, but look for a more refined and beautiful model, then in the future it can become an interior decoration or be used to store certain things.
- According to the established tradition, it is customary to present fruits in the form of a full basket., but in certain cases it is possible to move away from the established foundations. Sometimes such a present can also be presented in a box or box, if the main gift involves a similar packaging and is impressive in size - then the gifts of nature simply fill the voids.
What kind of fruits can you use?
If only you do not know something about the intolerance of the given type of fruit, then absolutely any kind of gifts of nature can be included in the bouquet.
You can focus on the preferences of the hero of the occasion, if you know his tastes, but the meaning of any set or assortment usually lies precisely in the variety.
When doing this, please note that fruits for the basket should be selected for their freshness and attractive appearance - the gift should whet the appetite. Remember that it is better to serve whole fruits, rather than sliced ones - in the second case, the filling will lose its attractiveness much faster.
You can decide for yourself how to assemble the basket - the selection of fruits can be done both according to the principle of the same color, and vice versa, according to the variety of tones. Since this kind of gift is still rarely given, you can not reinvent the wheel and just use the classic approach, collecting a set of all the popular fruits available.
In our latitudes, they usually mix local apples, pears and grapes (all three - ideally, different varieties, so that they differ in color even within the same species) with imported oranges, pomegranates, bananas and pineapples.
A real gourmet can be presented with a set of purely exotic fruits, fundamentally abandoning the use of even tropical, but already familiar tangerines and avocados in the design of the composition.Of course, you still have to look for guava and passion fruit, but these days they are already on sale in large supermarkets in large cities.
If you and the recipient were on vacation abroad together and you liked the cuisine there, you can emphasize this by picking up the fruits of the country that left such pleasant memories.
By the way, no one says that a gift must necessarily consist of fruits - vegetables will also work, especially if the addressee loves healthy food and is fond of culinary experiments, and is also creative enough to appreciate the riot of colors in the present.
Here, of course, it will be a little more difficult with bright colors, so find a place for red, green and yellow peppers, blue eggplants, yellow corn cobs, white and green ones - cauliflower and broccoli.
All these products still need to be cooked, so the set often also includes a set of various sauces, spices or some other delicacies.
The basket, by the way, does not have to be large - it can be a small basket filled, for example, with a mix of berries. A set of raspberries, strawberries, currants and blackberries looks very creative and can remind a person of hiking in the forest in childhood or youth. An alternative filling option for a compact basket is nuts and dried fruits - a combination of hazelnuts, peanuts, dried figs and dates can please a person if he loves such delicacies.
Methods for creating a composition
You can also make a fruit basket with your own hands - you do not need to attend master classes or be a specialist for this. All you need to get started is a thoughtful finished gift idea.
Ideally, a present should be not only useful, but also beautiful from an aesthetic point of view, especially such a gift will be remembered if you find a way to somehow beat the reason for its presentation in the design.
The basket is bought only after the formation of an idea of how to arrange the finished present. Start from the fruit you choose and the amount of fruit you choose - it shouldn't be a problem to stack them all. The packaging should not appear half empty, at the same time, do not chase after a basket that is too small, because of which the gift will be too modest and cheap.
In fact, delicious gifts can be originally packed in an ordinary cardboard box. This option is good because it allows you to more accurately convey the atmosphere of a particular holiday - after all, no one bothers the donor to decorate the container with the appropriate decor, however, this requires at least minimal application skills and the same fantasy.
Please note that the fruits in the basket or box must be washed already, since it is possible that the gift will immediately go straight to the festive table. Specially to disassemble such a masterpiece for washing, and then no one will fold it again, in the same way, guests, wishing to treat themselves to the details of the composition, will not get up from the table every time and go to wash the fruit, so all components must be prepared in advance for eating ...
Advice
On the one hand, a fruit set can be a universal gift that can be given for any occasion, on the other, it would be especially beautiful to give it in an individualized version, when its design plays up at least the very reason for giving, and ideally also some features gifted. Here are some popular situations when fruit baskets are handed out especially often, and consider how to "fit" a present for a holiday.
- March 8. The main women's holiday is unlikely to do without flowers, but you can not hand over a banal bouquet, but build a general composition of flowers and fruits. Mimosas and tulips are small and light plants, they will definitely find a place among other gifts of nature, they will not interfere with each other.At the same time, sometimes the emphasis in such a basket is not at all on fruits, but on flowers - edible delicacies only complement the basket, filled mainly with orchids, lilies, chrysanthemums or roses.
In addition, you can please the fair sex with other bonuses - it can be both sweets and chocolate, and good tea or wine. If all of the above seems too modest for your situation, add expensive perfume or jewelry to the basket.
- New Year. In the middle of winter, I especially want to taste fresh fruits, so such a gift will be appreciated in any case. However, this does not prevent additional pressure on associations - for example, the abundant presence of tangerines in a New Year's set is almost mandatory. A cinnamon stick will help to expand the facets of the New Year's aroma and remind you of warm mulled wine, which does not have to be made visible - as long as it is and gives a scent. The rest of the container is decorated with typical attributes of the main winter holiday: coniferous branches, specially collected cones, as well as festive tinsel.
Champagne is also an integral attribute of the New Year for millions of our fellow citizens, so you can add it to the composition; an alternative option can be an expensive cognac, which warms well on cold winter evenings.
- Children. Toddlers are unlikely to give up fruit, but at their age they are usually even more greedy for confectionery, so a significant emphasis should be placed on candy and chocolate. A gift does not always look appropriate in combination with a basket, but if it is, for example, a teddy bear of approximately the same size, then even professional designers will not refuse such a solution in aesthetics.
At the same time, a basket with berries is a popular girlish accessory from fairy tales, so today this is often given to girls, decorated with typical bows and beautiful braid.
- Newlyweds. This is where it is generally impossible to skimp when composing a composition, so this is if the gift is given to the newlyweds. Firstly, there are two addressees here at once, and therefore they need twice as much fruit. Secondly, such a present is largely symbolic: it is, as it were, a clear wish of prosperity and wealth for a young family. You can think of many different wedding attributes, at least some of them should be present in the design of the basket. Typical wedding decorations are lace, as well as images or figurines of hearts, doves, two connected rings. Figures of spouses are also a popular addition, which, when creatively performed, may turn out to be "disguised" bottles of alcohol.
When handing over such a gift, do not forget that the newlyweds actually start life from scratch, they do not have many useful things, so they would be sincerely delighted to find a small envelope with some sum of money in the basket.
- For a man. Representatives of the sterner sex do not stand out with particular enthusiasm for tinsel and other decorations, which they consider superfluous, therefore, it is usually the easiest for them to arrange a basket - the finished composition consists of a minimum of details. The man will be happy with the food, which is why the main emphasis in the set is placed on it. The male version of the basket would look rather strange, being composed exclusively of fruits, so sometimes a fruit and vegetable mix is served, but more often they end up with the addition of other products, such as expensive alcohol or rare imported coffee.
Aside from the elite goods just mentioned, precious gifts are usually not put in the fruit basket for men, that is, the fruits themselves are usually the main congratulations. When presented to the chief, perhaps a symbolic "business" present in the form of a diary or a branded pen can be added there.
See below for a master class on creating a fruit basket.