Gift baskets offer a customized collection of specialty items

By Allison Thompson, Gannett Wisconsin Media

Many businesses will seek to pamper clients this holiday season by creating gift baskets that cater to their tests.

Manitowoc Coffee, 836 S. Eighth St., Manitowoc, focuses their gift baskets on bulk bean and specialty teas.

"It's so personable," said Barb Broehm, retail director for TBL Business Development/Manitowoc Coffee. "This time of year our coffee store is a great, warm, relaxed atmosphere with soft lighting. We try to duplicate that type of feeling in our Manitowoc Coffee basket. Who doesn't want to receive something that just spells comfort?"

Partnering coffee beans with a mug, homemade cookies and gourmet chocolates, or placing sausage, cheese and auto gadgetry into a plastic "car wash" bucket, are some creative ideas area experts have used.

"We can do a basket for as much as you want to spend," said Sheena Ascher, shift supervisor at Beerntsen's Confectionary, 108 N. Eighth St., Manitowoc. "It is $5 for a basket and whatever you want to spend to fill it.

To make it look nice and full, at least $20. If you bring in a small basket, we can fill that, too."

The famed chocolatier sells pre-calculated bags of its homemade turtles, butter almond toffee, candy canes and more, making it easy to add any variety of specialty items to a gourmet basket.

Ascher suggests a chocolate and wine basket, or chocolate with beer. Other fun suggestions include a chocolate, cheese and wine basket.

Making the basket look good is half the battle.

"Presentation is probably the most important part," Ascher said. "If it doesn't look nice, it isn't received well."

Many area specialty shops offer prepared baskets that make easy, yet tasteful, grab-and-go gifts.

"We have baskets they can purchase or order that range from $10 to $100," said Broehm.

Natural Ovens Bakery, 4300 County CR, Manitowoc, offers a "Manitowoc Favorites" gift box. "It was our best-selling gift box for the 2008 holiday season," said Jean Zirbel, home sales coordinator.

The 2009 gift box includes 18 different items. "With more time to plan this year, we were able to include a wider variety of treats," Zirbel said. Ten Wisconsin companies are contributing their goodies for this special gift box, including the Manitowoc area's Cher-Make Sausage, Beerntsen's Confectionary, and Pine River Pre-Pack, who also participated in last year's offering.

"The Manitowoc Favorites gift box is a showcase for Wisconsin pride", said Chelle Blaszczyk, marketing director for Natural Ovens Bakery. "It's the perfect gift for anyone — whether they're familiar with the area and miss being able to find these things in their area, or for someone who has never experienced the famous 'taste of Wisconsin.'"

Among the items featured in the gift box include Natural Ovens Bakery's bagels, cookies and bread; coffee, tea, fudge and peppermint stock cocoa from Door County; cheese spread from Pine River Pre-Pack; original summer sausage from Cher-Make; and assorted chocolates from Beerntsen's.

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