What better way to show your sweetheart you care on Valentine’s Day than through food, aromatic body products or jewelry?
While some might gift one or another to their significant other, putting them all together in a gift basket can make a gift greater than the sum of the parts. This is also the perfect way to price gifts within a budget, cater to any age and feel good about a purchase by staying local.
Local businesses to get foods (the feel good part) include the Honest Weight Food Cooperative (HWFC) on Central Avenue in Albany and online farmers market Farmiemarket.com. Jennifer Grainer of the HWFC said that this year they’ve got some great chocolate dipping demonstrations coming up – organic strawberries will likely be the recipients of the chocolate.
Specialty foods including artisan cheeses (blue, goat and sheep milk to name a few) along with crackers and produce such as pears or apples make for a nice combination. HWFC offers a tasting of cheeses, and prices range from only a few dollars for wedges of cheese. Grainer said many candy bars will be on sale during the month of February, which happens to be Healthy Heart Month, too.
Sarah Gordon-Avery operates three CSA groups, or Community Supported Agriculture, and she said they’re great resources for finding local food items and other products. Heldeberg Market serves Albany and Saratoga Counties, Turning Point Market serves Saratoga and southern Washington Counties, and Uncle Sam’s Farmer Stand serves Rensselaer County.
One can think of a CSA as an online marketplace residing at farmiemarket.com. The different categories of products can be browsed as one would aisles in a grocery store.
“We also have really nice cooking ingredients (olive oils, spices, garlic samplers, etc), gift certificates, alpaca wears and all kinds of great local foods to make a great gift,” Gordon-Avery said. Deliveries for the CSAs are weekly and can be brought to your door or a convenient area in your community.
To delight the senses, HWFC carries a variety of body products, many organic, so you’re bound to find one that will be pleasing to your sweetheart.
“We have a number of body products on the website from Raven Crest Botanicals and from Lady Liberty Farm. They have all kinds of moisturizers, bath products, body sprays, herbal remedies and more,” Gordon-Avery said.
Any gift will likely be a success if it includes an item from a jeweler like Joyelles Exquisite Jewelry & Gifts on at 318 Delaware Avenue in Delmar.
Joyelles is a full service jeweler with the ability to redesign or design jewelry from a customer’s idea. If you’re not up for designing, you can opt for heart-themed necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings or pick from the many types of jewelry available.
A wrapped gift box in the front of a gift basket with a nice piece of jewelry inside is sure to warm any heart. Prices at Joyelles range from $20 for one piece to sets (necklace and earrings) for $40.
Items can be placed in a gift basket for a professional presentation, and they’re available for as little as $3 at craft stores. The largest items should go to the back of the basket and a bit of bunched up paper or decorative wrap can serve to secure and nestle the items on the bottom so that gifts remain intact during transport.
Think of adding favorite magazines, newspapers, or puzzle books (great for kids) toward the back with those larger items, too. Work towards the front of the basket with the smallest items in the front.
The cost of creating an attractive and varied gift can be as low as $15 with a few items, or much more expensive, and serve as much more than the common Valentine’s Day present.
