Celebrate with Friends Gift Basket by ig4U

Would have been very disappointed if I had paid the "full"price for the item. I purchased it as a lightening deal. My basked had no cookies, mustard or pretzels in it. The chocolates were cheap candy bars in a box, and they were a melted mess.The basket was nothing like the one pictured. It looked like something purchased from the dollar store. Very flimsy with no handles.

A gift basket should be a fun indulgence; something one usually would not purchase for oneself but would be happy to receive or give to another. This basket might fill the bill for one whose tastes run towards the familiar and comforting rather than the exotic or gourmet and who doesn't object to artificial ingredients. This is the kind of basket one might give a boss, a client, or someone who might be appreciated but is not a close friend.The product selection is not likely to offend an omnivore, is ordinary enough to not send any unintended messages, and is nicely packaged. Of course, Amazon Prime sweetens the deal with the added convenience of free 2 day or $3.99 next day shipping. It is truly a nearly effortless last minute gift. It gets 3 stars because the product selection is just a bit too ordinary for my tastes and the quality of the items is not on a par with the price (no real gourmet items). For a description of what was in my basket, read on. As you'll see, the products are mainly from the USA. I was suprised there was only one product from Europe and nothing at all from Spain or Italy.Basket Contents1 3.5 oz. box of Water Wheel Fine Wafer Crackers (Tuscan). Made in Australia.1 3.5 oz. box of Water Wheel Fine Wafer Crackers (Provencale). Made in Australia.1 2.4 oz. pouch of Les Olives du Marche, pitted green olives with herbs and garlic. Made in Morocco.3 small Lotus Biscoff with Belgian Chocolate. (Chocolate covered biscuits/cookies). Made in Belgium.1 1 oz. Long Grove Chocolate Dark Chocolate Graham Cracker. Made in Illinois.1 .75 oz. Long Grove Chocolate Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel. Made in Illinois.1 1.15 oz. Boyer Triple Twise Peanut Butter & Miolk Chocolate Covered Pretzel. Made in Pennsylvania.1 1.5 oz. package of two Boyer Dark Chocolate Mallo Cups. Made in Pennsylvania.1 1.6 oz. package of two Boyer Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups.Made in Pennsylvania.1 9 oz. Jar of New York Carnegie Deli Dusselforf Mustard. Made in New Jersey.1 3.5 oz tub of Italian Herb Gourmet Cheese Spread with Italian Herbs. Made in Wisconsin.1 5 oz. O'brien's Beef Summer Sausage. Made in Tennessee.2 .5 oz. boxes of Venus Stoned Wheat Wafers. Made in Pennsylvania.1 1.65 oz. bag of 2 Wege of Hanover Sourdough Hard Hards Pretzels. Made in Pennsylvania.1 2.13 oz. bag of Stauffer's Original Recipe Ginger Snaps. Made in Pennsylvania.1 1.25 oz bag of MmmmPop! All Natural White Cheddar Popcorn. Made in New Jersey.

As I said in a recent review for the larger Celebrate with a Crowd offering from ig4U, you start with a deep and attractive basket, then fill it (above a buffer) with a variety of tasty and unusual treats ranging from hard pretzels, to delicate truffles, imported sandwich cookies, unusual grain mustard, and number of other welcome surprises, and you have this well-stocked gift basket. "Celebrate with a Friends" is a good size for a small(ish) family or modest group of friends.The contents are attractively arranged, in many cases they've got their own printed boxes as a presentation/organizational layer with the original wrapping underneath (which is to say that you may open a box that indicates pretzels to find a bag of pretzels within). The basket is no Longaberger, but the one I received was of a relatively high quality construction level and was genuinely handsome. The whole package is wrapped in plastic and then a rich brown ribbon with a card -- all in all you're left with a gift that is likely to give the impression that you spent more than you may have.I was pleased with the basket, delighted to discover some new treats with which I was previously unfamiliar, and in general found myself very happy with what I received. It's worth noting that some of the exceptionally poor reviews below are entirely accurate and not at odds with my own experience -- indeed, even the harshest echo my own feelings about the product as it was represented in prototype in late October. Without speaking for the company, my understanding is that many of us received prototype packages that saw the aforementioned original packaging represented by things like empty individual serving cereal boxes wrapped in inkjet printer paper. The end result was, as one reviewer put it, sort of creepy. The company replaced these prototypes with their final version, and I have gone from seeing this as a 1-star product worth (as others have) warning prospective buyers away, to feeling like they really represent a fine value. I would have no problem whatsoever buying one of these as a gift for a group of friends. So my review is based on the 'final' version of the product as it was received in late Nov/early Dec 2011, and not upon the late Oct prototype received. I only make this distinction for the sake of browsers being able to consider the totality of the currently available reviews, putting the product change timeline into perspective.

This is the perfect basket for a friend or co-worker. I ordered it for a co-worker's birthday and was able to be there when she opened it. All the items were really well packaged and beautifully presented. I got to try a few items and everything was delicious (can you say chocolate peanut butter pretzel? yes please.) Would absolutely order this basket again. One more thing- usually you get a basket that you can't really use- this basket was great to have in the house for storage, or presentation...I loved the leather handles...Great great great overall. Thank you!!

This was a wonderful gift for my wife. She is pregnant with our first child and I wanted to get something to make her feel special. She enjoyed the treats, especially the chocolates! I would definitely recommend this gift to a friend.

I was overall disappointed with this basket. While the salami and cheese spread were good, much of the rest of the basket seemed to be fillers. The box of chocolates actually contained wrapped candy (a mallo cup, a peanut butter cup and some of what was once called penny candy). There were crackers and pretzels (a small bag contained two hard pretzels). I realize with a purchase like this you are really paying a premium for the packaging and delivery but I thought this one was a little light on actual food.