Q1: There comes a time in every gift shopping list when you hit the wall. It’s either because you  realize you have run out of time or because you really cannot think of anything to get that person.

Call up one of the gift basket companies. Gift baskets have come a long way since someone wrapped up some fruit and nuts in a wicker basket and covered it with plastic wrap.

Q2: How will I know if it’s right for the person on my list my list, what are the kinds of things you find in gift baskets?

These companies listed have learned how to take the likes, interests or taste buds of your gift recipients and turn them into a gift basket. Sure, they still fill them with chocolate, cookies and toiletries, but you might also find ones with: soup, pedicure supplies, martinis, anti-oxidant food, movies, gardening tools or sugar-free delights, all beautifully and precariously piled into a basket, a fry pan, a car, a vase or an Adirondack chair, for example.
Go to their web sites and see what they have, go in person and pick out things.

Q3: It’s good to keep the shopping local, so can you tell us some of the places we can order baskets?

La Premiere Compagnie de Paniers is a basket company which lives in a huge gift store. The shop is chock full of gourmet food items, kitchenware and gifts. Baskets are easily assembled from the jams, hot sauces, condiments, Rogers chocolates, scented items, toys, gifts, housewares and much, much more. Look for the little tasting bowls and crackers to try out new products, the candy corner or feast on their own 5 year old cheddar, sausages made by the Mennonites, and their homemade fudge.

Location: 300 Bord du Lac at St. Joachim St., Pointe Claire.
Phone: 514-695-7038.
Hours: Mon- Wed 9-6, Thurs & Fri 9-8, Sat 9-5, Sun 10-6
www.thepanier.com

Cornucopia, the oldest gift basket company in town (since 1977) is located in a warehouse. Most ordering is done from their online catelogue but you can come here and select your items too. This company offers baskets ($29.95 to $300) in a kid’s riding toy, a wicker chest or lunch bag. Send a cinema lovers, an anti-oxidant, wine and cheese, a martini one, an organic or gluten-free choice, a low-fat one in a salad bowl, a personal care kit, some fresh fruit, the chocoholic or one just for the kids.

Location: 85 de Castelnau St. West at St. Urbain St.
Phone: 514-276-4712 or 800-977-4712.
Hours: Mon-Friday 9-5 and by appointment.
www.cornucopia.ca
Procrastinators: lst date to be sent in Montreal area: Tues Dec 22, up til the 24th you can pick up things in person at the warehouse.

Q 4: Are there any other kinds of baskets we can send?

Why not send a healthy delicious cheese basket from La Fromagerie Hamel at the Jean Talon market? This cheese shop with 600 cheeses on view, open since 1961, is always bustling. Baskets ($40 & up) should be ordered at least 2 days ahead, and can have other items added, such as wine, bread dippers, herb teas, dried fruit, chocolates, oil and vinegar, jam or terrines.

220 Jean-Talon est at Casgrain
Phone: 514-272-1161
Other locations: 2117 Mont-Royal e. (514-521-3333); 9196 Sherbrooke e. (514-355-6657); Repentigny, 622 Notre-Dame (450-654-3578);138 Atwater (514-932-5532).
www.fromageriehamel.com
Procrastinators: Montreal area: 2 days ahead. Out of town: a week ahead

There comes a time in every gift shopping list when you hit the wall. It’s either because you realize you have run out of time or because you really cannot think of anything to get that person. But don’t despair, I have an easy way out of your dilemma.

This is the moment you let your fingers do the walking to your phone. Look at the list below, and call up one of the gift basket companies. Gift baskets have come a long way since someone wrapped up some fruit and nuts in a wicker basket and covered it with plastic wrap.

One of the huge success stories in this industry is La Premiere Compagnie de Paniers, where seventeen years ago Hope Milner started out making gift baskets in her basement. When the business outgrew her home, she rented some space on Bord du Lac on the edge of Pointe Claire Village. Customers started asking her if they could buy her goodies without the baskets, and she suddenly found herself turning into a gift store business.

This precipitated a move into the center of town. A few years later she had to double her space while venturing into other retail areas such as toys, jewelry, home decor and Premier Moissan baked goods, turning it into an old fashioned country style store Then came the coup de grace – her store was given the “Best Gift Store in Canada” award. You might think that was the happy ending, but there is a coda.

Last Spring, Hope was approached to sell her business, and she accepted. She is still on the scene though, as she is consulting for the new owners in order to continue the story of the “little basket company that could” as they grow into an online store and franchise the concept.

In all these years, she and the other companies listed below have learned how to take the likes, interests or taste buds of your gift recipients and turn them into a gift basket. Sure, they still fill them with chocolate, cookies and toiletries, but you might also find ones with: soup, pedicure supplies, martinis, anti-oxidant food, movies, gardening tools or sugar-free delights, all beautifully and precariously piled into a basket, a fry pan, a car, a vase or an Adirondack chair for example.

La Premiere Compagnie de Paniers, 300 Bord du Lac at St. Joachim St., Pointe Claire. Phone: 514-695-7038. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This basket company lives in a huge gift store which is chock full of gourmet food items, kitchenware and gifts. Baskets are easily assembled from the jams, hot sauces, condiments, Rogers chocolates, scented items, housewares, toys and much, much more. Popular baskets over the years are the Bord du Lac, Mont Tremblant, Decadence and The Classic. www.thepanier.com

Cornucopia, 85 de Castelnau St. West at St. Urbain St. Phone: 514-276-4712 or 800-977-4712. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment. Open since 1977, this is the oldest gift basket company in town. The company offers their basketed gifts ($29.95 to $230) in a kid’s riding toy, leather magazine rack, salad bowl, a champagne bucket or a wicker rocker. Send an anti-stress basket, a cinema lovers, a sugar-free or fat-free, anti-oxidant or organic, a martini one, a healthy fresh fruit one, a personal care kit, the chocoholic or one just for the kids. You can choose from their colorful brochure or online at www.cornucopia.ca

Basket Greetings, Phone: 514-323-7213. Always popular at this Italian-inspired company are the very healthy fruit baskets or the decadent gourmet ones: coffee, tea, cheeses, smoked salmon, cookies and chocolates. Themed ones for a gardener, for a pedicure, or baskets just for men can be prepared too. Baskets are ready for all occasions, including new babies, hospital visits and birthdays starting at $35 plus tax and delivery. Corporate accounts are welcome. www.basketgreetings.com

Gift-A-Gram, 4336 St. Martin Blvd. West at Francoeur St., Laval. Phone: 450-335-2030. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gift baskets can be based on themes like The World’s Best Soup, Current Events, Coffee Break, Home Improvement, or Sports Jock. On their website you can click by price and they sort them in order for you, starting at $19.95. Since 1980, this company has also been crooning telegrams, with singers in costumes as cupids, gorillas, Batmen, town criers or Barneys, with prices starting at $40. You can combine the telegram, character messenger and baskets as a gift-a-gram or balloon-a-gram. www.giftagram.com