a biscuit, a basket...
If you subscribe to a newspaper like I do, chances are you've received a flood of flyers for pricy gift baskets over the past few weeks. Usually inserted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, these catalogues offer "distinctive" arrays of nuts, chocolates, cookies, pasta sauces, smoked salmom, baby toys and other products, often from brands that only exist in the realm of gift baskets. Company names may be plain and simple (The Basket Company), personal (Peter & Paul's), brick and mortar stores (Pusateri's), punny (Nutcracker Sweet) or flat-out weird (Gift-O-Crat). Some of the crazier basket names discovered in this year's catalogues: Equity Shares (The Basket Company): I'm guessing a former bean-counter runs this outfit. Dividends from your $65 investment include nuts, chocolate truffles, camembert and a planter. Patient Pleasures (The Basket Company): Nothing says get well to a friend in the hospital than $55 worth of sugary snacks, playing cards and Rea...