I'm trying to put together a gift basket for a family with a few kids...

The gist is for the thing to be full of treats of all different types, but not so much with olive tapenade or goose liver in a tube.
Harry & David fruit sounds good, but it's too limiting.

Do you guys have any reccs? It's seems there are more companies basketing gifts on web than I could have ever imagined.

(Dean & Deluca and Balducci's and......

I've had good luck with Elite Occasions. I've used them a few times to send baskets to people with a new baby. They put together a nice mix of healthy, junk, and gourmet for the parents to nibble on or offer to guests who came to visit in the hospital. I didn't order off the website but called and described what I was looking for and my price range. That way I could mix and match from the various themed baskets.



edited to clarify

Thanks, laniloa.

Do any of you know Zingerman's? Okay or nokay?

I have ordered gift baskets from Dean & Deluca several times and been pleased.

Thanks!
I usually would do my own research, but with little time and the upcoming holiday weekend affecting delivery, I'm in more of a crunch.
Sometimes filling the basket yourself is a nicer gesture (Trader Joe's and $50 gets you far), but I am desperate for some nonexistent compromise between gourmet and scarfy-yum yum.

I'm not sure if I understand correctly, but if you are open to doing the basket on your own, I would compromise the gourmet and scarfy yum-yum by choosing a theme, where the kids could participate in the makings, instead of a bunch of treats with nothing to tie them together. For instance, make-your-own pizza kits, with naan or pitas, a few different sauces, pepperoni, and a red & white checked tablecloth, etc. Sparkling fruit juice is nice for the kids, and a bottle of wine for the parents. Or the fixin's to make a fun breakfast with pancake mix, blueberries, cookie cutters to pour the batter in to make shapes, etc. Then some nice coffee for the parents, and gourmet (or not) chocolate for chocolate milk for the kids. You can get fun accessories to complement the food at places like TJ Maxx, Marshalls or even better, HomeGoods. You may even find an odd shaped waffle maker or something else that will inspire you. Or pop into a Bill-Sonoma to see what they've put together on a display for more ideas...

The theme of course all depends on the age of the kids, and the reason behind the gift. How about movie night? A couple of tapes or DVD's, or a gift card to Blockbuster, along with a few types of popcorn (gourmet or not) some other movie-type candy snacks (you can get different candies at the bulk candy sections of the grocery store) and one of those stovetop or microwave popcorn poppers. Again, a trip to Homegoods and what you find may just inspire you.

If I understand you correctly, you are open to ordering via the web and the family may not live near you.

Various family members have been happy with items from The Flying Noodle

Jill at Cheesetique puts together both cheesy and non-perishable buckets for something super delicious.

http://www.cheesetique.com/pdf/Gifts.pdf

Those of you who read eGullet probably know Mayhaw Man, also known as Brooks Hamaker. Brooks lives in Louisiana and although parts of his house are still standing his entire town was destroyed.

Brooks runs an on line gourmet food company called Gourmet Food Mall. This holiday season when you send out foodie gift baskets please consider buying from Brooks and supporting a Louisiana businessman and fellow eGer.

Besides the Harry & David's of the world, who else does gift baskets? I'm looking for a local place (as opposed to mail order) that I can get a basket with a good mix of fruit, cheese, sweets and other goodies.

I know you asked for local, but...

I just have to say that zingerman's in Ann Arbor does a great gift basket. not only high quality stuff, but the customer service behind it. i ordered a gift basked for friends who had had a baby. They didn't receive it on the day they should have because of a screw up by fedex (*not* zingermans). I called Zingermans because i felt some of the stuff in the basket wouldn't be as fresh. They simply said they would send out another one. No muss, no fuss. Expensive, but with service like that, and the quality of the ingredients, worth every penny.

(oh, BTW, I doubt they have fruit in their baskets)

www.zingermans.com

bump

My office tends to get a few holiday gifts of popcorn each year. Most of them are average, fine for a midafternoon snack, but nothing that makes me say "GOOOOD!" Today Dale and Thomas Popcorn sent us an assortment of their wares. Isiah Thomas is a co owner of this popcorn company and I work for a sports company so I think we were targeted for sampling.

I wanted to hate it because I'm no fan of Isiah Thomas-the-exec-and-coach (while respecting his legacy as a player), but I am really enjoying this popcorn. And it's serving its purpose because I'm very tempted to send a bunch of the sampler packs to some of my clients. We received flavors including white cheddar with black peppercorn (my personal favorite right now), sweet Georgia pecan, twice as nice chocolate drizzle, and butter toffee and walnut crunch.

One bit of funny business: their brochure of nutritional information is highly misleading. A coworker and I were trying to guess if our favorites were the most caloric. Well, it's hard to tell because although all flavors are broken down in terms of calories and fat, the serving size for each one varies. The range is a 2 1/2 cup serving size (large) all the way down to a 1/2 cup serving size (that's not a lot of popcorn).