I was wondering how many people buy from those catalogs or go to those specialty stores for those gift baskets of "Summer Sausage" and Cheese logs and spreads, stone ground mustard and jellies in teeny tiny jars?

Swiss Colony http://www.swisscolony.com/jump.jsp?itemType=GATEWAY&itemID=1898&path=1%2C2%2C1898

I love looking at the catalogs (it quells my obsession with cheese somewhat) but they are so expensive...  :\'(

I don't usually buy anything from those places, but my mother always did.  She would get cheese balls from Hickory Farms.

I know she used to get us chocolate from Swiss Colony. I remember chocolate mints in a red and white striped tin and a Chocolate "Santa Mouse" she would put in our stocking at Christmas.

Sometimes I have bought from them as gifts. But I have discovered that I like putting gift baskets together myself. I would always fill them with Vermont products (not just maple syrup but Vermont wines, Green Mountain Coffee, Cabot Cheese and other local products).


I do love going into a Hickory Farms store to try all their samples.  ;D ;D




Cat

If you go to the Dayton Mall after Christmas, Hickory Farms has all their stuff half price. That's if you can get there early enough, people are usually lined up for it. 

Hi.

I had a horrible experience with Swiss Colony once. I'd never tried anything like ordering a holiday dinner and because I'm completely paranoid, I'll never do it again.  :)

My sister and I lived in Minneapolis, MN and decided that we weren't going to cook for Thanksgiving. It was just the two of us, and we wanted something different. I did want to surprise my family with something different too, so I called Swiss Colony and ordered what amounted to two Thanksgiving dinners for different addresses. Considering my family is in Miami, FL I didn't think that was difficult.

I did keep calling, (paranoid, remember) to verify information and there were several signs that I should have cancelled the order, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. They couldn't find the MN order, so I had to redo it. They had the address wrong for the FL order and then they lost it all together.

Finally I called and everything was good. TWO orders, two different states, all set for delivery for Thanksgiving, or the day before actually. 

I get up in the morning and answer the door bell. It's a delivery from Swiss Colony. A tin of chocolate. A little tin of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. That's it. No ham, no desert pies, NOTHING! Just chocolate covered nuts!

I'm frantic. I call my family and my mom is BEAMING! "Oh thank you sweetie! What a beautiful ham and the pies look wonderful!!" Ok, that went well, but what the hairy heck happened to my order??!

I called the demon place and find that my order was placed and ready for delivery...for CHRISTMAS! I was SO furious I think i burned my eyebrows off. The soonest they could get it out to me would be the following Monday, and I'd have to pay extra for express delivery.  :o  >:(

As polite as I could I cancelled the order and wrote a letter to corporate office explaning the ineptness of their staff.

I got a coupon for a future order. Needless to say, I never used it.

My sister and I got invited to a friends for Thanksgiving, so it ended well.

Never order from these places, and IF you do, call and verify EVERY DAY!!!!

Oreo

There's a neat little place in Lancaster, Pa. in a village of shops called, "Kitchen Kettle Village"....and they have all of those great little jars of jellies/jams....and other neat items of that liking. We usually go there once a year and they have testers where you can sample the items before buying them.  They also have a mail order form so that you can buy the items and have them shipped anywhere....it's a cool place.

I have had some of their stuff. They are expensive.