If you’re in the mood for food or drink, there really isn’t anything better than receiving a gift box or basket. It signals a bountiful treat, filled with lots of goodies (to share or hoard for yourself) to ensure you won’t go hungry over the holidays. But while the food basket makes for a great gift, for the gift giver, it’s a killer to assemble. It means figuring out the right mix of items, looking for a proper container (should it be a basket, wooden crate, cloth sack?), plus dealing with fillers, ribbons, gift tags, and the like. For those who don’t have the time or the inclination to do the work, there are more than enough purveyors that can do the selecting and packaging for you. Here are six good ones to check out: ​

Artisan Cellar Door wine and deli items

This gourmet wine and deli shop sells a treasure trove of fine wines and spirits from around the world, plus premium food items like jamon iberico, imported steaks, cheeses, foie gras. The shop can recommend wines at any style or budget, packaged as a set, or paired with Cinco Jotas jamon iberico or chilled Australian or Japanese steaks in a cooler. Even better, Artisan Cellar can recommend the right wine pairings to go with these deli items. Our most luxurious pick? These two Nicolas Potel Burgundy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir bottles with 2 jars of foie gras in one elegant box.

Prices available upon request, 2276 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City, (02) 8880-0619, www.artisan.com.ph

You may also like:

• Christmas chaos and the art of condensing time
• Holiday Gift Guide: 16 impressive wines to gift the wine lover
• Cebuana Santa: the heiress who made her students' Christmas wishes come true
• Hilton Manila lights up the holidays with a travel inspired Christmas The popular hotel welcome

Maison Cheese grazing boxes

Here’s a fancy upgrade from our much-loved round salty cheese with the red rind. Maison Cheese offers six different gift boxes especially tailored for the discerning cheese lover. Stylishly packaged in wooden crates, the gift sets offer a selection of gourmet cheeses paired with different “grazing” accompaniments—honey, jam, crackers, fruits, cold cuts, chocolate, even a bottle of wine—depending on the selected box.

From ₱1,000-₱5,000, available at maisoncheese.ph

Pacific Bay surf & turf sets

Pacific Bay may be known for its frozen seafood products, but the great thing about its holiday gift sets is that they include a lot of meat, too. It’s hard to choose among the many combinations available, priced from P1,000 to P2,000. Depending on price and box, you can have your pick of tuna belly, salmon, bacalao, scallops, squid rings, plus country ham, jamon serrano, chorizo bilbao, pork sisig, beef tapa, corned beef brisket, and Angus rib-eye. Even better, you can instruct Pacific Bay to deliver your box directly to the recipient.

From ₱1,000 to ₱2,000, available on pacificbay.com.ph

Tierra de España cold cuts + wine

Known for its housemade Spanish cold cuts and other delicacies, Tierra de España has put together a festival gift set perfect for a tapas party at home, wine included. Distinctive in their fiery red packaging, the gift sets contain a varying selection of chistorra, chorizo bilbao, salchichon iberico bellota, chorizo cular, queso manchego, and even a bottle of Lagarde Finca de los Andes Malbec from Argentina.

From ₱1,500-₱3,000, contact (0920) 446-3351, (0908) 908-5526, or email tierra_deli@yahoo.com

Arc Botanical Gin in a box

For gin & tonic or Negroni lovers, this gift set features locally distilled ARC Botanical Gin, crafted from a blend of 28 exotic botanicals, 22 of which are foraged around the Philippines, like fresh pomelo, dalandan, calamansi, dayap, oranges, mango, Benguet pine, sampaguita, ylang-ylang, and kamia flowers, to name a few. You can order this gift set from online retailer boozy.ph, which includes a 750-ml bottle of ARC Botanical Gin, a Boozy whisky glass, and Boozy scented candle.

₱3,499, available on boozy.ph

Champagne and sweets from Las Arca

For those who want to make a serious impression, this Holiday VVIP Box spells the ultimate luxury, featuring two agate coasters, an acrylic cube of decadent dark chocolate discs, Ladurée macarons, a bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne, and 2 champagne glasses. For an additional cost, you can have the items monogrammed or engraved.

₱7,500, available on openlasarca.com