As someone who loves treating myself and others to special gifts, I‘ve ordered my fair share of gift baskets over the years. Naturally, the legendary Harry & David and their over-the-top selections have made many appearances.
In this comprehensive first-hand review, I‘ll give you my take on Harry & David‘s gift offerings after testing many of their baskets myself over the past decade. You‘ll get the full scoop on their products, prices, shipping and more – along with tips on how to get the best value. Time for a deep dive…
A Little Backstory
Before weighing in, let me give you some backstory on the 100+ year old company behind those delicious Royal Riviera pears…
It all traces back to 1910, when a businessman named Samuel Rosenberg acquired a small pear orchard and packing facility in Medford, Oregon by swapping his hotel. His grandsons Harry and David Rosenberg later took over the burgeoning pear mail-order business.
Armed with agricultural degrees from Cornell, the brothers made a smart pivot into gift baskets allowing people to send their tasty Pacific Northwest pears to friends and families nationwide.
The gifting idea took off in the 1930s after trips promoting their Comice pears to East Coast markets. And now, Harry & David ranks as America‘s #1 premium food gifting company – having shipped over 30 million gift boxes to date!
Beyond its roots in pears, Harry & David has expanded into all kinds of upscale edible gifting, as you‘ll see…
Unboxing Harry & David: A World of Gourmet Gifts
When you visit Harry & David‘s site or catalog, prepare to be overwhelmed with over 300 gift ideas spanning fruit, sweet treats, wine, gourmet foods and more.
Let‘s explore some of my top finds, shall we?
Fruit That‘s Fit for Royalty
You can‘t talk Harry & David without highlighting their trademark Royal Riviera Pears. Plump, sweet and juicy – these premium pears are picked at their peak from the finest orchards in Oregon and Washington.
I tested out several of their Royal Riviera offerings, including:
The Favorite® Royal Riviera® Pears – Their signature gift comes with 9 pears nestled inside a classy gift box. At $44.99 I found them very much worth the splurge over regular pears.
Holiday Deluxe Fruit Basket – Alongside those Riviera pears, this Christmas fruit basket overflowed with apples, chocolate-dipped cherries, citrus, nuts, peppermint bark and more festive treats. Definitely scored points as a holiday gift!
Beyond pears, I discovered their selection of premium gifted fruits spans tangerines, apples, oranges, cherries, plums, strawberries and exotic varieties like Kiwiberries®. If you want to impress fruit lovers, Harry & David has you covered.
Sweet Treats Galore
While fruits may be their forté, Harry & David‘s chocolate truffles, candies, cookies and cakes are equally divine. I‘ve tasted everything from chocolate-covered marshmallows to nutty baklava to fruited shortbread cookies.
Some sugary standouts:
Moose Munch® – Harry & David‘s signature popcorn doused in chocolate, caramel and nuts is addictively delicious. I polished off more than one tin!
Choose Your Own Sweets Tower – With this gift, you select 6 sweet treats to stack inside a tower, from chocolate truffles flavored with Grand Marnier to chocolate-dipped graham crackers. A fun personalized gift idea for $59.99.
Sweet Medley Gift Basket – Chocoholics will adore this basket with chocolate truffles, berry galettes, biscotti, cake and their signature Moose Munch popcorn.
They really do offer too many tantalizing sweets to list – but the quality is top-notch across the board!
Ho-Ho-Holiday Gift Baskets
When holiday gift basket season rolls around, Harry & David becomes a one-stop shop for Christmas presents and holiday entertaining. I‘ve gifted and received many Harry & David Christmas offerings over the past 7 holiday seasons.
Here are some merry highlights:
1-2-3® Christmas Cheer Gift Tower – A true showstopper, this 5-foot tower dazzles with pears, truffles, Christmas cake, cookies like snowmen sugar biscuits and more holiday munchies artfully arranged. At $199.99, it really wows as a holiday centerpiece!
Merry Mischief Gift Basket – Inside a festive box, you‘ll find laughing reindeer cake, spicy gourmet nuts, chocolate-covered cherries, shortbread and other naughty-nice treats. Priced at $79.99, it makes a nice gift sans the towering price tag.
I‘m also a big fan of their Winter Morning Breakfast Gift Basket for a Christmas morning treat featuring pancake mix, maple syrup, teas and Harry & David‘s signature berry jam.
Wine & Cheese Pairings – For a sophisticated gift, Harry & David cleverly pairs fine wines with gourmet cheeses, charcuterie, nuts and other accoutrements. I loved gifting their California Cabernet and Aged Gouda basket one holiday to rave reviews.
Beyond Gift Baskets: Foodie Finds
What started as a fruit gift basket company has expanded into all corners of upscale edible gifting. I took the liberty of tasting Harry & David‘s non-basket foods which did not disappoint:
- Smoked Salmon – Perfectly sliced smoked salmon from the Pacific Northwest. I loved it on bagels and cheese boards.
- Steaks & Burgers – The filet mignon and Kobe beef burgers grilled up incredibly juicy and flavorful.
- Fresh Quiche – With buttery crusts and flavors like Lorraine and Florentine, their quiches make an easy brunch.
- Pancake Kits – I have gifted the blueberry pancake kit several times – it comes with the dry mix, blueberry compote syrup and even a spatula!
Among their vast assortment, you‘ll find everything from charcuterie crates with imported meats and cheeses to premium seafood towers stacked with lobsters and jumbo shrimp.
Unwrapping the Gifting Experience
Beyond the goodies inside Harry & David‘s signature white boxes and wicker baskets, the overall gifting experience deserves its own quality assessment. Here are some high marks:
Unique Packaging & Presentation
What separates Harry & David is the beautiful way they package and artfully arrange their edible gifts. From decorative towers to basket fills like faux grasses to custom ribbons, no detail is overlooked.
I was thoroughly impressed when I sent their Bountiful Gift Basket to my sister for her birthday. Inside a lovely woven basket, she discovered pears, truffles, biscotti, tea cakes, nuts and more neaty nestled in crinkly shred. It photographed beautifully when she shared it on social media – which I call the "grammable gifting" effect!
Ordering & Shipping
I‘ve sent Harry & David goodies coast to coast and abroad over the past decade, so I‘m quite familiar with their online ordering process and shipping operations.
Ordering online at HarryandDavid.com is smooth and intuitive. You can filter gifts by price point, occasion, recipient and delivery date to easily find options for your needs. Around the holidays, I definitely appreciate that you can see available delivery dates for Christmas gifting before you purchase.
In terms of shipping and delivery, I‘ve found Harry & David to be remarkably reliable over the years. Their stated shipping times are spot on – with most baskets and non-perishable items arriving within 5-7 business days in my experience.
Around Christmas crunch time, your delivery date may get pushed back so factor in a couple extra days. But out of the dozens of gifts I‘ve ordered, very few took over 2 weeks door-to-door. Even when I‘ve sent perishable food gifts like steaks, they‘ve arrived chilled and fresh.
For international gifting from Canada to Australia, Harry & David can ship many non-perishable baskets globally. And their complimentary gift messaging makes spreading smiles easy!
Quality Control
After years of tasting their foods firsthand (from fruit to seafood platters) and sending many gift offerings myself, I‘m confident in Harry & David‘s quality and freshness controls.
Perishables like steaks, cheeses, quiches and smoked salmon always arrive properly chilled with plenty of time to enjoy them before expiration dates. Their baked goods like cakes and cookies stay remarkably fresh too.
And Harry & David‘s legendary pears are always good to the last juicy bite! The brands‘ exacting standards mean each pear is hand selected at its peak and perfectly ripened.
While quality variance can happen occasionally, Harry & David is quick to make it right with refunds or replacements. Top notch customer service makes gifting stress-free.
Are Harry & David Gift Baskets Worth The Money?
Considering all the delectable treats I‘ve tasted first-hand, gorgeous packaging I‘ve unboxed, and memories made sharing Harry & David‘s creations with loved ones – I can wholeheartedly say their gifts are well worth the reasonable splurge.
Yes, you may pay a bit more than the drugstore chocolate box – but isn‘t true luxury and originality valuable when you want to gift good taste?
What I appreciate is Harry & David transparently sources premium ingredients from Pacific Northwest farms, orchards and vendors to craft uniquely scrumptious foods. They place emphasis on artisanal techniques from handcrafting truffles to caramel kettle corn popping to fruit selection & ripening processes.
And the care put into arranging charming gift baskets with beautiful accents and textures shows someone‘s hand was involved, not just factory assembly.
Value Comparison
To put their pricing into perspective, let‘s compare similar offerings across popular gift companies:
- The Favorite Pears Gift Box (Harry & David) – 12 Royal Riviera Pears for $59.99
- California Classic Pear Collection (Goldbelly) – 8 Bartlett Pears for $79
- Sweet fruit and treats gift crate (Man Crates) – Apples, pears, panettone, truffles for $99.99
Based on this comparison, Harry & David comes out on top value-wise against the competitors while delivering premium quality. And they manage to ship pears across the country at peak freshness – now that‘s impressive!
Wine & Cheese Pairing Baskets
- California Wine Tasting Gift Basket (Harry & David) – 4 bottles of wine, cheeses, meats, nuts for $139.99
- The Best of Eataly Wine & Cheese Basket (Goldbelly) – 3 bottles of wine, cheese and chocolate for $169
- Wine With Friends Deluxe Box (Laithwaites) 3 bottles of wine, olive oil, nuts, chutney for $150
Again, Harry & David holds its own delivering an impressive wine and epicurean bounty. From my experience gifting their wine baskets on several occasions, the bottles are hand selected from vineyards worldwide and nicely complemented by gourmet flavors.
At the end of the day, the thoughtful presentation and tasty ingredients make even their pricier towers and holiday offerings pay off in delightful surprises.
Discount Tips
If you‘re looking to save some money on their signature Royal Riviera pears or holiday cookie platters, use these tips:
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Wait for sales and promotions around peak gifting holidays like Christmas and Mother‘s Day when savings can be significant.
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Check retail sites like Bed Bath & Beyond and Amazon for discounted prices on certain items like Moose Munch tins.
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Take advantage of site promo codes which often take 15-20% off purchases over a certain dollar threshold.
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Buy in bulk if you have lots of gifting to do. The more you spend, the more bundles and deeper discounts you unlock.
Joining their Harry‘s Club Rewards program earns you points towards free gifts plus early access to promotions and sales.
Final Verdict: Delightful Gifts Worth Sharing
That sums up my seasoned take as a longtime repeat Harry & David‘s shopper and gift recipient. After indulging in many of their creations firsthand over the past decade, I can vouch for the brand‘s excellence crafting delicious, memorable edible surprises.
Sure, you may splurge a little more – but with Harry & David‘s gifting magic at work through whimsical towers, artful confections and palate-pleasing tastes, the reactions whenever I unveil their signature packages and baskets is priceless.
So whether you want to send a decadent ‘just because‘ or find memorable Christmas gifts they‘ll cherish for years, Harry & David gets my hearty recommendation for mouthwatering and merry gifting. Cheers!
