Monforte Dairy in Stratford, Ontario will deliver a nice assortment for the holidays. I received the box as part of a FB group secret Santa exchange in 2020. It’s possible to order online, but delivery is mostly available to the Greater Toronto Area and southwestern Ontario. https://monforteonline.ca/collections/bulk-boxes
I sent Eggnog, Tourtière and cookies from a favourite butcher shop as my Secret Santa gift.
In the past, I’ve sent Jeni’s ice cream subscriptions and Murray’s gift boxes, all very well-received. This year, I sent my brother a giant gift box from Stonewall Kitchen ahead of our visit. The jar of artichoke pesto broke in transit. My brother took a photo, I passed it along to SK and they replaced the entire box, no questions asked. We’re looking forward to sharing the bounty!
It’s hard finding gift boxes with minimal packaging. We’ve stopped sending gift boxes and this one to my brother will likely be the last unless we find something with less packaging.
i would die for a jeni’s gift!!!
I’ve done gifts (holiday and non) from Cheryl’s Cookies. In fact, DS is working his way through this year’s advent calendar. His only complaint is that it’s only 12 cookies, not an entire month!
I agree that Omaha Steaks are no better than what one can buy at the grocery store - my office used to receive them as corporate gifts and while they were more enjoyable than the towers of crappy carbs, I’d never spend my own money on them.
If I wanted to gift meat, I’d choose Snake River Farms - their steaks are incredible. I received a gift certificate from Regalis Foods one year and everything I ordered was excellent - they don’t do much in terms of fancy holiday packaging but their products are fabulous. I also love Dakin Farms in Vermont - a friend lives right down the street from their main retail location and turned me on to their summer sausages, etc.
I’ve sent some salami from Mouth Foods.
Thanks for the link - looks like they carry some really interesting stuff!
Thank you for the very thoughtful suggestion-gift. I must investigate!
I sent a gift box from Stonewall Kitchen tonight. Shipping (ground shipping) which takes 7-10 days, is included if you spend $99, and a few baskets are on sale for just over $99. $19 charge for ground shipping delivery for purchases under $99. Expedited 2 day delivery is around $42.
I was going to try to order some dried fruit and nuts from Apricot King or Bella Viva in California, but they won’t ship to Canada.
Stonewall Kitchen has some really good products. They’re in Maine, and have been placing displays in our local grocery stores here on Cape Cod, Massachusetts so I don’t have to order much from them online but I do send packages to my mother in Ohio when they email me offers for free shipping for spending $25.
I love Stonewall Kitchen products. They are pricy but inevitably delicious. Unfortunately they’re very available round here! 
I ordered from Apricot King two years ago. The apricot slip pits, apricot jam and pears were delicious, but to be perfectly honest with you the pistachios weren’t anything special. We’re not crazy about almonds so maybe I should have gone with the walnuts. But I had the feeling I should’ve just stuck with the fruit.
I like their teriyaki sauce and jams. I buy them here in Canada from my indie grocer. This is my first time to send them at Xmas.
Good to know, thanks!
I will stop by their orchard next time I visit family nearby. I mostly wanted to buy dried fruit. I’ve since found out that an outfit in Vernon BC called Rancho Vignola ships dried Californian apricots and prunes across Canada.
Some Persian stores in Toronto sell Californian prunes.
Most dried apricots in Canada are from Turkey.
Most dried prunes at regular Canadian grocery store seem to be from Chile. The Persian and Middle Eastern stores sell many types of prunes.
Stonewall has gotten soooo big! Their paper catalog is extensive.
I use Goldbelly, but to be honest, I’ve ordered stuff from some of their sources since before Goldbelly took over their ordering and shipping. I ordered from Omaha steaks at the start of the pandemic just to get some stuff into my freezer when nothing else was available around here, and I have to say, I’m unimpressed by the quality. It was a beggar’s can’t be choosers moment.
Were these steaks, or other stuff like my order?
Both.
ETA we have an Omaha steaks retail store in the vicinity, I see from my map. Perhaps one day I’ll go in and be able to check out different items. To be fair, a lot of their “premium” offerings were unsurprisingly out of stock when I ordered them.
My experience was slightly better than horrid (but did not order steaks). Their stuff was really expensive, and no better (or even worse) than what I can get in the frozen section of my local supermarket at a fraction of the price.
That’s why I’d only use them in an emergency, and not as a source for gifting. There are other meat vendors, or just food vendors, who are better Omaha Steaks has a big advertising presence (even before TV or the Internet they were constantly in newspapers and magazines) - they’ve been hawking their wares forever… before Foodies and cable shows.
