A fruit basket is healthy, beautiful, yummy and always enjoyed. If you live near your gift recipient, you can find a lovely basket or other attractive container and fill it with fruit that is in season in your locale, obtained at a farmers market, and then fill it out with a few exotic fruits picked up at your local super market. If your loved one is not close enough for a do-it-yourself present, you can arrange for any of a variety of beautiful fruit gift baskets to be sent directly to the recipient's home. It will help them to reduce their food bill on their next trip to the grocery store.
A special meal is another way to remember a special occasion. One alternative is to take the friend to a special restaurant. If price is no object to you, be sure to suggest some of the more expensive entrees on the menu, so that they know that they should feel free to order whatever they prefer. For example, you could say something like, "The crab legs are perfect here, but, if you don't like seafood, try the tender and tasty filet mignon." If they live too far away for that, you can actually find delicious, gourmet, chef-prepared meals online that arrive frozen and can be prepared in almost no time. (I actually keep my freezer stocked with these.)
You might also consider a tasty dessert. No person should have too many desserts, but for a birthday, anniversary or holiday, everyone deserves a chance to be a little self-infulgement. Bake cookies, if that is a skill of yours, and hand deliver or have them delivered. For something a little more special consider giving them a delicious pie or cheesecake. Whether you make it yourself or have others do the work for you doesn't matter. It will be appreciated and definitely enjoyed either way.
You'll notice a common feature in these suggestions. They allinvolve food. Someone who is going through a tough period may not want to accept charity, but nobody can say no to a genuinely special gift. If it reduces the grocery bill by a bit, so much the better.
The author loves to write about (and eat) high quality food presents for any occasion. Among his very favorites is a gourmet fruit gift basket.