October is a busy month for celebrations and special occasions! There are oodles of gift giving reasons in October, such as supporting those affected by breast cancer, autumn birthdays, Halloween, and little known holiday called Sweetest Day. At this point, I know what you are thinking! You are all thinking that Sweetest Day is just a made up day fabricated by the greeting card and candy industry to increase their sales. Yes, that is partly true, but it is also a great opportunity for us to take time out and recognize the sick, elderly, adored friends and relatives, as well as those who have showed extreme kindness and helpfulness.
Now that we have established Sweetest Day (third Saturday in October) as an actual holiday to celebrate all the people who make our life special, what do we give? Well, I can’t think of anything more deserving to honor my sweetie with than sweet, delicious hand-dipped strawberries from Shari’s Berries.
Shari’s Berries
Shari’s Berries was founded in 1989 and in 2006 acquired by Provide Commerce, a leading online provider of high quality personalized gifts backed by exceptional customer service. Offering a wide array of delectable items–everything from fresh gourmet hand-dipped berries, gift baskets, adorable cake pops, to yummy cookie bouquets, Shari’s Berries will “wow” you with their budget friendly assortments and mouthwatering memorable gifts.
Shari’s Berries Review
Recently, I had a chance to test out Shari’s Berries service and sample their products. Let me tell you, I was fully impressed with the whole experience. I wanted to order a romantic gift to give my hubby, so I decided on the Cheesecake Trio & Full Dozen Gourmet Dipped Fancy Berries. Ok, there were a few (actually 3) selfish motives behind what I purchased. I am not proud of it, but I figured I would give him the fancy chocolate hand-dipped berries, which is an awesome gift all on its own, and I would hide the mini cheesecakes for myself in the vegetable crisper where he never goes. The scrumptious duo would make a wonderful thoughtful gift for him for Sweetest Day plus a small reward for me for being his wife. Did that sound bad? Anyways, the gift included:
- 4 Berries Dipped in Milk with Chopped Almonds
- 4 Berries Dipped in Dark with Dark Chocolate Chips
- 4 Berries Dipped in White with Dark Swizzles
- 3 Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes (Classic New York cheesecake, a decadent and smooth white chocolate cheesecake and a lip smacking chocolate Rocky Road cheesecake)
Ordering process
The ordering process was as simple as choosing an item, selecting a delivery date (Tuesday through Saturday), adding any optional gift items, filling out the card message, delivery info, and paying for the item. Shari’s Berries accepts all major credit cards and Paypal payments making it a convenient place to shop online. Also, I loved how I could select the exact day I wanted the gift to arrive and if I desired it to be delivered before noon (additional $14.99 charge) or anytime between 9am and 8pm. This is a fantastic service, since it takes the guess work out of the day of shipment and you are able to make sure someone will be home to place the perishables in the refrigerator when the package arrives.
Shipping
I would like to give you a complete breakdown on what to expect when your order arrives. The Shari’s Berries gifts are shipped in a sturdy box with humorous sayings on the outside like “Once opened, contents may disappear immediately,” and “Instructions: Close and lock door. Hide behind large piece of furniture. Quietly open box. Savor and enjoy!” I thought the cute notes add a nice funny touch and help bring a smile to whoever is unpacking the gift.
Upon opening the outer box you will notice right off to the bat the company takes every precaution to assuring your gift will arrive in pristine condition. Inside is lined with a thick padding to insulate the contents along with two “Stay Fresh Chill Packs” (might vary with order) to keep the perishable goods cold and fresh. You do pay extra for the chill packs, which are included in the handling charge. However, if you want you may save and refreeze them to use at a later date to keep other items cold on the go.
Packaging
The mouthwatering gourmet dipped strawberries come in a brownish box with an attached pretty white bow. Inside lays 12 giant sized gorgeous strawberries, each displayed nicely in their own slot. The strawberries are not uniform in size, since they are real and fresh. Yet, they are beautiful and make a stunning impression. These berries not only look scrumptious they taste amazing too! Each one is perfectly dipped in milk, white, or dark chocolate and topped with almonds, chocolate chips, or dark swizzles. My hubby said they were juicy and tasted incredible! And by the look on his face, I believed him!
The three mini cheesecakes come in a similar box as the hand-dipped strawberries, but much smaller and without the tray. Each divine cake is separated by a plastic collar to protect them. They are decorated to perfection with delicious toppings of rich smooth chocolate and finished by a small layer of chocolate graham cracker crust.
I am not sure how my teen does this, but she sniffs out anything new that is in the fridge. It is almost as if my daughter and her best friend have a weird extrasensory ability to know when I am hiding something I don’t want to be discovered, find it, and then attack full force. Well, that is what happened to my cheesecakes! At least they were kind enough to leave me a bite or two of the chocolate Rocky Road cheesecake and I was in cheese heaven for a couple of minutes! The cheesecake was rich, thick, and sinfully delicious!
Quality Products
Shari’s Berries provides quality products for almost every imaginable occasion, including Sweetest Day! Yet, once you taste the yummy goodness you might just make everyday a special celebration! Give them a try and let me know what you think!
Disclosure: “I was given the chance to review a complimentary product from Berries.com.”
These desserts look delicious! Those would be quite the special treat for us after dinner!
hmm it looks delicious, I really want to taste
I love that kind of chillpack – I have some from Godiva that I’ve been reusing for years.
Whoa, I totally should have ate dinner before I read your review, now all I want is desert LOL. Those look divine and delicious, I love a treat that looks as good as it tastes. Makes you feel more special eating it.
all i can say i yumm!
Seen these advertised but haven’t tried them yet. Thanks for the info!
The chocolate dipped berries look wonderful and yummy
Oh my word! I didn’t expect them to look so perfect. Usually you order something and are sorely disappointed with what you get. Thanks for sharing. It is nice to see how well they stood up to shipping.
The mini cheesecakes look wonderful. I’d love to taste them.
Looks delicious,
I’m sorry about your mini cheesecakes, LOL! I haven’t had a chocolate dipped strawberry in ages, my mouth is watering now. I heard many good things about Shari’s Berries but have yet to try any of their products.
oh my goodness,those look so good,wow,,I would plow thru those in no time flat
This combination would make a wonderful gift!
Oh WOW. I probably would not share with anyone. Whoever came up with the idea of chocolate strawberries must be a millionaire!! They look so yummy. I have always loved what I see from Shari’s Berries.
can you say yummy!
You took such great picture of the berries and cheesecake they look so perfect. Thank You. Jerri Davis
I have never tried strawberries that were dipped with nuts. Something I have to try. And that cheese cake just got me so hungry lol.
I have heard about these before. I love them. So yummy and many choices too. It is nice to have great service too! Thanks for the great review.
They look and sound fantastic. I think I’d like the Berries Dipped in Dark with Dark Chocolate Chips best, but I’ve yet to meet a cheesecake I didn’t like. These would make an excellent gift, if I could bear to give them away.
OMG – those chocolate covered strawberries are to die for!
This is my comment for the Purex giveaway: I still would like to win this giveaway since I have never tried any of Shari’s products before. Thanks for the reviews and giveaways!
Mmm, chocolate covered berries and cheesecake both sound great to me because I am on a diet, but I have to resist!
Lubriderm giveaway
The strawberries and cheesecakes look amazing! I am so jealous.
My mouth is watering…they look so yummy!
Yum! It’s great that you can get them shipped with padding and chill packs!
These berries look amazing. I heard they were very good. I must get me some.
That is to funny I would of done the same thing , gave honey the covered strawberries while I secretively kept the cheesecake for myself lol. I must say everything look and sounded like it was so delicious~!
I myself was won over just because of the cheesecake. It is my all time favorite dessert. This would make anyone a great gift for any occasion. Thanks for sharing another fantastic company to order from.
that looks good. i have never heard of a cheese cake flavor for these.
everything looks so awesome and perfect for holiday gifts id really love to try the “Happy Thanksgiving” Chocolate Caramel Pecan Cake..yummmmmmmmmmmmmy 🙂
Those look so good, and it’s such a great gift idea, a little different from the “usual” stuff.
They have such DELICIOUS looking products!
My birthday is in 2 hours and guess what I want for my gift now????? These look so delish – I’m kind of mad I don’t have any. 🙂
Thanks now my mouth is watering.
the cheesecakes look best to me!
I have never seen these, but they look great!
These look amazing! I bet they taste just as good.
Wow, these look amazing! Chocolate covered strawberries are our family’s favorite dessert (we actually made some this evening) I would love some variety though!
I have shopped there before and love their chocolate strawberries.
OMG I am not a fan of Strawberries, but they do look delicious. I love the packaging as well!!!
I had these at a party once & they were yummy. Everyone was asking about them.
wow great pictures they almost look to good to eat but I would eat them lol
I could probably eat a dozen of these myself!
em darr
They have such great yummy stuff..I once ordered a mrs.fields gift box from them and my family polished it off in one day..next time I order I am hiding it 😉
these look really delicious!
When I saw the title I wondered how they’d be packed for shipment. Looks great! And the berries are delicious looking! I’m thinking this might be a Christmas wish for me. 🙂
THanks alot. NOw my mouth is watering. They look so very good.
Delicious! I’m sure they wouldn’t last if I ordered them.!
Oh my goodness, those look divine 🙂
Oh wow! These look amazing! Now I’m hungry… I think my favorite would be the cheesecakes!
I just drooled on my laptop…
These look yummy, They are so nicely packaged they look the same as they do on their website.
I’ve not tried the cheesecake, but their berries are fabulous.
These look mouth watering I would love to have these
Way too delicious looking. It wouldn’t last here.
These look so delicious and I love that they do such a good packing job so that everything arrives in good condition.
These berries look too good to eat! I wouldn’t mind putting that theory to a test though 🙂