<p>Northeastmom: my mom sent us those Honeybell oranges for Christmas last year. My H and D loved them (but I prefer grapefruit to oranges). They are a true orange color, very sweet, and huge in size, about the size of a smaller grapefruit. I think that would be a great gift for your S and friends in Jan.</p>
<p>I like Harry and David pears myself. We always get those at Christmastime.</p>
<p>Northeatmom: As bookiemom has said - yes they are just like an orange in color and taste - just sweeter and juicier than the usual orange. In fact, I never realized they weren’t really an orange until I found the link for you and read the website. They are big but I wouldn’t say as large as a grapefruit (maybe I just haven’t seen a small grapefruit) but more like the size of the big navel oranges that are sold individually in grocery stores (not the ones that come in a bag). </p>
<p>Zip</p>
<p>Northeast mom: Also, yes, very few seeds. Probably, close to none. I don’t really remember any seeds.</p>
<p>“I have a company to avoid - Balducci’s.”</p>
<p>Last week, this store was selling hams “perfect for Hannukah” - in NYC no less!!!</p>
<p>zip and bookiemom, okay, I am sold on them. I also spoke to my son last night to see how he feels he did on one of his finals. I mentioned the oranges. He wasn’t in the mood to talk, but he did say that he would enjoy receiving them. </p>
<p>Woody, it is Balducci’s that put that silly ad up. I saw that story on television, but did not hear which store did this (kinda caught the story at the end). That was a major faux pas for a business. It was a major PR disaster, IMO.</p>
<p>Northeastern Mom, the boxes of oranges and grapefruits from Fla. are the most popular with my kids. Also, they love any dried fruit, such as lemon prunes, apricots, and nuts.</p>
<p>There are also multiple online and in mall companies that sell the fruits flower bouquets, in different sizes, and some covered with chocolate.<br>
These are always a hit, esp the honey do. This is a little more unusual and special.(and costly)</p>
<p>Speaking of food, has anyone ever made a briscuit with carrots, apricots and prunes and chopped onions? It was a recipe on yahoo that I made for Chanukah, and it was the best briscuit in my world. Highly recommended!</p>
<p>I am off to trader joes to get a bunch of tangerines,pack them in those priority boxes from the post office, she gets them in two days…and she is the envy of the dorm…I also throw in some of those small apples, some soup packets…</p>
<p>Hales citrus from Florida is very good, and it you ever have a problem with quality, they send our a replacement immediately. If you have a huge $150 basket with one bad piece, you get a new $150 basket. I have used them for years, although not yet this season. </p>
<p>[Florida</a> Oranges, Honeybells, Indian River Grapefruit & Citrus Fruit Gift Baskets - Hale Groves](<a href=“Florida Honeybells - Oranges - Ruby Red Grapefruit & Citrus Fruit Gift Baskets - Hale Groves”>Florida Honeybells - Oranges - Ruby Red Grapefruit & Citrus Fruit Gift Baskets - Hale Groves)</p>
<p>I used to send fruit to my kids… until they mentioned that they never finished it. Then I went to the occasional ten or twenty dollar bill with instructions to go buy fruit or something else healthy. That worked a lot better and they’d actually do it.</p>
<p>My mouth is watering, just reading this thread! I was glad zip thought of Cushman’s…it immediately came to mind, but in my senior moment, I couldn’t remember the name.</p>
<p>I really don’t like grapefruit – at all – be assured that there honeybells look like oranges, and taste like the best oranges you’ve ever eaten, and you’ll probably need the bib.</p>
<p>Astro, Maybe I should send my son a few bibs as a gag before the oranges arrive. Those plastic lobster bibs would do.</p>
<p>My brother in law made a big deal about some grapefruit that he bought last year (best he ever ate, etc). I asked him where he ordered them from and he did not remember! He is going to try to find out for me. He might be motivated since he’ll probably want to reorder this year.</p>
<p>sunnyflorida, thanks for the tip.</p>
<p>Wonderful thread. Thanks.</p>
<p>For those of you not interested in healthy stuff like fruit, try ChocolatesByMichelle, in Tampa, FL. Every year the law firm my company uses sends us two HUGE trays from this place, and my office goes nuts. Try the chocolate-covered potato chips. To die for.</p>
<p>Great thread. We’ve sent goodies to my D’s from Waynes Market. [Wayne’s</a> Market Gourmet Gift Baskets - Red Bank, NJ](<a href=“http://www.waynesmarket.com%5DWayne’s”>http://www.waynesmarket.com) Everyone there is very helpful and my D’s, and everyone else on our list always loved what we sent.</p>
<p>Northeastmom: Hales is the company my mom has used for several years to send the Honeybell oranges. I just got my box of grapefruit from them today.</p>
<p>You are all the smart moms. My FIL tells me that when he served with American troops in Italy during World War II, his own mother had so little sense of the world that she sent him a fish, right to the front lines. She baked it his favorite way. It arrived a month later. His sargeant was really furious.</p>
<p>P3T: Once again, you are a wealth of useful info and advice. I am going shopping at ebay for designer boots! Hope all is well with you and your family. Happy Chanukah (a bit late!)</p>
<p>Okay, We placed our January order for some fresh fruit! I can tell that this will be a hit, and I feel better about sending this than more junk food. I showed my son the picture of the honeybells and he smiled :). That’s when I knew that he and his friends would like it. To be delivered a week after he gets back to school. Thanks everyone. PS-of course I could not resist ordering honeybells and grapefruit for our home as well. Thanks again!</p>
<p>P3T, just saw your post. That is a funny story. I wonder if he ate fish after that.</p>
<p>Update: I received our order of Honeybells and grapefruit. I placed my order with Hales. My son has not received his package yet, but he will get them soon.</p>
<p>I had never tasted a Honeybell before. This is a cross between a tangerine and a grapfruit. I tasted 2 of them. The first one was seedless and very juicy. It definitely tasted similar to a grapefruit. The second one had seeds, and was much sweeter (think orange). They tasted like different fruit, even though they were both Honeybells. Both pieces were very juicy. They both had tough thin skins, so they are more difficult to peel than an orange or a grapefruit. None of the peels looked “pretty”, so I would never send these as a gift. My H had a grapefruit, and he enjoyed it. It was very juicy too. The grapefruit are smaller in size than I expected, because our local grocery store sells giant sized grapefruit, so I am used to seeing larger ones. </p>
<p>I placed my orders to arrive on a certain date, and mine arrived 3 days later, and my son’s will arrive 4 days after that date. This is not at all important to me now, but if I were sending a gift, it could matter.</p>
<p>In conclusion, I ordered from Hales because I thought they were less expensive than some of the other companies. I am pleased with the produce that arrived. We are enjoying it! I just have a problem with all the blemishes on the Honeybells. I would not want to send fruit looking like that as a gift.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the food ideas, and the vendor recommendations.</p>
<p>Northeastmom: those Honeybells are a BIG deal in Florida. They are only available for a short time and not many of them at that. My mom raves about them, but I don’t care for them. I think that is why you had varying taste and blemishes on the skin. People will take them however they turn out.</p>
<p>I love the Hales grapefruit–much better than the big ones at local grocery.</p>
<p>Bookiemom, I knew that they have a short season, but I did not realize that can be so scarce. We are enjoying them. It is something a bit different.</p>