The best bacon gift box ideas share one thing: bacon the person would never buy for themselves, thick cut, applewood smoked, from a farm they have heard of. Vande Rose Farms offers four gift boxes around the holidays, and every one ships frozen to their door.
Below is what is in each box, who it suits, how gift shipping works at Christmas, and a few ways to dress up a basket if you want to add your own touch. One thing first: our bundles are seasonal, so if a box shows out of stock, the single packs on our bacon page make the same gift.
- Our four gift boxes compared
- Which box for which person
- How a bacon gift ships at Christmas
- Build your own basket
- Questions people ask
Four bacon gift box ideas from the farm, compared
Every box starts with the same pork: Heritage Duroc hogs, raised crate free on family farms with no antibiotics ever. The bacon is smoked over real applewood. From there, the boxes differ in what else is inside.
| Gift box | What is inside | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Bacon Sampler | Four bacons: America’s Best Uncured, America’s Best Dry Cured, Dry Aged Uncured, and Dry Aged Steakhouse Uncured | The person who wants to taste everything |
| Dry Aged Bacon Sampler | 7 pounds of dry aged bacon: four 12 oz packs of uncured and four 1 lb packs of steakhouse cut | Big families and serious bacon people |
| Breakfast Sampler | A 6 to 10 lb spiral sliced ham, uncured bacon, breakfast links, and dry aged uncured bacon | Hosting Christmas morning |
| The Ultimate Bundle | Our America’s Best bacons plus ground pork | The cook who wants bacon and a weeknight dinner |
Not sure which one? The Bacon Sampler is the safe pick. It covers dry cured, uncured, and dry aged in one box, so they can find their favorite.
Bundles come and go with the season. If the one you want is out of stock, build the same gift from single packs: uncured thick cut in 12 oz packs, the 2.25 lb family packs, or the peppered bacon. The whole line is on our bacon page.
Which box for which person
- The dad who is hard to shop for. Bacon Sampler. Four bacons, zero guesswork.
- The host of Christmas brunch. Breakfast Sampler. The ham feeds a table, and the bacon and links fill the plates around it.
- The griller or smoker. Dry Aged Bacon Sampler. Steakhouse cut slices hold up on a grate.
- The busy parent. The Ultimate Bundle. Bacon for the weekend, ground pork for a Tuesday.
- The person who has everything. A bacon subscription. A box shows up on a schedule they pick, long after the tree comes down.
How a bacon gift ships at Christmas
We ship frozen, packed with dry ice, by FedEx. At checkout, choose to ship to a different address and enter the recipient’s. There is also a gift message field, up to 120 characters, so the box does not arrive as a mystery.
Orders placed Tuesday through Friday normally arrive the following Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Holiday weeks can shift that schedule, so order early in December and check our shipping page for the affected weeks. No signature is needed, so nobody has to wait at home.
Tell the recipient a box is coming. Frozen food should go in the fridge or freezer the day it lands. The USDA guide to mail order food safety explains what to check when a cold box arrives.
Two limits. We cannot ship to PO boxes, and we do not ship outside the United States.
Build your own bacon gift basket
Want to hand the gift over in person? Order a box to yourself, keep it frozen, and build around it on the day. Here are pairings that make sense with applewood smoked bacon.
- A small cast iron skillet. Bacon is the first thing anyone cooks in a new pan.
- Real maple syrup and a pancake mix. Sweet against smoky is the whole point of breakfast.
- A jar of good mustard and a loaf of rye for the BLT and the ham sandwich.
- Coarse black pepper and brown sugar, with a note that says “candied bacon, 400°F, 20 minutes.”
- A wooden board and a wedge of sharp cheddar. We have ideas in our guide to building a charcuterie board.
Keep the bacon in a cooler with ice until the last minute. A basket looks nice, but frozen bacon should not sit under a warm tree.
Questions people ask about bacon gift boxes
Are the bacon gift boxes always in stock?
No. The bundles are seasonal and can sell out. If a box shows out of stock, pick single packs from the bacon page or check back before the holidays.
Can I add a gift message?
Yes. There is a gift message field at checkout, up to 120 characters.
Can I ship bacon to someone else’s address?
Yes. Choose ship to a different address at checkout and enter theirs. The box goes to them, and the tracking email comes to you.
When should I order for Christmas?
Early December. Orders placed Tuesday through Friday normally arrive the following Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and holiday weeks can shift that. The shipping page lists the affected weeks.
What if the box arrives thawed?
Frozen food should arrive frozen or at least refrigerator cold, with some dry ice left. If it does not, do not eat it. Email [email protected] the same day.
Send a gift they will talk about. Most Christmas gifts get used once, but a box of bacon gets used every weekend until it is gone, and then they ask where you got it. That is the whole point of these bacon gift box ideas.
Shop gift boxes and single packs in the farm shop. Frozen, packed in dry ice, and made from Heritage Duroc pork.