Gift baskets are great last-minute gift ideas, yet they are thoughtful and can be personalized for the gift recipient’s likes and tastes. There are plenty of places to buy gift baskets ready-made, but sometimes it can be less expensive and more personal to create your own gift baskets. Just a little time spent shopping and putting the baskets together will result in a beautiful gift basket. The items in the gift baskets need not be purchased at expensive speciality stores, unless of course that’s your preference. If the budget is tight though, most of the things for the baskets can be purchased at your local grocery stores, drug stores or any department store. A few items can even be found at your local dollar store.
A gardening gift basket can be a lot of fun to put together because you really don’t even have to use a basket. A simple ceramic or clay pot can be used to fill with gardening items instead of a basket. A canvas gardening tote is another useful alternative to a basket. Whichever type of container you decide on, just fill with a few gardening supplies. Gardeners can never have too many gardening gloves and trowels. These can be very affordable gifts. Also, a potting soil scoop, seed packets, a rich moisturizing hand and cuticle cream are always welcomed by a gardener. A nice way to round out the gift is to include a current issue of a gardening magazine or book, then wrap the gift container in cellophane and tie with a raffia bow.
A candle gift basket is hard for most women to resist. You can make your gift basket special by buying the best and most beautiful candles your budget will allow. A couple of luxurious hand towels, lotion, bath gel and mineral salts would be enough to fill this gift basket. Tailoring the colors of the items in the basket to the gift recipient’s home or bathroom would be a thoughtful touch.
A coffee gift basket is always an appreciated gift by the coffee lover. Small bags of gourmet and flavored coffees and one or two beautiful large ceramic coffee mugs would be the staples of this basket. You could then add homemade or bakery sweet bread, coffee cake or other treats to the basket. Chocolate spoons can be purchased but you can make them for much less at home. Start with good quality sturdy plastic spoons, then dip them in melted baking chocolate or semi-sweet morsels and allow them to dry. You can then add white chocolate drizzles to decorate the chocolate spoons if desired. When all of the chocolate is firm, wrap the spoon in clear cellophane just about half way up the handle and use a ribbon to tie the cellophane securely. You can then add a few of the chocolate spoons along with peppermint sticks for stirring the coffee and this completes the coffee gift basket.
A tea gift basket can be put together in much the same way as the coffee basket. There are so many wonderful teas available and maybe an assortment of flavors or green teas would best suit the gift recipient. A pretty teapot and tea bag holder would be a nice addition to this gift basket. A few treats such as tea biscuits, chocolates or even homemade treats that would go well with a cup of tea would be great. You can add a couple of fresh lemons and cinnamon sticks for the finishing touch.
An Italian theme gift basket is another great idea. This gift can be as simple or elaborate as you want. A good quality or gourmet specialty pasta (whole wheat is a healthy choice), a jar of great pasta sauce, a loaf of crusty bread and cheese would be a delicious start. You can then add a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, a bottle of balsamic vinegar and Italian Pizzelle cookies in cinnamon or vanilla flavor. You can always complete this gift basket with a bottle of wine.
A movie-at-home gift basket can be a fun for a family gift. This basket is really easy to put together. Many stores now have the theater size boxes of candy available in the same varieties. I would fill the baskets with these candies and packages of gourmet popcorn in different flavors. You can even add a few bottled waters, drink mixes, or flavored waters or sodas. Don’t forget to add a Blockbuster gift card!
