So many of us women (and some men!) are requested to either host or attend bridal showers, but often have no idea where to start when it comes to a gift for the bride-to-be. A simple and inexpensive idea is a gift basket. What better gift than a basket full of goodies with a personal touch? Below is a simple guide on how to create a bridal shower gift basket. You can also use these ideas to create any other type of gift basket – birthdays, baby showers, Easter, etc.
1. First, start with the obvious. A basket. Your local craft store should have a plethora of plain baskets in all different shapes, sizes and colors. Pick one that would go well with the recipient’s decor, either in the living room, kitchen or bathroom. More than likely she will be using the basket to hold other things once the gifts have been used or eaten.
2. Decide on a theme. You will use this theme to build the basket and fill it with related gifts. For a bridal shower, you will probably want to do white, or some kind of ivory with an accent color. If you know the colors of the wedding, even better. For our fictional basket, let’s make it white with pink accents.
3. Grab a filler. Tissue paper works well, as does those paper squiggly things. You can find these items at the craft store as well, but you may want to hit the dollar store for this one. The paper will just be thrown away anyways. Don’t spend a lot of money on this item.
4. Get the gifts. This is perhaps the hardest option, as people don’t really know what to fill a gift basket with. Ideas for women can include candles, bath goodies, or any personal item. Pick up small gifts that you think they’d like, and try to vary the different gifts. Do, however, pick one “main” gift to put in the center of the basket. Everything else can be considered “support” gifts. For our bride, we will purchase a fountain pen for writing out thank you notes after the wedding. We’ll get some pink and white votive candles with holders (also found at craft stores and they’re really cheap). We’ll pick up some pretty matching stationery to go along with the “writing” theme and we’ll top it off with some elegant stickers to seal the backs of the envelopes. Whatever you do, be creative.
5. Always get candy. Maybe stick a few candy bars in there if that’s the recepient’s favorite, or get some candy that goes along with the theme. Never underestimate the power of Hershey Kisses and M & M’s. You can get them in plenty of colors (especially M & M’s) and it can help fill up an empty looking basket.
6. For the finishing touches, you can wrap the basket up in cellophane or use some pretty curling ribbon or wired ribbon. We recommend all of the above, but use your judgement (and budget!)
Most of all, when making a bridal shower gift basket, let your imagination and creativity run wild. Get in a craft store and walk around a few times. You are bound to come up with something fantastic!
