Make Gift Baskets for Everyone on Your Gift List!

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How to Make Gift Baskets

And Basket Decorating Ideas

Have you ever wondered about how to make gift baskets? If you have, then you should find this information helpful and easy to understand.

Making your own gift basket is a wonderful way to turn a small gift into something really special. Here's how this all happens. You choose an inexpensive gift and make it the "center of attraction" in your homemade gift basket filled with the recipient's favorite snacks or candy and other token gifts.

Now, I'm going to attempt to inspire you with several ideas to make gift baskets. Choose the suggestions that you like and ignore the one's that don't suit your needs or budget.

Let's start with the theme. Of course, you can make gift baskets without following a specific theme. However, skimming through my list of themes will give you some ideas: Theme Gift Baskets.

Gift Containers:
In addition to the usual wicker baskets, there are many other containers you might want to consider. Trays with an edge are nice choices for spa, barbecue, or beer gift baskets.

For small children plastic pails are inexpensive and easy to work with. A plastic dump truck filled with small toys and treats would please most little boys.

Baking pans, such as a loaf pan or bundt cake pan work well for a baking theme. Large unbreakable bowls are great when you make gift baskets with food themes.

Colanders are a nice choice for pasta themes, a planter for a gardener, sports theme trash cans for sports nuts, desk organizers and other organizers would be appreciated by college students and anyone who needs a little organization in their lives.

Ice buckets, popcorn containers, wooden crates, and pails or tubs are great ideas for many themes.

Small flower pots make wonderful gift basket containers for anyone who enjoys flowers or gardening; use straw as the filler. Gift items in flower pots are easily placed upright; add extra straw beneath the shorter gift items so they are visible.

A nice gift idea for a teacher or most anyone is to use a large coffee mug filled with cookies, candy, etc. To personalize a mug gift, include a small item that would be appropriate for the recipient.

Filler Materials:
There are many different filler materials you can use when you make gift baskets. Fillers are necessary to hold the gift items in place, to fill in empty spaces, and to lift your gift up so they are visible. If your container is very deep you can use floral foam or crumpled newspaper to bring it up to the correct level. Then place decorative material on top.

Caution: Foam packing peanuts are not recommended as they move around easily which makes your gift and food items shift.

You can purchase colorful shred from party supply stores and straw or excelsior (shredded natural wood material) from craft stores. Or, make your own filler from tissue paper, newspaper, brown paper, old maps, music sheets, etc. A paper shredder works well for some paper products.

Use unique fillers when you make gift baskets of specific themes. For example, use peanuts in the shell for sports theme gift baskets or mixed nuts in the shell for holiday or fruit gift baskets. For a coffee theme gift basket, scatter coffee beans among the gifts or popped popcorn in a movie or popcorn theme gift basket.

When selecting a basket or other container, keep in mind that an overflowing gift basket looks much better than a sparsely filled one. Here are some tips and general information that should be helpful:

A basket with a handle works as you can tie and anchor a tall item (such as a bottle of wine) to the handle.

Use the appropriate amount of filler materials so that your gifts and food items don't sink down in the container.

Place heavier and larger items in the bottom and centered. Place the smaller gifts and food items around the larger items.

Practice assembling your gift basket with various gift placements to get just the right arrangement.

If you have empty spaces fill them in with extra filler materials, small silk flowers or greenery, wrapped candies (Hershey's Kisses look great), or other small items.

Basketweaving: learn how to weave your own baskets.

Basket Decorating Ideas: Place your finished gift basket in a cello bag. Add ribbon, a bow, and gift card. Long streams of curly ribbon cascading down from the top of the finished gift basket looks very nice. If using a bow, place it in the center of the curly ribbon at the top of the gift basket.

This gift basket containers page has tips that might be helpful to make gift baskets.

Dollar type stores are great places to shop for gift basket making products. There are two within walking distance from my home and I often browse the aisles looking for baskets, trays, shred, ribbon, silk flowers, and decorative holiday items. They usually have a nice assortment of mugs, kitchen towels, scented candles, pet toys, small baby items, and cooking utensils.

It's really nice to include homemade cookies or other gift items when you make gift baskets. Visit my Homemade Gifts chocolate covered strawberry

web page for recipes for gifts-in-a-jar, homemade vinegar, bath products, chocolate covered strawberries, truffles, scones, and snack foods. You will also find gift wrapping and decorating ideas for these homemade gifts.

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