10 Steps To Making Your Own Fantastic Gift Baskets

One of the most popular gifts you can give anyone these days is a wonderful gift basket filled with items chosen just for them. If you’ve looked at these baskets online, you can see that they are gorgeous and that anyone would love receiving one, but you also may have been a little bowled over by some of the prices that these websites are asking. Since a gift basket is really nothing more than a collection of gifts displayed in a lovely basket and wrapped with colored cellophane, you can make your own baskets for a fraction of the cost of a pre-made gift basket by following the 10 steps to making a perfect gift basket.

1. Choose a theme for your basket. This could be something as simple as a basket of kitchen items, a basket filled with items to make a special spaghetti dinner, or a basket of  sports snacks and novelties. Select a theme that you know the person will enjoy and one that you’ll be able to find plenty of small related items to in order to fill the basket.

2. Find a basket that you like. This shouldn’t be too hard, because you can buy baskets a lot of places these days. Craft stores, like Michaels or Hobby Lobby usually carry a selection of baskets, or you could shop online. Baskets come in all sizes, shapes, and qualities. You can find anything from inexpensive woven materials to top-of-the-line Longaberger baskets. Keep in mind that a basket is always a gift that keeps on giving, because it can be used for a multitude of different purposes once the gift items have been removed from it.

3. After you’ve decided on the basket you want to use as the basis for your gift basket, you need to decide on something to use as a liner. More expensive baskets often come with fitted liners, but if your basket doesn’t, you can find something in keeping with the theme of the basket to cover the inside of the basket with. For example, if the basket has a kitchen theme, you can use a pretty dish towel, potholders, or an apron as the liner for your basket.

4. The next step will be to search for a myriad of items with which to fill the basket to overflowing. To find items with a kitchen theme, you can go to the section of your local discount store that has all the utensils and accessories every cook needs in order to be successful. Many of these items are quite inexpensive. If this basket is intended for a bride-to-be, you might want to include something like a hand mixer, or even things like dishwashing soap and cleaning products. Use your own judgment when deciding what the person needs and likes.

5. Even with something lining your basket, you made need to fill small spaces to make your basket appear abundantly full. You can always insert crumpled tissue paper underneath your liner to help prop up some of the items if you need to. You don’t want to just lay items in the bottom of the basket or even pile them up. You want to stand them up as much as possible in order to have everything visible when the person first opens the basket. You can find many pictures of gift baskets online that will give you some ideas for creating an appealing grouping of items in your basket.

6. You may want to try several different arrangements before you choose one that looks attractive to you. Don’t be overly picky, however, because your recipient isn’t going to be nearly as critical as you are. As you work you’ll begin to know what things you can do to make items more aesthetically pleasing.

7. Once you’ve got all the items in the basket the way you want them, step back and take a look at the basket. Does it seem too plain? You can add a few small, decorative items stuffed into corners, some greenery on the handle, or a small bouquet of silk flowers to the part of the basket where the handle meets the base.

8. Now that your basket looks just the way you want it to, it’s time to wrap it. You can buy rolls of colored cellophane to use for wrapping the basket, just like you’ve seen them do with fruit baskets in grocery stores. Cut a sheet of cellophane that’s long enough to go underneath the basket and then be pulled up on both sides to at least 6” over the top of the basket handle. If one sheet won’t cover the entire basket, cut a second sheet the same size as the first one, and lay them on the table in a crisscross pattern. Sit your basket in the middle of the cross, and pull all four ends up over the handle. Secure them with a rubber band.

9. Tie the top of the cellophane with a beautiful matching ribbon, and allow streamers to cascade down the side of the basket. You may also want to tie or glue on a large, pre-made bow for added decoration.

10. Deliver the basket to your gift recipient or take it to the shower or party you created it for.  This lovely, handmade gift is sure to be the hit of every gathering and will delight the person you give it to.

After all is said and done, you’ll be pleased that the gift basket you gave was created by you every step of the way. From planning to buying to decorating, there’s no reason you can’t create an appropriate gift basket for every occasion.

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