Guide to Gift Baskets

Have you ever wanted/needed to give someone a gift, but you just didn’t know what to get them? Well next time, make them a gift basket! A gift basket is a gift that is personal, but also won’t take a lot of time to put together. The best part about gift baskets is that there does not have to be a specific reason to give them!

Here are some examples of great times to give gift baskets that not a lot of people think about:

• Congratulating someone on a new job
• Get well basket
• Thinking of you basket
• First day of school basket (college kids love these)
• High school graduation
• House warming basket
• Teacher appreciation basket
• Grief basket
• Birthdays

Now you have some ideas of when to give a gift basket, let’s talk about what to put in those gift baskets! I usually do a mix of practical items and fun items – depending on the recipient of the basket. This is the best part about gift baskets – you can completely customize them based on who is receiving the basket.

Let’s look at what a “First Day of School” basket could look like:

• Pens
• Pencils
• Notebooks
• Sticky notes
• Flashcards
• Flashdrive
• Hand Sanitizer
• Travel coffee mug
• Granola bars & snacks
• Chapstick
• Lotion
• Backpack

So for this gift basket, I would make the backpack the “basket”. There is no rule saying you have to use a basket to hold all of the gift basket items! For this example, I used mostly practical items and a couple fun items.

Let’s talk about gift basket themes! If you are giving someone a gift basket on their birthday or doing a “Just Because” basket, you can spice your basket up by giving it a theme! Here are a few theme ideas with some ideas of items to include in the basket:

• Coffee Themed – coffee, coffee mug, cookies that go well with coffee, stir stick or spoon, sugar cubes, creamer, Starbucks gift card
• Baking Theme – cupcake mix, cookie mix, frosting, sprinkles, cupcake tins, cookie cutters, cute oven mitts, a cookbook, decorating tools (for this basket, I would use a mixing bowl as the “basket”)
• Color Theme – (pick the recipient’s favorite color and add items that are mainly that color – let’s use yellow as an example) Peanut M&M’s, Butterfinger, Lemonheads, Juicy Fruit gum, Lay’s Classic, yellow candle, yellow chapstick, yellow water bottle, yellow coffee mug, yellow Gatorade, lemonade, yellow socks, yellow face mask … I think you get the idea!
• Movie Theme – a couple classic movies, blanket, popcorn, popcorn flavoring, candy, sodas (for this basket, I would try to find a popcorn bowl as the “basket”)
• All Things Man Theme – case of beer, a new tape measure, beef jerky, shaving cream, beard oil, new manly slippers, new grill accessories, car accessories, new wallet
• Spa Theme – facemask, foot scrub, body scrub, nail files, nail polish remover, nail polish, hand lotion, bath bombs, soaps, candle, loofah, hand towel, bath salts, relaxing book, herbal tea

Now, let’s put together a gift basket! (I used items I would give a friend for a spa themed basket.)

First, gather all of your items for your gift basket.

Next, I fill the bottom of my “basket” with tissue paper to improve the presentation of the items.

I then add all of the items to the “basket” and rearrange them into the perfect position to be able to see as many items as possible. Notice how the tissue paper made all of the items sit higher and are able to be seen because of it.

I purchase a gift basket supply kit from my local craft supply store or Walmart. I specifically by the brand “Frillz”. In the package comes 2 cello bags (the plastic wrap), 12 glue dots to hold the bags together, 2 ribbons for bows, and 2 gift tags. You can usually find the kit for under $5.

Lastly, I put my basket in the cello bag and tie it with a bow. Here is the final product:

Those are my tips and tricks for giving gift baskets! Just remember, there is never a wrong time to give someone a gift basket!

If you have any questions or would like more ideas for themes I did not cover, please reach out to me! My email is: samanthalynnsamuelson@gmail.com

Talk to you later!

Samantha