I hate Easter basket type gifts! This might sound harsh but what I really hate is the basket that these gifts come in. What do you do with them after the gift is gone? The real answer is that unless it is not a true wicker Easter basket, one usually tosses them or donates them to get rid of them. So with this in mind, I did not want to subject others to my strong aversion to wicker Easter baskets when (as a mother of 3) I am giving out thank you/acknowledgment gifts during the holidays to: teachers, neighbors, principals, best friends and casual friends, managers and the like. I created gift baskets in storage containers with the thought in mind, who would not want a (new not used) food storage container?
During the holidays, our local drugstore was selling food storage jars. Some had a plastic over the mouth seal as a bonus food sealer and some did not. I bought one selling for about $2 each that was a square shape and the size was about 6 inches tall, I believe it was measured in ounces. I got the 32 oz. one. Some things were bought in bulk or multi-serve packaging, keeping the cost low
Stuff the jar, putting a scattering of M&M's to fill in the cracks of the other items.
Place seal over mouth of jar with the self sticking plastic seal for the mouth of the jar. A lot of the people I gave them to thought that they were bought at a store that way and some even came to me asking what store I bought them from.
Place stickers around jar. After stuffing the jar, the next step was to get some festive Christmas stickers (not the tacky ones but the ones that looked more classy) and put a few on the lid and some around the jar.
Wrap ribbon with name card and candy cane around jar and hand out to people for Christmas.
I suggest keeping a list of all that was stuffed in jar because this year I did the same type of packaging but I had forgotten what I had put in the jar last year so I might have duplicated some items.
Several of the people that I had given these type of gift baskets to were very thankful to have something other than Christmas calorie punching food to snack on and a jar to keep all the goodies in while taking the time to snack on them (Hawaii has a terrible bug problem).
It also made me feel good not to inflict others with my aversion to wicker Easter/gift baskets.
By Soyzick from Hawaii
The first thing to consider is who you are giving the basket to:
The container or "basket" doesn't have to be expensive. Pick a theme (some are listed below) and find a container that goes with the theme that can hold some items or have items attached to it. You want the container and the items to go together and for everything to be usable and practical. (This is not to say that a few fun things can't be thrown in too.) Below are some of my ideas for containers but there certainly are many more possibilities.
The items that go within the gift basket should be tied together by a common theme. The themes below are gift basket recipes that can be modified to fit your needs or to get you started on developing your own themed gift basket.
Use a basket or usable container with some or all of the following:
Use a nice basket with some or all of the following:
Use a rubber/plastic storage box with some or all of the following:
Use a basket or a camera bag with some or all of the following:
Use a square basket or plastic box with some or all of the following:
Use a rubber storage container with some or all of the following:
Use a colander or bowl with some or all of the following:
Use a clay plant pot, bucket or watering can with some or all of the following:
Use a cat bowl or pet bed with some or all of the following:
Use a dog bowl or pet bed with some or all of the following:
Dogs come in all sizes so make sure you are buying for the right size dog. Also if it is for a puppy, chewy stuff is the best.
Use a tool box or tool tray with some or all of the following:
Use a basket or gig bag with some or all of the following:
Use a small pack or canvas bag with some or all of the following:
Use a basket or reusable container with some or all of the following:
Use a wine cooling bucket with some or all of the following:
Use a nice holiday basket with some or all of the following:
Once you have obtained your items here are some fillers to put around them.
If you buy colored cellophane you can cover the entire container with it disguising what is inside. Tie a ribbon around the whole thing or paste a ribbon on top. Have fun!
By Susan Sanders-Kinzel
Fillers for Gift Baskets: To finish your gift baskets use some of the following fillers to give it a festive look.
After carefully arranging your items stick in some other goodies
For Christmas Baskets:
For other occasions:
The great thing about gift baskets is that they really need no wrapping. You can take colored cellophane and cover the top to disguise the contents. Just tie on some colorful ribbons.
My husband and I buy foods in bulk to keep on hand for emergencies, so we don't have go grocery shopping every week.
I bought the basket from a garage sale this summer and added a ribbon. The only items that I had to buy was the teapot, and the tea bags. Total cost for making the basket was about $20.00 or less.
By Marge W. from Sanborn, NY
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Do you have a tip, recipe or craft to share?
Making Your Own Gift Baskets