Making Gift Baskets

A short primer on making gift baskets

Gift baskets make a thoughtful, personalized gift suitable for just about any occasion. Although you can purchase ready-made gift baskets, it can be fun to make gift baskets filled with goodies you know the recipient enjoys. Your giftee will be flattered to find that you took the time and exercised your creative side to customize this present.

You may have thought that making gift baskets was a task for the professionals, but once you put your mind to your project, you'll be delighted to find your finished gift is both lovely and personal.

Before you go looking for a basket, decide on the contents. It need not necessarily be the traditional food basket. Let's say you're making a gift basket for your teenage niece's birthday. Teenage girls love costume jewelry, nail kits, bubble bath and beauty products. Just fill that basket with individual items like this and you'll be her favorite aunt. If you're making a gift basket for your Grandma, who loves to knit, get an assortment of fancy yarns. What you fill your basket with will determine the size basket you will need.

You should have no trouble finding a suitable basket. Department and discount stores, drugstores and garden shops are just several of the places to find the perfect basket.

A nice lining material for your basket makes your gift just a bit more elegant. Confetti, raffia, tissue paper, colored cellophane and fabric or lace all work well. Suit your choice to the contents, basket and your giftee's taste.

If the basket you choose has handles or a loose weave, some pretty ribbon woven through or tied makes your basket more decorative. A visit to the crafts store yields many other decorating possibilities to make your gift a knockout. Dried and artificial flowers, little bird ornaments and strings of battery-powered tiny lights are just some of the good ideas you'll run across. Party supply shops are another good resource. They stock coordinated items such as tissue, balloons, ribbons and party favor items that can double as a basket decoration. With a coordinated theme basket, a matching place card can be tied to the basket as a gift card.

Take your time arranging your decorations. There are lots of ways to combine your decorative materials. When you're happy with the presentation, fill your basket. You may find you have leftover decorating materials, but they can always be saved for when you're making gift baskets for someone else, which will surely be soon. You're an expert now.