If you have looked at your Christmas lists and decided that making home made Christmas gift baskets would be good choice for some of your gift recipients there are a few things you will want to think about before designing your gift basket. Before you rush out to buy things for your home made Christmas gift baskets ask yourself the following questions:
1.What will the theme of my home made Christmas gift basket be? The most successful gift baskets are put together with a theme in mind. Will your gift be a reflection of a hobby, interest or food preference of the recipient? What does your recipient like to do in their spare time? If you are having a hard time coming up with a theme remember that color can also serve as a theme for a gift basket. If your intended recipient loves pink than fill a gift basket with all things pink for a delighted response. Having a theme keeps you from buying a lot of things that do not work together to create an ideal Christmas gift basket.
2.What container will I use for my gift basket? Gone are the days of only having straw baskets to choose from. Today’s gift baskets come in all types of containers from a terra cotta pot for a gardening gift basket to a pasta strainer for an Italian food gift basket. Be sure and consider what container you will be using for your gift basket before buying the contents. This will help you know how many items to buy to fill your gift basket.
3.Will I need to ship my gift basket? The choices you make for a gift basket that has to be shipped will be dramatically different than if you are hand delivering it. It you will be shipping your gift basket be sure and choose items that will ship well and are durable. Consider both the temperature durability as well as the overall fragility of your gift basket items. Also make sure that your container can hold the items in place while it is being shipped.
4.What is the budget for each gift basket I am making? Before you make the purchases for your gift basket be sure and determine how much you want to spend. This is because it is really easy for a $20 dollar gift basket to turn into a $100 dollar gift basket if you are not careful. By determining ahead of time how much you want to spend you can then know how creative to get with your shopping.
Once you have decided on the theme, container, delivery method and budget for your home made Christmas gift basket go ahead and go shopping! Choose items that will really reflect your theme and place them in your unique container. As you shop be sure and keep these few guidelines in mind:
•Be sure to include all the components of a single idea. It is not fun to get a gift basket that requires you to go out and purchase something to make it complete. Be sure and go over all the parts of your gift basket to make sure that they fit the theme that you want them to.
•If you are giving ingredients to make a recipe be sure and include instructions on how to put the recipe together. If your gift basket is project oriented be sure and include any needed instructions and tips on how to complete the project. Receiving a gift basket that you have to figure out before you can use it is only a frustrating project!
•Remember it’s the little things that often make a gift basket special. Be sure and decorate your gifts with fun add- ons like ribbon, tags and cutouts. Tuck in a fun picture or unique item from the dollar store and you are all set to deliver your best gift ever!