Gift basket filler
Gift baskets are a tried-and-true favorite, however it can be a bit costly to purchase one pre-made. Get the most bang for your buck by making your own gift basket to give. Doing it yourself will not only save you money, but will allow you to add personal touches, making it an even more special gift for the recipient to enjoy.
Basket
Find a cheap basket at the dollar store, a second-hand store or even from the back of your own closet. Freshen up a used basket with a little bit of soap and water. Use spray paint to give it some color. Or repurpose a box or another type of container and use that as the basket to hold the gifts. Use brown packaging paper or wrapping paper to line and cover the box. Fabric will work nicely for this as well, just wrap it around the box and use a hot glue gun to adhere the fabric to the box.
Filler
Since the basket is generally deeper and larger than the gifts can fill, a filler can be stuffed into the basket to prop the gifts up and make the basket appear fuller. Shredded paper makes a good and inexpensive filler. It can be made of plain paper, construction paper or even paper bags. If you prefer to use the store-bought fillers, stuff the majority of the basket with crumpled paper and line the top portion with shredded tissue paper or store-bought fillers.
Gift Items
Several inexpensive gift items can be made or bought to fill your gift basket with. If you are good in the kitchen, bake a few varieties of cookies and arrange a cookie basket. Chocolate- or caramel-covered apples can be made inexpensively and make a delicious treat and provide a festive look for a gift basket. If the gift recipient is a coffee or tea lover, fill the basket with things like a coffee mug, honey or sugar, creamers and of course, coffee or tea. A movie-night basket is a fun theme that can be inexpensive. Purchase a popular DVD (you might find it on sale) and include it with a packet or two of popcorn and some movie-theater style candies.
Wrap
After arranging the basket with the filler and gift items, you can leave it as is or you can wrap the basket. A mesh or transparent type of fabric will work well, or you can purchase stretch wrap, shrink wrap or clear cello bags from your local craft store or even a dollar store. Top it all off by tying the wrap off with a complementary ribbon. If you want to fancy it up a bit more, affix a bow to the ribbon or add a festive gift tag.
