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Affordable Gift Baskets
Wednesday, November 16, 2005

By Christina VanGinkel

Gift baskets are always a good way to go with a gift for someone that is hard to buy for, and with the upcoming holidays, even more so. The problem with giving a gift basket though, is that by the time you often assemble a suitable basket or container and add in all the goodies, the cost can be anything but budget minded. The key here is to be on the lookout for gift basket ingredients all the time, and to personalize the basket for the occasion. For Christmas themed baskets, for example, look for ribbon with holiday accents, etc. so that the basket's contents can be fitting the individual, yet the basket can be themed to the holiday at hand. Kitchen baskets are one of my absolute favorites as they can be given to both experienced cooks and beginners, by just changing the ingredients.

Basket Ingredients

Dollar stores are a budget minded person’s best friend. For a dollar, it is now possible to discover brand new cookbooks and one-of-a-kind kitchen gadgets and goodies suitable for gift giving. Whenever I enter one of these amazing stores, I always keep an open mind on what might be a suitable addition to a basket gift. In addition, sales and clearance aisles are always part of any visit I make to a store. You never know what you might discover.

When you do discover a good deal, pick up an item or two. Whenever you discover a great deal, pull out your upcoming birthday, anniversary, and holiday list to remind yourself of how many people might be a match for the item. Overbuying a sale item is NOT budget friendly, but if you know an item can be put into more than one person's basket, then it makes perfect sense to grab a few. When I came across a stack of Better Homes and Garden Cookbooks that were outdated according to the publisher's date inside the cover, yet looking as new as the ones in the bookstore down the street selling for nearly forty dollars, it did not take me long to grab as many as I could carry and head to the checkout.

Baskets

Following the same rules for the ingredients, only buy a basket if it is truly a deal, and if it can be personalized. Look for baskets that have a wide strip around the top, or bottom that you could stamp or paint. Loose weave baskets often end up in dollar stores for some reason. They are great not only for their price, but because they are easy to accent with fabric. Cut scrap fabric that will complement your theme into strips about two inches wide by how ever long a length you need to go once around the circumference of the basket. Fold, tucking in the un-sewn edges, weave, then finish by tying each strip off into a bow, or cut and glue edges to inside of basket. I also have found tall baskets to be especially useful when I know I plan to give a basket that includes long items, such as rolling pins or a food themed basket filled with long pastas.

Assembly

Do not just toss the contents into the basket. Take the time to arrange, tucking in a meaningful note or other small personalization, such as a few handwritten recipe cards. Remember, the difference between a gift and a gift that elicits a WOW, is often in the presentation.

Wrap it up!

Dollar and discount stores often have cellophane in holiday themes that will fit over an entire basket, complete with bow or ribbon. This makes the perfect final addition to a holiday basket.

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