Gift Baskets for the Holidays

Make up gift baskets with things they like. For instance, make a basket with music related items, say a movie and a CD, a couple of packs of popcorn, some chips, Movie tickets to the latest movie; that sort of thing. Or a basket with make-up items or lotions, creams, for a woman, maybe fingernail polish, a barrette, perfume etc. You could also add a pretty scarf or a notepad, pretty pen or a necklace, whatever you think they would like.

For gardeners, a trowel, some seeds, garden gloves, for coffee lovers, small bags of gourmet coffee, a mug, some fancy creamer.

Food tins are nice too. Just make some of the quick, cake mix cookies, decorate them pretty and add them to a tin. Make several different ones and put them in those little plastic bags. Or maybe you have a fudge lover; make some of the easy marshmallow fudge and add different things to each batch. Raisins, M and M's, crushed heath bars, crushed peppermint, nuts etc. You can buy the little plastic bags that shrink with a hair dryer, at craft stores and the tins you can find at dollar stores or places like Walmart.

If your mother sews, some fabric and a pattern, you know she would like would be nice. Get the thread and zipper etc that it calls for, so she has all she needs to make it. Or get her a craft pattern and all the things she needs to make it.

One of my favorite gifts last year, was from my sister in law. She gave me jars of homemade Jam with little gingham fabric squares around the top, tied with raffia. It looks really cute. She also gave me a candle that smells really good, some chocolate covered pretzels and homemade cookies. Oh, and a new cookbook. I loved all this and I bet anyone would. Jars are inexpensive and recipes for Jam are really easy to make. Just look them up on the Internet.

We received a book with pictures of all the family and their favorite recipe printed underneath it. If they didn't have a recipe, they just listed their favorite foods and a recipe was printed for them. This book was printed out from the computer but she bought the cover from a computer store or office supply place. All she had to do was assemble it. It is fun to see what each person chose.

This is just some of what my family gives each year. We don't spend much but these are personal and a lot of fun to get.

By eve from Gulf Coast, USA