How to Make Your Own Gift Basket for Thanksgiving

Gift baskets are a wonderful gift for the holidays. They are also extremely versatile- you can customize one for a relative or you can make a generic one for a boss or coworker. You can give a gift basket for many occasions: graduations, birthdays, Easter, and more. For this article, we'll focus on how you can make a gift basket for Thanksgiving.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. The first step is to gather the items you wish to include in your basket. You might want to make a candy gift basket for a nephew, or perhaps a business gift basket for your boss. If you know what sort of things the person likes, try to include that item, or similar items.
   
   Some ideas include: small packs of coffee, fruit, cookie/muffin/pancake mix, wine, popcorn, and organic gifts. You can add a mixture, or you can make it theme-based- sports, for instance. Since this is for Thanksgiving, I recommend items for colder weather: coffee and biscotti, hot tea, apple cider, sugar cookies, candles, pumpkin bread or pumpkin fudge (see link in resources section).

2. Once you have the items you wish to include, it's time to package it up. Lay out a piece of cellophane that's about two yards long. You can also use cloth- light, sheer fabric works best for this. Set your basket in the middle. You can purchase new baskets from places like Walmart, or you can recycle ones from previous holidays or from second-hand stores! Try thinking outside-the-basket too: flower pots, plastic pumpkins, and wooden boxes also make great alternatives to the more traditional basket.

3. Line your basket with filler, such as crinkle paper or shredded paper. If you have your own paper shredder, you can make your own! (See the related article.) Try using paper in autumn colors: golden yellow, orange, red, brown, and cream.

4. Begin adding your gift items, adding ribbons or stickers to them if they need a little help looking more festive. Add the larger items in the back and center, and the smaller items towards the outside.

5. Fill the rest of your Thanksgiving gift basket with small items to top it off. Candy and other small items work well here.

6. Once your gift basket is full, it's time to wrap it up! Above the basket, gather the four corners of the paper or cloth you are wrapping the basket in. Give the paper a twist, and add a twist-tie or rubber band to hold it in place. Wrap with ribbon, making a bow over the twist tie.

7. For a personalized touch to your gift basket, you can add a handwritten card or note. You can either add this inside the basket or punch a hole in the card with a hole punch, tie a piece of ribbon to the card, and add it to the top, around the twist tie. Voila! Your super-festive Thanksgiving gift basket!

Tips & Warnings

• Cut the cellophane/fabric at the top of the gift basket if it is too long- but try not to make it too neat! It's not supposed to be perfectly symmetrical!
• Make a few extra gift baskets to keep on hand for unexpected company during the holidays. That way, everyone gets a gift and no one feels left out!

Resources

• Seasonal fudge goes great in gift baskets!

[cygnetbrown]

on 10/3/2009 Thanks for the tips on making gift baskets for Thanksgiving.