My friend Tara makes amazing gift baskets. Seriously, they are gorgeous (and I wish I had pictures to show you!). For my bachelorette party, baby shower, and everyone else she has participated in, Tara collects 3-5 baskets as prizes for guests to take home. For this post, I chose her brain for her best advice on creating the perfect gift basket.
Tips for creating a great gift basket
- Plan ahead, if possible. If you know the theme of the basket, shop ahead and keep your eyes peeled for sale items. Can you shop after the holidays when things are on sale? Browse clearance items and use coupons when possible. I love the site and app, Retail Me Not, for getting a coupon while I wait in line to pay. I have also started using Ebates and am earning cash back for online purchases. It's amazing what you can find in the heavily discounted online clearance section. Why not earn cash at the same time?
- Think outside the basket. There are many types of containers that you can use for your gift basket; you don't need to stick with a traditional basket. Think of fun bowls, strainers, pots, and pans for cooking, food, or baking themes. Laundry baskets or cleaning buckets are ideal for college students and new owners. Try strollers or toy cars to give to children. Large glass jars with lids also look fun when holding lots of small items. Vintage boxes or home decor items also turn out to be interesting containers.
Stroll around the store and use your imagination. Consider the weight of what you will put in the basket and whether the base of the container is wide enough to provide support.
- Build your base. When you are creating a gift basket delivery, items look best when elevated in the container rather than sitting low in the basket. There are a couple of ways to do this. If your container is shallow, bubble wrap, tissue paper, shredded newspaper, and basket filler work great.
- Select a variety of gift items in size and texture. Create interest in your Memphis gift boxes by using a variety of colors, textures, and sizes. I always love to toss in an extra small item or two to fill in the empty space. See the bird in this basket below. . . so cute!
- Put your tall items in the back. Give all of your items a chance to be seen by working the smallest items in the front and the tallest items in the back.
- Keep your items insured. Glue dots, skewers, and even straws can help you keep flimsy items in place.
- Put something inside glass jars, cups, or drink containers. Tara suggests adding some basket filler or other item to the inside of the glass in your gift to give it depth.
- If you are going to wrap. . . It is not necessary to wrap all the Memphis gift baskets. If you are trying to dress it up, wrap your basket in cellophane and attach a pretty bow. When you are tying the cellophane, use a tape or pipe cleaner and then give the cellophane a tug to tighten it. Don't you want a bow? In a more rustic basket, I used raffia and a large wooden button as a focal point to tie the top of the cellophane.
Tulle is another option for wrapping go to this website your basket and securing everything in place. With tulle, there are many color options and it is quite inexpensive.