If you can’t decide on the perfect gift, don’t worry! Giving gift baskets is a fun way to bundle a selection of goodies for your favorite people. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to packaging gorgeous gift baskets for the holidays.
Pick a gift-basket theme
First, decide on a theme for your gift basket. This will help you choose the products and packaging. Here are a few popular gift-basket themes, but feel free to create your own. Let the hobbies and interests of the gift recipient be your guide.
- Breakfast
- Romantic picnic
- Hot chocolate and marshmallows
- Craft supplies
- Gardening
- Movie night
- Ice cream sundaes
- Pizza-making kit
Choose a basket
When selecting a basket to package your gift, consider how much space you will need and the type of basket that your recipient would enjoy using long after the gift is opened. We’ve selected a few of our favorites.
Wire marché basket
These handcrafted wire marché baskets come in three sizes, so you can choose the perfect size to hold your gifts. The open weave is ideal for showing off the items inside. The baskets will surely be given jobs after the holidays — as book holders, towel holders or even to store newspapers or magazines (The Container Store, $10-$25).
French Market Basket
This Moroccan-style French market basket reminds us of the shopping bags at Anthropologie, and it’s the perfect bag to fill with holiday gifts and goodies (Wunderley, $37).
Wooden apple basket
Skip the apples and fill these wooden bushel baskets with gourmet treats, bath and body products or breakfast fixings instead (Crate & Basket, $3).
Metal handled basket
A tisket, a tasket — go bold with this red metal basket (Target, $20).
Quick tip:
No time to order gift baskets online? You can find a huge selection at World Market or The Container Store.
Add a basket liner
Feather your nest, so to speak, by lining your gift basket with tissue paper, shredded paper (both available at any craft store) or better yet — a reusable dish towel.
Floursack tea towels
If you’re into color coordination, take a peek at the selection of Now Designs Floursack tea towels. We counted a dozen hues from which to choose (Amazon, $11).
Fill with goodies
Once you’ve selected your gift-basket theme, head to the store that carries the widest selection of products that match what you’re looking for. Better yet, head online and shop in
Wrap it up
The easiest way to wrap a gift basket is to use clear cellophane and a ribbon. Cellophane comes in rolls or bags, as seen below.
Cellophane snowflake basket bag
The Container Store sells a 20 x 24-inch snowflake cellophane gift-basket bag that you can cinch up with a big bow (The Container Store, $4).
Clear cellophane rolls
If your gift basket isn’t the right size for a cellophane bag, clear cellophane rolls make it easy to wrap up baskets of all sizes. Simply gather the cellophane around the basket, tape it and finish with a big bow (The Container Store, $1-$6).
Quick tip:
Not exactly sure how to wrap a basket with cellophane? See exactly how it’s done in this YouTube video!
More holiday gift ideas
Out-of-the-ordinary music gifts
10 Homemade wine gift bags
10 Creative ways to give a gift card
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