For several years, I have often given gift baskets at Christmas. There are several reasons for this: it’s pretty, it allows you to offer several small thoughts and… it is possible to create magnificent arrangements with a mini budget!
Here are some of my best tips for creating an original gift basket without spending too much.
What to put in a gift basket?
Personally, I prefer themed gift baskets. That is to say a gourmet basket, a gamer basket, a local basket, etc. I think it makes choosing surprises easier.
Here are some ideas:
– Beer theme: A blend of German beers with one or two glasses
– Cocooning theme: bath bomb, cream, scrub, candle, etc.
– Stationery theme: A notebook, beautiful pencils, pretty post-its and more
– Gourmet theme: An assembly of various gourmet products, according to the tastes of the person to whom you are offering the gift
– Lunch theme: Lunch box and set of reusable utensils
What’s fun with themes is that it can be both hyper personalized and hyper generalist, if for example you want to offer a gift to a colleague, a teacher or a person you know less.
Need a more specific example? Let’s go with a beauty-themed box. I created a gift basket with stuff I had at home… that I would have liked to receive!
The other items? Multiple, deconstructed packaging. This is one of my favorite techniques for making holiday gift baskets! They are very numerous at Christmas and often represent bargains… and a good way to spoil yourself along the way!
For example, the metal box (super cute, which can be reused), the blush and the highlighter come from Quo’s All Ready for the Holidays Makeup Bag ($40).
So I left out the eye shadow and the brush. Then I finished it off with a lip liner, also from Quo (I love their liners, they last super long), which comes in a pack of eight for $20 (so about $2.50 $ each).
In short, it’s difficult to say the exact total price because of the unequal splitting, but under the $50 mark, without a doubt.
After all, you will have understood, I believe that the trick to a successful gift basket is that it is well filled. And one of my favorite tricks to fill the cart is to add in mini-priced stuff, even though those might be less interesting on their own.
And I have several items left over from the multi-packs, to keep for myself, to include in another basket or to offer in an exchange, as a thought or just because. Once the gift baskets are assembled, no one can suspect that it is a technique for saving AND having fun at the same time… without spending too much! Don’t want to spend a lot of time designing from A to Z? Why don’t you order these cheese hampers and serve something special to your friends?
