Making your own gourmet gift baskets is not only fun but also an affordable alternative to purchasing them ready made. Before picking out the gift basket itself, decide what candy you will be placing inside and how many you will want for each basket. For every holiday, you have the opportunity to show off your talent - Valentine's gift basket, Mother's day gift baskets and Christmas gift baskets. A trip to your local candy store will give you a huge assortment of choices.
Individual candies are available wrapped in very pretty and elegant wrappings. Many other themed candy wrappings are commonly available. Sports themed wrapping, holiday and birthday themes are popular. Another alternative is to buy bulk candy and create small individual packages for your baskets using small cloth bags or squares of transparent wrap or tissue paper filled with the candies. The corners are then gathered up and tied with a bow.
This is not only another cost cutting idea, but also helps to add a personal feeling to the gift basket. Consider the recipient when wrapping your own candies. Is she a teenage girl? Replace the bow with a clip or pretty scrunchie for her hair. Is it a male friend? Ask yourself what his interests are and what activities he enjoys. Perhaps you tie a golf tee under the bow of a candy assortment, or the bow atop the basket itself could be created from a necktie.
For a larger variety of candy choices than you have locally, consider the option to buy candy online. A quick entry into a search engine for a candy online store will bring you many more choices to consider for your baskets. Once you have decided what will go into your gourmet gift baskets, you can then choose a style and size of basket. When making several different baskets, don't limit yourself to the same choice for them all.
The basket choice for each recipient can be just as personal as what you choose to put inside. Consider what they might do with the basket once the contents are removed. And also don't limit yourself to just baskets! For a child a fun lunch box or backpack might be just the thing.
A lady can always use another cosmetic bag or handbag. A gentleman would no doubt find a use for a metal tin or a small travel bag. Consider filling a beautiful vase, a large coffee mug or something as unusual & unexpected as a Chinese take out box for that friend whose favorite lunch is moo goo gai pan With just a little thought to the recipients likes and interests you can make a gourmet gift basket really special.
Personalization is the key. We all love chocolate candy, but as we grow older some of us begin to consider it a forbidden fruit. How did something that ancient civilizations considered the food of the gods become so strife with controversy today? Isn't that the reason you've decided to create your own? .
By: Natalie Aranda
