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Homemade Gift Basket Ideas

Here are my homemade gift basket ideas and secrets I use to make stunning baskets while keeping costs down.  At the bottom are links to take you to specific gift basket ideas telling what items to put together and creative containers to use.

Save money by knowing where to shop - thrift stores, garage sales, discount/closeout stores and after holiday sales. You can usually find the best prices with the least amount of effort at a thrift store. Most thrift stores have more baskets than they know what to do with and you can pick them up for a dollar or less. You can also find a wide variety of dishes, utensils, linens, scarves, tools, sports equipment - you name it.

When you're shopping, think of a theme, but keep your eyes and mind open to alternatives. Often one special item you discover can take you in a whole new direction much better than planned. 

Consider any container you find for a gift "basket". I have used some of these: buckets, watering cans, large bowels, plastic storage containers, wash tubs, styrofoam or plastic cooler chests and insulated bags (you can give items that need to be refrigerated), cookie jars, mugs and pitchers, trays, trash cans, etc.

Its easy to produce your own gift basket filler. If you own or have access to a paper shredder, you will have packing material in no time. You can mix red and green paper for Christmas or red, white and blue for July 4th. You can get a whole different look if you fold the paper into a fan before shredding or cutting it into strips. Other possibilities are: packing peanuts or peanut shells (the real kind), tissue paper, comics, saw dust, fabric, and raffia.

 The pros have a number of little tricks for making things stick where they want them. You can use rubber bands, twist ties, hot glue gun, florist's foam, chunks of soft foam, newspaper balls, long thin sticks, and thin wire or a combination of all of these!


Now for the fun homemade gift basket ideas!

8 Frugal Romantic Gift Baskets
Mothers Day Gift Baskets
Gift Baskets for Dad From Imaginative Moms
Fathers Day Gift Baskets
Gift Baskets for Children
A Breakfast Gift Basket
Mexican Gift Basket
Soup Gift Baskets
A Gingerbread House Kit