Creating Your Own Gift Baskets For The Holidays
by Shelly Hill

Creating your own gift baskets to give as holiday gifts is really easy and fun. You can save money by making them yourself instead of buying them from a trendy gift store. You can make them for personal use to give as gifts or start a home based gift basket business. You only need a few simple supplies to get started. Supplies: Basket Basket Filler (shreds) Basket Clear Cellophane Bag or Basket Wrap Ribbon (to tie off the bag) Ribbon (to make a bow) Gift Tag Product Fillers Scissors Now let's get you started with some theme ideas for those on your holiday gift giving list.

1. Correspondence Gift Basket: note cards, all occasion greeting cards, book of stamps, personalized address labels, pens and address book.

2. Manicure - Pedicure Gift Basket: top coat, base coat, colored nail polish, nail polish remover, nail polish remover pads, cotton swabs, toe separators, nail file, nail buffer, cuticle pusher, nail clippers, nail brush, hand cream, foot cream, foot file and a travel pack of tissues.

3. Book Lovers Gift Basket: journal, pens, 2-3 books, 2-3 bookmarks, reading glasses, candle, gift card to a book store and a magazine.

4. Bakers Gift Basket: cookbook, oven mitts, hot pads, trivet, recipe cards, spices, 6 cup muffin pan, muffin pan liners, spatula, mixing spoon, measuring cups, measuring spoons, apron, rolling pin, pastry sheet and baking pan liners.

5. Snack Lovers Gift Basket: microwave popcorn, bag of popped popcorn, chips, pretzels, candy bars, cookies, snack cakes and crackers.

6. Movie Night Gift Basket: 2 tickets to a local movie theater, 2 DVD movies, 3 bags of microwave popcorn and several packs of candy.

7. Gardener Gift Basket: flower seed packets, vegetable seed packets, gardening gloves, knee pads, gardening hand tools, small gardening decorations, outdoor thermometer, gardening book and gardening magazines.

8. Dog Lover Gift Basket: dog book, dog bones, dog treats, dog leash, dog collar, dog clean-up waste bags, dog shampoo, dog toys and a disposable camera.

9. Cat Lover Gift Basket: cat book, cat treats, cat leash, cat collar, cat shampoo, cat toys and a disposable camera.

10. Teen Girl Gift Basket: nail polish, nail remover, cotton swabs, cotton balls, nail file, perfume, shower gel, body lotion, hair items, teen girl magazines, journal book, pen and a disposable camera.
11. Bath Spa Gift Basket: bath sponge, mesh pouf, shower gel, body lotion, bath back brush, bubble bath, bath salts, bath bombs, bath soaps, wash cloth, bath towel, robe, slippers and a bath wrap.

12. Hair Care Gift Basket: hair towel, shampoo, conditioner, hair mask, hair gel, hair mousse, hair spray, head bands, pony tail holders, barrettes, hair clips, brush and a comb.

13. Laundry Care Gift Basket (great for housewarming and bridal showers): stain remover stick, spray and pen, dryer sheets, laundry detergent, fabric softener, hand washing detergent, lint brush and an iron.

14. Scrapbooking Gift Basket: 8x8 scrapbook, solid 8x8 scrapbooking papers, print 8x8 scrapbooking papers, 3 glue sticks, 1 pkg. glue dots, 1 pkg. brads, 1 pkg. eyelets with eyelet tools, 3 packs of stickers, decorative border scissors, disposable camera and other scrapbooking embellishments.

15. Bird Lovers Gift Basket: hardbound coffee table bird watching book, bird watching journal book, pen, bird feeder, small bag of bird seed, binoculars, small birdhouse and a disposable camera.

These are just some suggestions on what you can use as basket fillers, you don't have to fill your gift baskets with all of those items. Get creative and 'think' outside the box.