After having my baby a few months ago, I received what I would categorize as an amazing gift basket. Now, I’ve tried to assemble gift baskets in the past, but they’ve always seemed to fall flat. They may have some cute gifts in them, but I have never really felt like my gift baskets were all that great. When I received this gift basket, I immediately started taking notes because it was so well presented and thoughtful.
1.) Pick a Theme
One thing I immediately noticed about this gift basket was that it had two themes. The first was the color grey, and the other was mustaches. Most of the items in the basket fit in to one or both of those themes. From bibs and pacifiers with mustaches, to a grey stuffed elephant, to the grey basket, nearly every item fit in to one of the themes.
Another thing I noticed was that the items were all smaller items, likely between $5-10 each, and were purchased from different stores. By being focused around a theme or two, not only does the gift basket look really cute, but it focuses the shopping efforts. I know there are a ton of really cute baby items out there, so it’s easy to get distracted with adorable items. Picking a theme can help you keep on track and purchase only items that will make the basket cute and cohesive. It turns your shopping trip in to a scavenger hunt, which seems way more fun than struggling to decide which of the thousands of items in a store should go in to the gift basket!
2.) Use a Reusable Basket
I realize that the term “gift basket” has the word basket in it, but that doesn’t mean that an actual basket is the best container to hold the gift items in a gift basket. This gift basket was actually created in a cute grey canvas bin that is currently filled with baby toys. Another friend had given me a set of cloth diapers and diapering supplies in a similar canvas bin, and it now holds baby bedding and blankets.
What I am learning about gift baskets is that incorporating a stylish and useful container to hold all the small gifts together provides added value to the basket. If you are giving a housewarming gift, consider packaging everything in a large mixing bowl. If you are giving a set of towels as a wedding present, you could roll them up and package them in a large basket and the whole set could be used in a guest bedroom. Even a small gift basket can be made using a big decorative coffee mug or cereal bowl. Think about the person you are giving the gift to and try to come up with a container that you think they would be able to use on a daily basis instead of just opting for a normal basket.
3.) Include Gift Receipts
In the months leading up to and after having our son, we received a lot of gifts. While we were very thankful for all the gifts, we soon discovered that we had duplicates of items; too many of one item, not enough of other items, and quite frankly not enough room for all the things we received. I started sorting items in to piles of Keep and Exchange. Items that had tags on them, like outfits that our son outgrew before he could wear them, could be exchanged. I didn’t want to disappoint those who gave us the gifts, so I wasn’t about to go to my friends and family and ask them for receipts.
What I quickly realized was that the items lost a LOT of value when I didn’t have a receipt. For example, baby clothes from Carters can be exchanged at any time, which is great. Unfortunately, if you don’t have a receipt, you only get store credit for the lowest price the item could have been purchased for. This means that I was getting about $4 store credit for an outfit with a $25 price tag on it. While I would love to think that my friends and family purchased the outfit for $4, it’s more likely that they got it for 30-40% off ($15-17) because Carters runs those sales all the time. That means when I took the item to the store, I would be out of pocket about $10 just to get the same outfit one size bigger. Long story short: always include the gift receipt!
Of all the gifts we received, I was honestly surprised to find that only two people included gift receipts. Not surprising was the fact that the amazing gift basket came with an envelope that contained all the gift receipts. The gift receipts were not only all contained in a little labeled envelope, but the items from each receipt that were in the basket were circled so I could easily figure out which item went with which receipt if I need to make a return or exchange. It was super easy to do some exchanges, and I felt so much less guilt knowing that the giver was comfortable with the idea of me returning or exchanging a few things.
4.) Keep the Tags Attached
Earlier I had mentioned that the items in this awesome gift basket were purchased from different stores. How did I know this? Simple. The woman who gave me the gift basket kept the tags on each item, so I knew most of them came from Ross, Marshalls, or Home Goods. Keeping the tags let me easily match up the tag with the gift receipts for the items I needed to exchange.
To avoid the tackiness of displaying the price she paid for each item, she used a hole puncher to punch out the price on the tags, leaving the store and item codes fully intact. It was such a genius idea that even the cashier at Marshalls stopped and showed the tag to her coworkers when I returned a too-small outfit. Had I been able to keep all the items in the basket, I could have just cut off the tags, but since I did need to exchange a couple things the tags were a HUGE added convenience to the gift basket.
5.) Roll, Tuck, and Stuff
The final tip I took from examining the super cute gift basket was how it was assembled. There was not additional packaging, like tissue paper or other filler, which made it much easier to unpack than other gift baskets I’ve received. The bottom was packed with a solid layer of boxed socks, rolled outfits, and rolled bibs. Once the bottom layer of gifts was set to help give the canvas bin shape, the top layer of books, stuffed animals, and cutesy accessories were assembled on top to give the basket character. Unpacking the basket was such fun because I just kept finding more and more items tucked in to the corners of the basket.
Now that I’ve seen how easily an amazing gift basket can be put together, I am definitely going to use the tips and techniques I learned to create a gift basket for someone else. I hope they are helpful to you too!
Until next time, I’m the Domestic CEO, helping you love your home.
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