By Mike Tattersall

Often, coming up with a gift for that friend or relative in your life who already 'has everything', can be a bit of a challenge.  Last minute shopping for birthdays, bridal or baby showers, or even for Christmas, can be downright stressful.  Many stores offer pre-assembled gift baskets for almost any occasion, and while they do make fantastic gifts, can be expensive and somewhat limited and impersonal.  Here is where coming up with something special, that takes some time and effort to complete, is the perfect gift.  Pulling together a creative and thoughtful gift basket for that someone special is not only incredibly easy to do, but will leave a lasting impression on the lucky recipient.

First, you need to determine the theme.  Perhaps you would like to prepare a gift basket for a friend who is crazy about coffee.  Start gathering small items to include such as single pot gourmet coffee packets, chocolate covered espresso beans, coffee infused soaps or lotions, and a great travel or cute ceramic mug.  An avid movie lover would enjoy a basket of coupons for movie rentals, gourmet popcorn seasoning, 3-D glasses and a box or two of standard movie theater candy, such as Milk Duds.

Choosing the basket itself is the next step.  You can either take the term 'gift basket' literally and find a lovely wicker basket, available at most hobby or craft stores, or take your theme one step further and choose a coordinating container.  The movie enthusiast would enjoy receiving their 'basket' in a large stainless steel or wooden popcorn bowl, while the coffee lover's gifts would look great in a large, clean coffee can.

Don't forget the fillers as they will give your gift basket a festive look.  The coffee gift basket could be lined with whole coffee beans, with bunched up coffee filters taking the place of tissue paper.  Choose recycled coffee filters, which usually have a brown color, for a more organic look.  A gift basket for a baby shower could be lined with a soft receiving blanket, or a bed of cloth diapers.  To give the basket a finished look, purchase a large piece of cellophane to surround the piece, with enough to gather at the top and tie with some decorative ribbon.  Keep your theme in mind and choose a deep brown ribbon for the coffee fan and yellow, to mimic popcorn, for the movie gift basket, and a pastel color for a baby shower gift basket.

When you are able to present a collection of gifts that truly represent a loved one's character and interests, you've given more than just a gift.  You've shown how much you care, by taking the initiative to go beyond the basic gift ideas to create something very special.