How to Create a Thoughtful Gift Basket

The joy in giving a gift is seeing that bright smile on the recipients face.  There is no better feeling than having your gift treasured, enjoyed and used by the person who received it.  My dream has been to create gifts that are so beautiful, one hates to disassemble it, ye once they do they find treasures that they never dreamed of, or that they did dream of. The following is a great example of the creative love that goes in to selecting and creating a basket for a friend or loved one, which you can replicate and create yourself!

A client recently came to my shop in Westport and we were brainstorming the perfect gift that would be both useful and beautiful for a young lady who had just moved in to her first apartment.  We had a picture of the furnishings and noticed that the table was bare in the photo.  We created a "centerpiece" basket, which included three different shapes and sizes of candles, a cutting board, which could be used as the base of the candles or otherwise, burlap, and a mix of items from starfish to lavender.  The basket was lined with yards of burlap, which is a signature item that can be intertwined among the base of the candles, along with starfish, lavender, stone birds, cinnamon sticks, pine cones and a beautiful box of matches. These items create a year round centerpiece:  The birds can be nestled among greenery in the winter with berries, pine cones and cinnamon sticks; resting among the lavender for Spring; with the starfish and lavender for summer; and among the pine cones, cinnamon sticks and leaves from the yard in the fall.  Inside, I included a note about the items that were chosen to give this young lady some direction on how she could use these items for a table centerpiece.  A note like this is always helpful as not everyone may have that creative bone to know what to do with the items you have selected.  But the best part is that once you show and tell, they will feel elegant and smart with this gift.  Also, a basket is always chosen with the idea that it can be used as for a picnic, as a vessel for plants, magazines or anything the recipient might want to house inside it -- the key is to select a basket with character!

Baskets are evergreen and I have yet to meet someone who does not appreciate getting one.  Select a basket that speaks to you and that the recipient will be proud to display.  Then, fill it with items like the ones I choose, which can be used as focal points on a table or as room decoration.  When each and every piece is useable, this gift will bring a smile to your friend or family member’s face for years to come.