Gift baskets are very popular to give. What themes are well recieved and frugal to put together?

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Themed Baskets

Gift Basket Ideas

Dollar Store Fillers

Last Christmas I did a few chili kits. I bought some of those grocery sack gift bags at 2 for 1.00, added a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of tomatoes and grn. chilies, (Aldis are cheaper) the assortment of dry beans were in one plastic bag tied with ribbons, and the spices were in another.

I included the cooking instructions, and a small box of cornbread mix. Everyone loved them.

This year, I'm either going with mexican bean soup in a jar, or a cookie mix in a jar.

I bought some cute little plastic buckets with lids for 2 for 1.00, and I may fill these with white chocolate and milk chocolate covered pretzels.

I have a newborn baby gift to get, so I think I will fill a basket with baby supplies and line it with a baby blanket.

One of our DSs and DDIL are celebrating their first wedding anniversary with a short vacation soon, so I am giving them a little basket with an assortment of snacks and a gift card for eating out.

Donna

 Hi...done many of these over the years between sales, coupons and dollar stores, mixing in homemade treats and candies. 

Movie Bowl - a bowl with a movie, micro-popcorn, candy, cocoa/coffee packet.

Bath - bodywash, puff, lotion, nail files, polish in a bag or basket.

Food - colandar with pasta and sauce, can mushroom, small cheese - crakers, cheese, spreader, little mints - assorted bakes goodies in acontainer

Bucket - fill with carwash, brush, shamies, scent car trees, ect ...

Bread with flavored butters and jam spreads ... can make your own compound butters and bake the bread. 

Puzzles Books - two books, pack of pens, a treat to eat - in a bag, little totebag, or decorated box.

Hubby's favorite - chocolate covered cherries, peanuts, pretzels, popcorn, chips and cheese ... foods to watch the game and eat.

 I am finding my baking mix baskets are not being as well recieved as I hoped.

The movie baskets I do are. I plan to make one for my father this year as his gift.

Brandy:

   I am finding my baking mix baskets are not being as well recieved as I hoped.  The movie baskets I do are. I plan to make one for my father this year as his gift.  

Brandy I think the reason is alot of people can't or find baking a waste of time when you can go to Walmart and purchase a cake premade for say $7.00 and eat it asap and to bake it would take time away from the Computers/Video Games & other life stuff. They prefer instant gradifaction.. which way most younger adults don't know how to cook or bake anything.. 

My dd who is 19 can cook & bake well However friends her same again can't even understand how to read a recipe... how sad is that...

jayashiangel:

it would take time away from the Computers/Video Games & other life stuff. They prefer instant gradifaction.. which way most younger adults don't know how to cook or bake anything.. 

I haven't bothered giving those baskets to younger people. Those were things I gave my parents, in-laws, brother and sister-in-laws. My brother and his wife are the only ones who really liked theirs and used everything up...oddly enough, they have been the youngest reciepients. My brother enjoys cooking though and gave culinary school a thought a few years ago.

Brandy:

I am finding my baking mix baskets are not being as well recieved as I hoped.

The movie baskets I do are. I plan to make one for my father this year as his gift.

It doesn't really surprise me, but I do think it's kind of sad.  Fairly few people bake any more, even when most (or all) of the ingredients are provided.  Last year, I made cornbread and took it to work as gifts for friends along with dried fruit and cookies - several of the people I gave the cornbread to were amazed at how good it tasted, wanted to know how I'd tweaked the Jiffy mix to make it come out that way, and were completely shocked to find out I'd made it from scratch.  I got lots of comments about how hard that must have been, and how long it must have taken to have done it - and even more shock when I told people that cornbread has 7 ingredients, and the only difference between making it from scratch and from a mix is that I had to mix the 4 dry ingredients myself before adding the 3 liquid ingredients.  Not one of the people I gave it to had any idea just how easy it is to make cornbread, because not one of them had ever so much as looked at a recipe - they just knew baking from scratch was too hard and too time-consuming, and couldn't believe I would even attempt it, especially as a gift.

The movie baskets, on the other hand, require little work/skill from the recipients, and are intended purely to provide entertainment - and are therefore more likely to get used.

karenteacher:

Fairly few people bake any more, even when most (or all) of the ingredients are provided.

 The mixes I have made were mostly pancakes, flavored oatmeal and cake mixes. All that was needed were the liquid and maybe eggs added, stir, pour and bake or cook.

I know quite a few people who prefer the taste of box or canned goods over homemade versions. I have to admit to that one myself when it comes to oatmeal but a nice pot of flavored cooked one can be enjoyable on a cold day.