The holidays are here and many people are looking for homemade, budget-friendly gift ideas. A homemade holiday gift basket is a great idea, fun to make and simple to do. The items for each themed basket can be found at a dollar store, discount store or can all be homemade.

Gather The Gift Basket Basics

The process is short and simple by gathering all of your supplies first and making your baskets as you go along. Many items needed to make a homemade holiday gift basket can be found inexpensively at dollar stores, Goodwill stores, craft stores, discount retailers, online and thrift shops. The items needed include:

  • Baskets or containers to put all the items in. Baskets of all shapes and sizes can be found at the dollar store. Container ideas include large bowls or containers in plastic, porcelain or glass for a nice, classic touch. Terracotta flower pots also make great containers.
  • Material to fill the bottom of the container. An inexpensive idea is to use shredded paper from home. Other ideas include tissue paper or paper shred found at the dollar store. One last idea is to use newspaper to fill the majority of the container up and cover with 2-3 pieces of tissue paper.
  • Cellophane wrap to finish the basket. Cellophane can be purchased at a dollar store, craft store, discount store or found online. If it's a homemade fruit basket, purchase shrink wrap and not plain cellophane. It is heat activated, secures the fruit and prevents moisture or any debris from touching the food items.
  • Gather the gifts for each basket and small items to fill in empty spots. Chocolates, hard candies, homemade gifts like truffles, chocolate lollipops or small inexpensive dollar store ornaments.

Homemade Gift Basket Theme Ideas

A themed basket simplifies what items to get for the basket because it's around one central idea. The homemade themed gift basket can be tailored to the recipients favorite hobbies, activities, profession or just what they enjoy the most like bath items, coffee or chocolate.