What would you put in your gift basket?

There are many occasions when a gift basket is a present that will be cherished and appreciated, even though it is not something people often think of.
For many, the occasion that most brings to mind baskets is Easter. Easter baskets are generally full of eggs – either real hens’ eggs or chocolate eggs – and are sometimes accompanied by a bunch of Easter flowers. Taking your Easter eggs out from their cardboard packaging and putting them in a basket instead is a nice, traditional way to celebrate the Easter festival.
Christmas is the other big time of year for baskets, and this time they are full of rich Christmas foods, such as Christmas pudding and cake. If you make or buy a Christmas basket, be careful not to overdo it – the food is so rich that if you fill the basket right up, you might not even manage to eat all the food before it expires!
Harvest season is another big time for baskets, as they can be filled with fruit and veg that you’ve grown yourself and presented to your friends and neighbours as presents. It’s a fun way to make friends with the whole town.

Anniversaries and birthdays can be nicely celebrated with more personal baskets, such as baskets full of wine or flowers. A florist will be able to choose nice flowers to put in a basket for you, and some wine comes pre-delivered in gift baskets anyway – you could even mix the two.
Another thing to try is to package completely normal presents in baskets, just as you would with a gift box or wrapping paper. This way the recipient gets a basket as an extra present, and will be surprised that whatever’s in the basket isn’t what a basket usually contains – it could be a great surprise to take the DVD box-set your girlfriend’s been wanting and put it in a basket!