Gift Baskets by Nikki Willhite www.allthingsfrugal.com Gift baskets make great presents. When planned ahead, they can also be inexpensive.  There are many opportunities during the year to get free things on the Internet. When similar free things are grouped together, with a few finishing touches they can turn into a great gift. For instance, there have been many opportunities during the year to get free cookbooks on the Internet. All these books can be grouped together to form an impressive stack.   It is easy to organize gift baskets. The baskets themselves become the storage places for these similar items. All you need to do is decide on a theme, and then add to them throughout the year. Finish them off with a few carefully selected items and decorate to make them look attractive. You can wrap them in cellophane or use tissue paper. Anything that looks nice. While it may be too late this year, think about this for next year, or perhaps a birthday. Here are some ideas for gift baskets that would suit a lot of people: Grandparents Grandparents love pictures. They love cassette tapes. If you have musical talent in your family, record it, and let your family all speak on the tape. The tape will be played over and over, until it breaks! Send pictures made by your children. If you have a video camera, make tapes. You might consider borrowing or renting one if you don't. Grandparents do not usually want or need material things. They want sentimental gifts and will treasure them. Children Use a wide variety of items, such as crayons, colored pencils, finger paints, coloring books, paper, small balls, tiny toys, story books, stickers, etc. There have been quite a few of these items offered free on the Internet this year. Pets People love their pets. In many households, they seem to take the place of children. In those cases, a basket for their pets is a good choice. There have been many pet freebies this year, from food and treats, to personalized food containers. There have been pet calendars. Find a couple unusual items on the Internet for a great pet gift. For the Cook As mentioned previously, a variety of cookbooks is the foundation for this basket. Some things to add to this basket would be food items and utensils. You could take your inspiration from one of the cookbooks, or from the foods you know the person to like. Dessert Baskets These can range from cookies to ingredients for ice cream sundaes. Cookbooks are again appropriate, although harder to find just for deserts. I would include in this category homemade jellies and jams, ice cream toppings, utensils like ice cream scoops, cocoa drink mixes, cookie cutters, etc. Homemade recipe cards for special desserts add a special touch. For the Bath These are very popular now. This gift is popular with both young girls and older women. Items in the basket can range from aromatic candles to bubble baths. There were many lotions, shampoos, perfumes, soaps and even make-up that was free this year that would work in this basket. Nature Lovers If you are a gardener, you can give seeds, cuttings, bulbs, or you can buy them. Tiny shovels seem to disappear, and are always appreciated. Gardening aprons and knee pads can be made. Free catalogs are fun to look at. Craft items such as birdhouses or wind chimes upgrade this gift. Games Fill a basket with games for the whole family. Use lots of small games, cards, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles- anything that families can do together and have fun. Music Fill a music basket with cassette tapes you have recorded yourself. This is very easy to do with music rented from the library. Include some unusual tapes, such as for relaxation.

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