Affordable Themed Gift Baskets for Kids

Themed gift baskets for kids can be cute but very expensive. By making your own instead of buying retail gift baskets, you can select each item personally and stay within whatever cost limits you set. Use the tips in this article to create your own budget-friendly gift baskets for kids.

Budget-friendly gift baskets for kids start with a good theme.

Don't pick a theme which will leave you searching for gifts at only one or two stores. A common theme means lots of stores will carry items, and that increases your chances of finding gifts on sale and even finding gifts at dollar stores and discount shops. Here are a few ideas that I think would work well as themes of gift baskets for kids:

Popular comic book heroes (Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, etc.)

Well-merchandised films or TV shows (Narnia, Dora the Explorer, Veggie Tales, SpongeBob)

Any animal your child has a special interest in

Sports

Gift baskets for kids depend on a variety of materials.

Variety is what makes a gift basket interesting and attractive. You might consider looking for several of the following items that fit your theme: T-shirts, toys, videos and storybooks, educational videos, coloring books, candy or snacks, toiletry products, pajamas, underwear, stuffed animals, jewelry, shoelaces, pencils and pens, stickers, paper or stationery, or tickets to a live event.

Variety also keeps the budget-friendly in "budget-friendly gift baskets for kids."

Variety also can help you stay on track with budget-friendly gift baskets for kids. A helpful trick is to limit the expensive gifts to one or maybe two for each basket. Fill in the rest of the themed gift baskets with small, relatively inexpensive items. If the expensive gift is something that is physically small (such as tickets to a live event), you can draw your child's attention to it by wrapping it in a larger box.

Involve the whole family in gift baskets for kids.

You can also keep the gift baskets affordable by involving any family members who usually purchase gifts for your kids. Just be sure to let your children know the gift baskets are from the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or whoever, not just you. Family members who live a long way from you and don't know your children well may be glad for some direction on what to buy your kids. And by combining everyone's efforts, the whole family can feel that your children received nice gifts without costing everyone a fortune.

In budget-friendly gifts baskets for kids, include "big" gifts that don't cost much, or anything at all.

How well you can follow this tip will depend on the theme of your gift baskets. But here's an example how this idea might work. If your daughter is crazy about dogs and has been asking for a pet, but you keep saying no, you could give her a dog-themed basket, and one of the gifts could be your permission for her to pick a dog from your local dog shelter.

Budget-friendly gift baskets for kids require appropriate packaging.

Part of the fun of gift baskets is how they look. But wrapping and baskets can get pretty expensive. For budget-friendly gift baskets, try to think creatively. Anytime you can use one of the gifts as wrapping, do it and save some more money.

Use plain tissue paper (in two or three colors from the hero's suit, animal's coat, or sports team) to wrap small items.

If you find appropriate sheets or towels, use these as a sack (instead of an actual basket) or as "wrapping" for large items.

If you find a purse, backpack, or suitcase, stuff it with gifts.

Use any old calendar or magazines pages that fit the theme as wrapping paper.