Homemade Gourmet Christmas Gift Basket Ideas

Gourmet food gift baskets make great gifts for adults and their families at Christmas. You can make your own homemade gourmet gift basket very cheaply and easily. Be sure to ask your recipient if he or she has any allergies or dietary restrictions prior to assembling a homemade food gift basket. You will also need to get a large wicker basket and some decorative shredded paper and ribbons in Christmas colors. Here are some ideas for the most popular food gift baskets for the holidays.

Gourmet Coffee Gift Basket

Find out ahead of time whether your recipient likes coffee and whether he has a coffee pot and grinder. If he does have a coffee grinder, get a small package of gourmet whole bean coffee from your local grocery store. If not, get the ground coffee. If your basket is large, get several different flavors of coffee in separate bags to add to your gift. Also include a decorative coffee mug or two. Add some small attractive packets of cookies, cocoa mix, candy and biscotti.

Gourmet Fruit Gift Baskets

You can assemble your gourmet Christmas fruit basket with either dried or fresh fruit. If you choose dried fruit, go to a health food store such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to pick up some dried papaya strips, pineapple, apples, figs, apricots, pears and prunes. Line a shallow wicker basket with food-safe plastic wrap. Carefully lay the dried fruit inside the basket. If you like, you can arrange the dried fruits together in the gift basket. Alternatively, you could group them by type of fruit. Cover the entire gourmet Christmas gift basket with plastic wrap to protect the fruit inside.

To make a fresh fruit gourmet Christmas gift basket, get some fruits such as grapes, bananas, pears, apples, pomegranates, kiwi and oranges on Christmas eve. Store all the fruit except for the bananas in the refrigerator. Also get small packages of crackers, pretzels, candies, cookies, chocolate or yogurt covered dried fruits and nuts, gourmet cheeses and tiny jars of gourmet jam, mustard, and cheese spread. On Christmas morning, arrange the fruit and the other foods in an attractive pattern inside the basket. If you like, you can also add a bottle of wine or champagne to your Christmas fruit gift basket.

Gourmet Cookie Gift Basket

The best way to make a cookie gift basket for Christmas is to bake the cookies yourself. Get a good sugar cookie recipe, some simple Christmas cookie cutters and some colored frosting or make some yourself using powdered sugar, butter and a couple drops of food coloring. Also get some cookie decors such as red hots, chocolate and colored sprinkles, green and red sugar sprinkles and chocolate chips. After baking the sugar cookies, decorate the cookies in creative patterns. Wrap each Christmas cookie separately in plastic wrap and set them carefully in the basket, preferably on Christmas eve or Christmas day.

Gourmet Chocolate Gift Basket

A gourmet chocolate lover's gift basket is easy to make. Determine whether your gift recipient likes white, milk or dark chocolate or all of the above. Find some gourmet Belgian, French or Swiss chocolate bars in decorative packagers. Also get some small packages of chocolate truffles, chocolate mints, chocolate caramels, chocolate fudge, chocolate covered pretzels, popcorn, nuts, cherries and raisins, cocoa mix, almond or cashew roca and chocolate cookies. Assemble the gourmet gift basket a day or two ahead of Christmas.

Gourmet Italian Gift Basket

Get some small packages of gourmet pasta, some jars of gourmet pasta sauce, small bottles of herb-infused Italian extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, some pesto, small jars of Italian salad dressing and pimento stuffed olives, packages of Italian cookies, candies, bruschetta, red pepper, ungrated Parmesan cheese, garlic bread sticks and a bottle of Italian wine. If you have room left in your gift basket, you can also include attractive decorative gifts such as a kitchen towel printed with an Italian landscape, wine glasses and cloth napkins.

For more ideas on this topic, read Perfect Cheap Christmas Presents for Adults.