How to Make a Valentine's Day Gift Basket for Cozy Mystery Lovers

The cozy mystery genre is very popular among readers who love to curl up with a good mystery. Typically devoid of gratuitous violence but still chock full of suspense, cozy mysteries typically have a themed backdrop though the entire series such as gardening, cooking, or knitting. If you have a special person in your life who loves nothing more than relaxing with a cozy mystery, treat them to a personalized gift basket this Valentine's Day.

Cozy Mystery Gift Basket Ideas: Basket. A gift basket does not necessarily have to be a basket, but a large rectangular wicker basket will make a great future storage option for your gift recipient's current reading. A bold red colored basket or one with a red liner is very appropriate for the Valentine's Day holiday and will add a nice pop of color to her decor. Any sturdy and attractive receptacle can be used for the gift basket including a galvanized bucket or tub, an Eco friendly cloth tote that can be used to carry books back and forth from the library, or a pretty cardboard gift box that can be reused and recycled.

Cozy Mystery Gift Basket Ideas: Basket Fillers. Treat your gift recipient to all the necessary items she can use for a long evening of relaxation with her favorite authors. Fill the Valentine's Day gift basket with her favorite candy snacks, a box of chocolates, a bag of delicious coffee or a box of teas that promote relaxation, a gift card for a local bookstore or Amazon so she can purchase some new reading material, and a lovely scented candle. Joanna Carl, Sarah Graves, Sue Grafton, and Joanne Fluke are very popular cozy mystery authors and all had new books published in the last several months. If your gift recipient is a fan of one or several of these authors, tucking their latest offerings into the gift basket will surely make your gift basket a real hit.

Cozy Mystery Gift Basket Ideas: Basket Extras. After filling in your gift basket with books, a gift card, chocolates and nice selection of coffee or tea, you may still want to add a few extra items to the gift to make it extra special. If your cozy mystery lover typically enjoys drinking a glass of wine while reading, you may consider a nice bottle of her favorite red or white and a red wineglass to add a little more festive color. Your cozy mystery lover may have been initially attracted to a certain author because she shares the passion of the main character or characters. If she is a fan of Ann Ripley's gardening mysteries and loves to garden herself, treat her to a new gardening tool or two or a new pair of gardening gloves. If knitting is her thing and she reads every knitting themed mystery on the bookstore shelf, a new pair of knitting needles or a skein of beautifully colored yarn will complement the gift basket nicely.

Cozy Mystery Gift Basket Ideas: Wrap It Up! After you have arranged all your gift basket items in an attractive way, consider making the presentation extra special by wrapping the gift in in a brightly colored or patterned cellophane either red, pink or clear with hearts and tying it off with a curly red ribbon. Attach a note card to the front wishing your loved one a wonderful Valentine's Day.A beautiful bookmark can also be hung from the ribbon with your Valentine's Day wishes written on the back side.