Making Holiday Gift Baskets for Under $20

Looking to give your neighbors, relatives, or casual acquaintances a family gift with personal stylings? If you are all about that unique touch, than this is an easy, quick, and inexpensive way to impress those families on your list.

Materials

Start your travels at a "good" dollar store that sells little glass jars, baskets, and holiday cloth napkins. If you can't find what you need here, than go to a craft store as your second option, as things will probably be a hair more expensive for all of these raw materials. Whichever your choice, find a sturdy basket that will accommodate the size you would like to give to that family on your list. Don't worry about whether it has a handle or not, because sometimes open baskets can be more of an advantage when you are filling them with items that might be too tall for a handle. Next, you should look for a holiday cloth napkin, which you can line the basket with and can double as a gift as well. If you have trouble finding these, you can pick up some holiday fabric, or even more simply, some tissue paper. If you would like to include a 'home recipe' in a glass jar, than pick up these items accordingly as well. Don't forget ribbon, a few plastic poinsettias, and some pinecones for decoration on and in the basket. You can even utilize your pine trees for this, by breaking off a few sprigs and giving the finished basket a little pine garnish.

What goes inside?

If you are into giving baked goods, than bake away. Include mini loafs of cranberry nut bread or your holiday favorite and a selection of cookies. Either of these baked goods will look great in some festive plastic wrap (green or red) and topped with a bow. But if you aren't into doing that much baking, than buy a few bread mixes and/or pre-made cookie dough. Although it might not be as much effort, these recipes will likely have a way to 'specialize' it so that it looks more homemade and your recipients won't know the difference (e.g. buy a peanut butter cookie mix and then top it with a Hershey Kiss for a holiday favorite that no one will know you didn't make from scratch).

You've probably seen the recipe in a jar idea, but don't underestimate how great these are for families that have a lot of kids. Find your favorite cookie or brownie recipe and add all the "dry" ingredients of the recipe in layers inside a canning jar (i.e. make sure you avoid mixing each layer, so it looks neater and put the chocolate on the top). You can then make little tags on your computer of the recipe and date when you put it together so they know how long it can be stored. This makes a great gift because it takes out most of the effort in cooking that type of recipe-the measuring of the dry ingredients. Top this with a bow and put it into the basket.

Other ideas of "jar" related gifts are toppings, hot chocolate, and cinnamon and sugar. It might seem kind of simple, but merely getting a shaker jar and putting cinnamon and sugar mixed up inside is really exciting for kids. For those adults that have forgotten what a great snack buttered toast with cinnamon and sugar topping can be, they'll have a renewed chance to share this with their kids. Just make sure you label the jar so they know what is inside. Another idea that folks tend to like is filling a jar with homemade toppings. How about caramel chocolate syrup or your Grandmother's special sauce? You can present a dessert topping or even a tomato sauce in presentations like these.

Although these are all simple food items, they look great when arranged in a holiday basket, with a few loose wrapped candies on the bottom. Adding your personal touch is easy, and don't underestimate the complement you're giving when your recipients take a look at the homemade contents.