Gift Baskets-Not Just for Christmas

Gift baskets can be a terrific gift anytime of the year-they can be frugal too! Especially if you are able to find the contents on a good sale throughout the year. Or perhaps, you could even throw in some of those free samples you have gotten over time to add with store bought items. For instance, right now would be a great time to stock up on school supplies that are on sale (or in some parts of the country, clearance!). Many kids are into drawing, coloring, writing, etc... and would really enjoy a gift basket-or, perhaps, a nice pencil box or craft box-full of supplies! I have set back a few school supplies such as notebooks, colored pencils, and crayons for my little artists and journalists for Christmas presents this year. I plan to decorate the covers of the notebooks with stickers, scrapbooking paper, or whatever else I can find-this gift box will end up costing me much less than $1 per child, but I know will give them quite a bit of pleasure!

How to make gift baskets? First, you need to keep in mind the person(s) you are going to be making the basket for. Are they a busy mom, or dad, who would love an easy dinner night? Are they a college student? Perhaps a new 16 year old who just got her first car? See where I am going here? :) You can make a gift basket for anyone, at anytime! You do not have to be super creative-just look around. Or, even get good ideas online.

For the 16 yo, I would include some of those handy car items we have all come to appreciate over the years. A flashlight, a small notebook to record oil changes and other minor car keep ups, a nice cd holder, some nice car scent doo-dads, etc....you could even throw in a cute keychain and some car cleaning supplies. Even a nice little holder for important things like insurance info and important phone numbers would be nice.

You are getting the idea...the options for gift baskets can be endless.

If you are looking for more ideas, here are some great frugal ideas from the friendly web to help you out :

Dollar Stretcher Gift Basket Ideas
BabyZone-Frugal Gift Ideas  Scan down to the Gift Baskets section or read the whole article as there are many good ideas here!
Family Finance Cheap Christmas Gift Baskets
8 Reasonably Priced Gift Basket Ideas