How to Make Gift Baskets ( Small Business)

Gift baskets are extremely easy to assemble, but the final result looks stunning – a true labor of love (without the ‘labor’). Suitable for any occasion, unique gift baskets can often be just the solution when you can’t decide on a particular gift item. You can use different shapes of baskets, with or without a handle, and the size depends on what you want to put into it.

What You Need:
* Basket – Sufficient for the items
* Cellophane – A roll or at least 1.5 to 2 yards or meters
* 2-3 Yards of wired ribbon or a ready-made bow
* Gift Tag with string to attach
* Twist tie, or rubber band to ‘gather’ the wrapping
* Items to insert in the basket
* Bag of individually wrapped candy

Here’s How:
1. Decide what the basket ‘theme’ will be first, then look for a sufficiently sized basket, and purchase all the items for it.

2. Cut 2 yards of cellophane and lay it on the table surface, right side down, and place the basket in the middle of it.

3. Arrange all items inside the basket; you can place a cloth napkin or paper doily in the bottom. Ensure that breakable items are secured or wrapped in cloth or tissue to prevent breakage. Position tall items in the center, with medium items on the outside, and small ones in between. Individually-wrapped candy sprinkled throughout the items, adds a nice sweet touch.

4. Gather up the cellophane, pulling up the short sides first, then longer sides, and secure with a long twist tie. A helper is great for this step.

5. Add the ribbon, making a nice bow with long curved tails. Or attach a ready-made bow. No need to remove the twist tie.
6. Attach the gift tag with string or tape it to the front cellophane.

7. If one of the short sides of cellophane is gaping, you may be able to adjust it by pulling gently on the top section, or secure with a small piece of clear tape.

8. Resist the urge to ‘play’ with the cellophane to get it just right – the idea is to gather the cellophane which produces an array of varying sizes of cellophane ‘petals’ – a unique ‘bouquet’. If the ‘petals’ are too long for your liking, you can trim them with scissors.

Tips:
1. Cellophane is sold in either clear, colored, print or festive. The clear with a small gold pattern is very versatile for any occasion.

2. Ready-made bows are great for taking the hassle out of making one, but make sure that the size is right for the basket – a large basket requires a larger bow. Likewise, don’t hide a small basket with an over sized bow.

3. Other items can be used instead of a basket, such as a casserole dish, pie plate, serving bowl, or gift box bottom. If the basket or container has very low sides, you may require a helper to gather up the cellophane.

4. The gift tag can be attached by a string from the gathered bow, or taped to the front of the basket.

To make it more unique, you can fully customized your gift basket according to the liking or theme of your clients. Here are some of the common gift baskets theme you can use.

Gourmet or Food Gift Baskets. These are the most common and popular gift baskets businesses and customers give to their friends, clients and family. A gift basket can be filled with candies, gourmet foods, coffees, biscuits, snacks, chocolates, wine, etc.

Bath and Body Gift Baskets- This is also a very popular, common items of these baskets tend to include towels, toiletries like scented soaps, shampoos, fragrances, oils, lotions, and new candles scents, even aromatherapy products.

Shower Gift Baskets- Perfect for either lifestyle changes like weddings or baby showers. Many entrepreneurs focus on a single market. For example, you can find a number of retailers selling exclusively baby gift baskets, weddings and birthdays.

Customized Baskets- A lot of your customers will want items in their gift baskets that are unique and not currently included in the item list. To make your gift basket unique, look for items that are hard to find, something unique and has a value. Your customer want a customized gift basket. Be sure to properly price your customized gift basket, given the added cost of shopping specially for the basket.

Sample Gift Baskets:

• Fishing Gift Basket – Great Father’s Day Gift
• Golfing Gift Basket – Great Father’s Day Gift
• Super Bowl Gift Basket
• Valentine’s Day Gift Basket – Chocolate Treasures
• Super Bowl Beer Gift Basket
• Christmas Gift Baskets From Stew Leonard’s
• Dog Gift Basket for Christmas
• Cat Gift Basket for Christmas
• Classic Halloween Candy Gift Basket
• Halloween Gift Baskets: How to Make Your Own

Marketing your Gift Basket

Make a goal for your business. Your goal should be to spread the word about your
business, create a signature image of your business, and convince customers that your gift baskets are of high quality and unique.

To be able to succeed in this business, make sure that your gift basket business is of high quality, unique and the price is affordable for everyone. You can market your gift baskets in offices, special occasions like Christmas, birthdays,weddings, anniversaries, etc.

Source: Mifflin, M. “How To Make a Unique Gift Basket – It’s so Easy”. About.com. http://housewares.about.com/od/giftideas/ht/giftbaskets.htm. Photo: mygourmetfoodgiftbaskets.com