Imbued With Personality

Gift Baskets That Wow

By Teri Brown

Sabrina Glidden of Eaton, Ind. is passionate about putting together gift baskets for her family and friends. "Gift baskets are personal," says Gliddon. "Recipients know their gift has been crafted especially with them in mind, and I can tailor the items to fit the occasion and the person's specific interests and tastes."

Customizing a basket can be as easy as using a favorite color or including a gift specific to a hobby. Someone who likes movies can be given a basket containing a couple of videos, a packet of popcorn, a copy of a movie review book, some tickets to the local theater and a box of theater candies. Someone who loves to knit can be given a basket full of the softest wool, a book of patterns, knitting needles and a subscription to a craft magazine.

For Gliddon, creating a personalized basket requires thought about who that person is. "I take something unique about them, such as a friend's love of music, and develop a theme from it," says Gliddon. "The typical music theme seems to be the black and white keyboard, so you can do a lot with that and then use one bold color to offset it, such as red or purple and then add musical notes printed on items like notebooks or key chains."

Though the holidays are a natural time to give gift baskets, they can be given anytime and customized for any occasion. Gliddon believes that doing baskets for off-the-wall times allows more room to be creative. "Usually, I make gift baskets for unconventional occasions," says Gliddon. "Like the one to congratulate my friend on success at a musical event or the one I made for my niece when she started playing soccer. Actually, doing baskets at unexpected times makes it even more of a surprise."

Great Gift Basket Ideas

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