Coffee Gift Baskets 4 U

Food gift baskets are popular gifts for birthdays, the holidays, or for any special occasion. Unfortunately, prepackaged gift baskets can be expensive! They also can be wasteful, as what are the odds that the recipient will like all the foods in the basket? So why not be creative and make your own custom food gift basket? You can fill it up with foods the recipient will appreciate, and you can control the cost. You also can include homemade treats, and what’s more personal than that?

When making a gift basket, it’s a good idea to include foods that are nonperishable, or at least foods that don’t go bad quickly. Choose food containers that are attractive and look nice together. Try to avoid foods that are too bulky. And most important, choose foods the recipient likes!

Here are some ideas for homemade food gift baskets, gourmet food gift baskets, healthy food gift baskets, and convenience food gift baskets. Choose one of these themes, or mix and match!

1) Coffee or tea gift baskets are great ideas – they work well for the Holidays and for birthdays and special occasions.  Plus they are so easy to accessorize and add little nuggets of joy. Start with 3 or 4 different types of gourmet coffee – using a good assortment. Mix heavy with dark and light and even throw in coffee from different regions. A good variety is always well received. Then add some nice accessories like coffee mugs and travel accessories. Finally add some biscuits or crackers and even some flavored creamers if you like. Chocolates, Nuts and candies add a wonderful final touch.

2) Homemade food gift baskets are great for the holidays, college exam week, or anytime a little comfort food is needed. Dress up a gift basket of prepared foods with a few homemade items for a personal touch. Some ideas for homemade gift basket treats:

·         Cookies

·         Quick breads

·         Mini muffins

·         Fruitcake

·         Rice Krispie treats

·         Hand dipped chocolate covered fruits and cookies

·         Sealed jars of jam or jelly

·         Sealed jars of salsa

2) Gourmet food gift baskets make great housewarming or holiday gifts. They’re great for foodies who love to cook, or for anyone who could use a few gourmet meals. Gourmet condiments often are available in small containers, so you can fill a basket with a variety of gourmet treats. Some ideas:

·         Olive oil

·         Balsamic vinegar

·         Chutney

·         Gourmet mustard or similar jarred condiments

·         High quality chocolate bars, truffles, and other gourmet chocolates

·         Marzipan candy

·         Gourmet coffee or tea

·         Gourmet cocoa for hot chocolate

·         High quality, expensive spices, like saffron

·         Cheese (but check the shelf life)

3) Healthy food gift baskets. These will make a welcome change of pace during the holidays, when everyone’s bombarded by cookies and candies. For a good balance, add some of these healthy treats into other gift baskets as well. Some ideas:

·         Fruit with a long shelf life (apples, oranges, pears, etc.)

·         Dried fruit, nuts, and trail mix

·         Herbal tea or green tea

·         Organic cookies, crackers, or similar healthy snack foods

·         Mixes for hummus, vegetarian chili, fat free brownies, or other healthful items

·         Low fat granola

4) Convenience food gift baskets. These are ideal for a new mother who doesn’t have enough time or free hands to eat! Fill these gift baskets with foods that are tasty, energizing, and ready to eat. Here are some ideas:

·         Energy bars

·         Cereal bars

·         String cheese

·         Bananas

·         Goldfish crackers

·         Microwavable containers of soup

·         Cracker sandwiches with cheese or peanut butter filling

Woodworking Tools

Giving an eco-friendly or environmentally friendly food gift basket is a great way to help the environment. Whether you buy the gift basket or make it yourself, the environment will be better off for it. Think recycled paper (100% post-consumer, waste/process, chlorine-free paper,) organic where possible, living foods, recycling and composting. Just follow these simple instructions for making your gift basket.

First of all, decide on what food theme you’d like for your environmentally friendly gift basket. Some ideas are: organic fruit, organic foods, organic vegan, organic vegetarian, living foods or wheatgrass gift basket.

Once you’ve decided on the theme for the environmentally friendly gift basket, decide whether you’ll be using organic items or products, organic hardy fruits, organic pre-packaged or homemade foods, or fair trade items like coffee and chocolates.

Next, decide on what items will go into the environmentally friendly gift basket.

For an organic fruit gift basket you’ll want to use organic, hardy fruits that will hold up well like: apples, pears, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, fuyu persimmons, pineapples, pomegranates, kiwis, baby kiwis, mango, papaya, nasturtiums, pansies or other flowers. These fruits will eventually decompose so take that into consideration.

For an organic food gift basket some ideas are: fruits, vegetables, herbal teas, specialty teas, shade-grown fair trade coffees, fair trade cocoas, fair trade chocolate, trail mix, packaged raw nuts, nuts in the shell, a quality nutcracker, hardy fruits, healthy snacks, organic popcorn, homemade foods, homemade jams, cinnamon sticks, vegan, vegetarian or raw food cookbooks, your favorite vegan, vegetarian or raw food recipe printed neatly on a 3×5 card made of recycled paper, books about organic foods, health, nutrition or energy bars, small bamboo cutting boards, bamboo skewers, non-plastic cooking tools, non-plastic, wooden eating utensils, edible nasturtiums, or other flowers for decoration.

For an organic living foods gift basket some ideas are: raw food ‘uncookbooks’, your favorite raw food recipe printed neatly on a 3×5 card made of recycled paper, packaged raw food crackers, raw food cookies, homemade or pre-packaged raw food brownies, jar of organic tahini, jar of organic almond butter or cashew butter or macadamia butter, jar of organic olives, jar of raw sauerkraut, jar of raw dressing, jar of raw salsa, or a jar of raw, unfiltered farm honey (keep in mind some raw food vegans don’t eat honey.)

For an organic wheatgrass gift basket you can use: wheatgrass growing supplies, organic soil, wheatgrass seeds, books about wheatgrass or wheatgrass growing, or books by Ann Wigmore.

Now that you’ve decided on the theme and what items to use it’s time to put your environmentally friendly food gift basket together.

For gift containers you can choose from: fair trade baskets, wooden baskets, wooden bowls, fiber baskets, straw baskets, locally made pottery, buckets, non-aluminum, non-Teflon cooking pots and pans, large tea pots, potted plant holders, wire baskets, large pasta bowls, large popcorn bowls, clay pots, colanders, fabric gift bags, used baskets and containers from Goodwill Industries and Salvation Army stores or anything recyclable.

For gift basket liner you can use: shredded newspaper, organic cotton tea towels, organic cotton dish towels, organic cotton hand towels, colored recyclable napkins, organic cloth napkins, or fabric pieces.

For gift basket filler, if needed, you can use: crumpled newspaper comics, straw or use your imagination.

And for gift basket wrap and tie you can use: recyclable paper, butcher paper, newspaper, newspaper comics, or reusable brown paper bags. Also check with the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries stores for inexpensive recyclable wrapping paper. Tie with jute or raffia twine for a simple rustic look or leave the gift basket unwrapped.

Now the instructions for putting your friendly gift basket together – first start with your chosen container. Place the liner inside and add the basket filler. Arrange the items with the tallest in back. If needed, fill any holes with organic wrapped candies or crumpled shredded recycled paper. Cover with wrap and tie with jute or raffia twine. Don’t forget the personalized, recycled card. If you’re using a homemade card include a great, happy, positive uplifting, spine-tingling favorite quote or saying. That’s it! You should have a fine-looking eco-friendly, environmentally friendly food gift basket!

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