Holiday FAMILY Gift Basket Ideas

[lynninpa]

...What are the families into? Geo-caching, camping, letterboxing, sports, you could gear the baskets to the things they do as a family.

I guess I am behind the times, so to speak, because I must ask-what is geo-caching? Letterboxing?

 

[Wendy31]

Originally posted by BernardandMissBianca - Wendy!!! These are awesome!!! Mind if I steal them for our annual 8th grade basket raffle??

Not at all! Have fun!!

Originally posted by lovetoscrap - What did you use in the teacher gift for # 4 and #2? (hand prints and photo)

I couldn't remember, but, luckily, when I went searching, I still had the list on my computer. (My DD was in kindergarten in 2005.) There were 12 students in the class, & I asked for $10 from each student. ($10 did not cover the cost of everything, I soon learned, so I had to pay a bit more out of pocket than I had planned. However, since it was my idea, I didn't feel comfortable asking for more money than $10/student.) Anyway, here's what we did --

#12 - "12 Students Learning" - There was a kiosk in our mall that sold ornaments on which you could have names written. I found a schoolhouse ornament there, &, by writing really small, the saleslady was able to write all 12 students' names on the ornament... really cute!

#11 - "11 Songs for Singing" - A CD w/ exactly 11 songs (the trick to this one is finding a CD w/ 11 songs that the person will actually like! LOL!)

#10 - "10 Toes a'Cozing" - wool socks

#9 - "9 Hours Reading" - a $20 gift certificate to Books-a-Million

#8 - "8 Cups a-Sipping" - 8 tea bags

#7 - "7 Baths a-Bubbling" - Bath & Body Works bubble bath (I asked her daughter what her favorite scents were)

#6 - "6 Sheets a-Sticking" - stickers for the classroom (I had a hard time coming up w/ this one!)

#5 - "5 Golden Kisses" - 5 Hershey's Kisses w/ Almonds

#4 - "4 Candle Lights" - 4 candles (in addition to the "12 Days" Theme, I was sorta going for a relaxation theme as well... wool socks, music, bubble bath, candles, reading, hot tea...)

#3 - "3 French Roasts" - 3 small packs of Barnie's flavored coffees (this teacher liked coffee, but you could also do hot chocolate)

#2 - "2 New Markers" - 2 new dry erase markers (obviously, I had the hardest time w/ #6 & #2... looking back, the stickers & markers don't go w/ the rest of the gifts AT ALL! LOL!)

#1 - "And a Partridge in a Pear Tree" - the Partridge in a Pear Tree Ornament from Hallmark

Since the teacher (& my parents) were opening all 12 gifts at the same time & not spread out over 12 days, the tags on the presents read, "For the 12th gift of Christmas, my students/grandkids gave to me..." & then the tag on the present had the name of the gift as mentioned - "12 Students Learning!".

Of course, the days/gifts can be tweaked & rearranged! I think I actually got this idea from the DIS! One of those "gift basket" discussion threads! (Even though I don't post frequently, I've been around for awhile... it's funny, when I first became a DIS board member, I was 31... hence, my username Wendy31... now I'm 36!)

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I guess I am behind the times, so to speak, because I must ask-what is geo-caching? Letterboxing?

Geo-Caching:
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.

letterboxing:
LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels.
http://www.letterboxing.org/ love this site.

they are very similar in the hunt style but the prizes are different. We don't geo-cach, but we have letterboxed in town.

 

[lynninpa]

Geo-Caching:
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.

letterboxing:
LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels.
http://www.letterboxing.org/ love this site.

they are very similar in the hunt style but the prizes are different. We don't geo-cach, but we have letterboxed in town.

Thank you for the info! Very cool!

 

[PaulaSue]

Sorry a little OT.....

I have a gift card for a ressie for take out, and cute plates, napkins dessert plates. What else would go nice for friends we dine with at each others homes and out with often? I was thinking a card/board game since we do that often or the computer games.

TIA!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

Sorry a little OT.....

I have a gift card for a ressie for take out, and cute plates, napkins dessert plates. What else would go nice for friends we dine with at each others homes and out with often? I was thinking a card/board game since we do that often or the computer games.

TIA!

Maybe a nice bottle of wine or sparkling cider. Dessert from Cheesecake factory or a local bakery. A new game would be great if that's what you do as a group.

 

[mlclements]

We love giving movie night baskets. We take a basket and pop plain popcorn for it. We use that as filling for the baskets. We buy one or more family movies. We buy movie theater candy (the box kind). We find the glass coke bottle pop and put in there. And some bags of microwave popcorn. Everyone has really enjoyed getting them.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I couldn't remember, but, luckily, when I went searching, I still had the list on my computer. (My DD was in kindergarten in 2005.) There were 12 students in the class, & I asked for $10 from each student. ($10 did not cover the cost of everything, I soon learned, so I had to pay a bit more out of pocket than I had planned. However, since it was my idea, I didn't feel comfortable asking for more money than $10/student.) Anyway, here's what we did --

Thanks so much Wendy! What a great idea. I may borrow it too.


We have done many movie night baskets from Blockbuster-- I buy the microwave popcorn that comes in the bucket and use that as the bucket and then add some sodas and large movie size candy (Walmart sells them) and a gift card to Blockbuster.

 

[hiwaygal]

Sooo... other than henry and david, anyone know of any good sites to get gift baskets? im looking for dried fruit specifically.

Try Liberty Orchards, Figi, Swiss Colony...or even just do a google search for dried fruit catalog or gourmet food catalog...

 

[4nana]

I've done a Movie Night basket, a Cracker Barrel Christmas Morning basket, a Game Night basket, a cozy Christmas basket, & a 12 Days of Christmas basket. (I've done these for some families at church & also for our brothers' & sisters' families - but for our families, we've still given gifts to our nieces & nephews & the baskets were "family" gifts. If I were not also giving our nieces & nephews separate gifts, I would have included more in the baskets.)

Movie Night - Popcorn, Cokes (or pop if you're not from the South ), Blockbuster giftcard, & movie-type candy. Tag - "Have Yourselves a Merry Movie Night & a Happy Family Time!"

Cracker Barrel Christmas Morning - Pancake mix, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Apple Butter, & Maple Syrup from Cracker Barrel w/ a Cracker Barrel Christmas ornament. Tag - "Merry Christmas Morning!"

Game Night - a family board game, a family card game, sugar cookie mix, hot chocolate. Tag - "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Game Night! Merry Christmas!"

Cozy Christmas - a Yankee candle, a Christmas throw, hot chocolate & Christmas mugs w/ a quilted Christmas ornament. Tag - "Have Yourselves a Cozy Little Christmas!"

12 Days of Christmas - I did this for our parents 1 year from our kids, & it was one of those things that I didn't know how much trouble it would be until I started trying to put it together. I wrapped everything separately & put all 12 presents in a box that I also wrapped. Each present had a number taped to it. On the front of the box, I taped a sign that said "12 Days of Christmas" w/ the instructions to open each gift starting w/ #12 & ending w/ #1. Anyway, 12 - "12 Months of Planning" (a calendar), #11 - "11 Songs for Singing" (a CD w/ exactly 11 songs - supremely hard to find!), #10 - "10 Toes a'Cozing" (wool socks), #9 - "9 Hours a'Puzzling" (a puzzle), #8 - "8 Goodies for Munching" (8 home-baked treats on a pretty plate), #7 - "7 Cups a'Sipping" (7 tea bags), #6 - "6 Pots a'Brewing" (flavored coffee), #5 - "5 Golden Kisses" (5 Hershey Kisses w/ almonds), #4 - "4 Angel Prints" (our 2 kids' handprints), #3 - "3 Yule Logs" (a sleeve of crackers, a beef log, & a cheese log), #2 - "2 _______ [our last name] (a professional photograph of our kids), #1 - "And a Partridge in a Pear Tree" (a Hallmark ornament of a partridge in a pear tree). The outside of each gift had the correct number taped it, & the gift itself had a tag w/ its "name" taped to it (e.g., the front of the calendar had a tag that said, "12 Months of Planning").

I also did the 12 Days of Christmas Basket for my daughter's kindergarten teacher from the class (I collected $ from the other parents), &, oh my gosh, it was a pain!! Fun, & her teacher loved it, but a pain to put together!

Edited to add - My mom, one Christmas, got us a "Day of Meals" gift - pancake mix, coffee, hot chocolate, dried soup mix, crackers, pasta, spaghetti sauce, cookie mix. Christmas 1999, she put together a Y2K Survival Kit - batteries, flashlights, bottles of water, duct tape, canned food, etc. - it was done kind of as a joke, but it was stuff we could use too - cute gift!

Absolutely love these different gift basket ideas! Thx to you and all for great suggestions!