How to Assemble a House Warming/Wedding Gift Basket

I like putting together gift baskets. I don't know why they're so much fun for me. Maybe it's the thrill figuring out what the recipient would like and then tracking down just the right items, with the challenge of trying not to break the bank. You can put together a do-it-yourself basket for any occasion. Birthday, wedding, baby shower. I think it adds a personalized touch and really shows the thoughtfulness behind it.

Myself and 3 girlfriends put our heads together to make a wedding/house warming gift basket for our bride-to-be friend, Michele. You may remember her making ice cream sundaes here. I was in charge of picking up the goodies and assembling it, which is right up my alley!

First, I had to find a basket that would hold everything, and one that would be practical later on. Maybe they can use it to store blankets in their living room or tote laundry. I found a really nice one at Christmas Tree Shops (love that store), for $9.99. And it has handles.

Christmas Tree Shops also had wine glasses, of all sizes, for $1.99 each.

What goes with wine glasses? Good wine. To incorporate the wedding theme, I looked for wine bottles with some type of "love" label. This one was perfect.

Even more perfect, was this bottle of "Wild Horse" red wine, since the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. last name is Wild. I'm not making this up.

A set of adorable glass picture frame coasters, to protect their coffee table. $7 from Bon-Ton. I could see some wedding photos in these...

A yummy maple vanilla scented candle, also from Christmas Tree Shops, $3.99.

A super soft blanket for snuggling by the fire. According to the label, this "Fluffie Throw" is "Our cuddliest throw ever. Bigger than the standard throw!" I definitely wanted to keep it. But I was generous, and gave it away. Found it at Marshall's for $16.99.

Once I had all the pieces, I started putting them together. I used the paper that the wine glasses were wrapped in to act as filler on the bottom of the basket. This allowed everything to sit higher and look more full.

The biggest item, the blanket, was put in first as the base.

I placed the wine bottles as bookends on either side, since they would need to lean on the back of the basket. I started adding yellow tissue paper around the items to pretty it up.

Then I carefully arranged the glasses on either side, propping them up with more tissue paper. I put the candle and coasters in front, because they were the lowest items and could lean on the blanket. I added more tissue paper to fill in the holes.

A two layer bow, with orange and brown ribbon to finish it off, incorporating their fall wedding colors. Add some confetti or tinsel inside the glasses if you like.  

Voila! See, that wasn't so hard. You could make a basket like this for a date night or special occasion. Wouldn't you love to receive one of these? Hopefully Michele and Aaron won't read this and see what things cost... They are getting hitched next weekend! Can't wait to see them say "I do."