If you’re stumped on what to get someone, collect small items to make an extra special present — a curated gift basket. People say it’s the thought that counts, but with gift baskets, everyone knows you put in substantial effort. It’s a lovely way to show someone how much you care about them while treating them to an array of gifts. 

Use this guide to create phenomenal gift baskets for every person and occasion! 

Select a Theme They’ll Love

The best gift baskets have a clear and endearing theme. The theme could be a specific holiday, occasion, or common thread through all the items. It’s best to select a theme before compiling items, but you can always try to create a theme around the items you already have. 

Our Favorite Gift Basket Themes and Occasions

Your theme can be almost anything. Our most loved gift basket themes include:

• Flowers and Gardens

• Eco-Friendly and Earthy

• Pet Lovers

• Personal Spa

• Cozy at Home

• Fun for Kids

• Movie Night

• Foodie Heaven

Consider why you’re giving the gift. And think about what the recipient is passionate about or what they might need at this moment. Your brother loves barbecuing? Get them grill tools and a seasoning set. Is your mom back in her gardening phase? Create a floral-themed basket with seeds and gardening gloves.

Grace and Able Compression Gloves, available in a wide variety of colors, make a great gift for people with chronic joint pain.

Here are fabulous occasions for giving a gift basket:

• Easter

• Valentine’s Day

• Christmas

• Halloween

• Birthday

• Engagement Party

• Wedding

• Groomsmen or Bridesmaid Gifts

• Baby Shower

• Housewarming Party

• New Job or Promotion

As you can see, gift baskets are delightful for most occasions. 

Add a Variety of Items

What makes gift baskets so exciting is that several gifts are rolled into one! Be sure to select a variety of enticing items to make the gift basket as spectacular as possible. As a good rule of thumb, we like to include at least one of each category:

• Something Edible: This gives them a fun yet fleeting item to enjoy.

• Something Everlasting: This gives them an item they can cherish for a long time and remember your thoughtfulness.

• Something Beautiful: This elevates the gift basket’s overall appearance and makes it more compelling for the recipient.

You can double or triple up on any of these and add items that don’t fit these categories. But these three things are a wonderful foundation. Shiki Wrap can be your something everlasting and something beautiful!

How Many Items Should a Gift Basket Have?

This depends on your budget and how much you want to spoil the recipient. But we recommend a minimum of five items and a maximum of 12. Of course, you should consider the size and cost of each gift. If one item is a new smartphone, three items might be fine. But if every item costs $1, it’s okay to go over 12. 

Our Top Picks for Gift Basket Items

Here are some of our favorite kinds of gifts to include in our basket:

• Inventive Products: We try to include a surprising and clever item in our gift baskets. Something like Shiki Wrap is perfect — it’s a refreshing product that solves many problems for people, saving them money, frustration, and time on gift-wrapping. 

• Specialty Foods: Include specialty foods that will surprise and delight. Find local goodies and rare treats, like truffle olive oil, or Vermont maple syrup from Local Maverick. 

• Enchanting Crafts: Look for small gifts that feel unique and carefully made, like the Container Candles from Rebels and Outlaws NYC.

• Favorite Items: Try to include more personal items as well. If you know the recipient always has a car freshener hanging off their rearview mirror or never goes anywhere without extra scrunchies, get them those.
  
  
  Container Candles from Rebels and Outlaws NYC

For more specific ideas, we often give:

• Candy

• Wine

• Candles

• Bath bombs

• Jams and jellies

• Reusable utensils

• Reusable bags

• Puzzles

• Gift cards

• Honey and syrups

• Lotions

• Socks

• Coffee mug

These are just to inspire you — there are endless items you can add to a gift basket. 

Pick Out a Cute Vessel

Where all your gifts go is just as important as the gifts themselves. We encourage you to select a container that is also part of the gift, just like when you give someone a present wrapped in Shiki Wrap!

If you’re not sure what vessel works best, consider the following:

• Wicker basket

• Mixing bowl

• Crockpot

• Metal bucket

• Sand bucket

• Cooler

• Cloth basket

• Glass jar

• Gardening caddy

• Flower vase

• Tote bag

Get creative with your vessel. Ideally, the container should be part of the gift, but it doesn’t have to be if you can’t make it work. One of our favorite vessels is a Shiki Wrap tote that they can untie and use in a million different ways!

Arrange it All Aesthetically

When placing items in your basket, make sure they look organized and attractive, not thrown together. Put smaller items in the front and larger, taller items in the back. Try to flare items out so everything can be seen at a glance, but it’s okay if it’s not perfect. 

To enhance the appearance, we place some sort of cloth at the bottom of the vessel. A kitchen towel or Shiki Wrap fabric are excellent examples. These are simultaneously part of the gift but also improve the visual appeal. 

Don't wrap the basket in cellophane. It harms the planet and makes the basket look impersonal and commercial. If you feel it needs a cover, opt for a container with a lid or use a liner like Shiki Wrap that simply ties at the top to cover the gift basket contents. 

Upgrade Every Gift Basket With Shiki Wrap

There is no gift basket theme that Shiki Wrap can’t fit into! The reusable gift-wrapping fabric and reusable gift bags can improve the basket in many ways. 

Use the reusable fabric and bags to wrap special items inside the gift basket; lay it on the bottom of the basket for a gorgeous arrangement; slip it into the basket as one of the exciting items the recipient can pull out. 

Shop our collection of stylish patterns and gorgeous colors to find one that beautifully suits your gift basket theme!

Video Tutorial: Lining a Gift Basket with Shiki Wrap