Making gift baskets for your man, part 3. We’ve already looked at theming your basket, and finding an idea for a container. We’ve also looked at the gifts you will be buying. Now how to put it all together.

You’ve got your theme worked out, got your gift basket or gift container, you’ve collected all his gifts ranging from small and sometimes humorous gifts right through to one or 2 more major gifts.

And they all fit in the basket.

Next step is to pack it and make it look good. The first thing you need is a liner. A piece of fabric that is related to his theme. The purpose of the liner is to make it easier to pack the basket and to make it look better. If it is a little too big for the container that’s fine, it can hang over the side a little, that looks good.

Next you need some packing materials, something to go between the gifts and to help protect them from rattling and falling over. Shredded paper works well, shredded cardboard. Screwed up paper works.
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So you’ve read my previous article about making your own gift basket.

You’ve spent some time thinking about your theme, you’ve identified some great theme designs and found a basket, or some other themed container to use as a basket.

Good work, take a break.

Had your coffee? Back to work. Next, what to put in it. You need good gift baskets ideas, get thinking.

Again of course, it’s all about him and his interests. Start with the main gift or gifts. Now I suggested in my previous article that it’s important to have a good idea what to put in the basket so that you get one the right size, keep that in mind.

Are you intending to give him one main gift, and a bunch of supporting gifts, or several larger gifts?

Remember your theme. If it’s a fishing gift basket for instance your main gift may be a new fishing reel. You may also include a range of new lures for him.

If you’re not entirely sure of the gift then ask his friends. That’s always worthwhile. So say it’s a fishing gift basket, (and you’re not into fishing with him) ring up his fishing buddies and ask them to suggest what he’d like in the way of new fishing gear.

Ask them for a range of suggestions, including some small cheap suggestions. These always make good fillers.

For instance there may be some new hooks on the market, find out whether he’d like some. Hooks are cheap, and small.

Make sure you get some small filler gifts to fit in all those small spaces in the basket. Still related to your theme.

And it always goes down well to see if you can find some humorous filler gifts, everyone likes a laugh. Again, related to the theme if you can. See if you can find some funny fishing ideas.

After a while you’ll find you’ve got a whole list of gift ideas for your homemade gift basket. Ideas are the backbone of a good basket.

Once you’ve got all your gift ideas sorted, there’s more. You’ve got to make it from YOU. So you need a great idea for something to put in the basket that says something from you to him.

Of course you could put in a nice card, but you’re more creative than that aren’t you? How about a lovely love poem? I always think a nice poem makes a great gift. I’ve written about poems as gifts for men before.

How about some other ideas? If it’s for, say, your husband why not add a little sexiness to it for a surprise for him. Something he’d never get in a commercial gift basket.

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Gift baskets are a huge industry. And growing. For good reason. A gift basket is a wonderful gift.

If you’re looking for a really nice gift for a man then why not consider a gift basket for him?

But aren’t they expensive?

Not necessarily, not if you make the gift basket yourself. It’s not that hard to make a gift basket, and it’s fun. It’s a creative and challenging task to make a gift basket and to make it one he’ll love, but it’s also rewarding, and once you’ve done it successfully it’s something you can repeat over and over again, for many people who you give gifts to.

Learning to make gift baskets can save you quite a bit of money compared to just getting out there and buying them. But it does take some effort.

Creating your own gift basket is a 2 step task. Step one is to make the basket and step 2 is to fill it. Step 1 isn’t difficult and can be achieved easily with some effort. Step 2 is the harder part, working out exactly what it is that you should fill it with so that he’ll just love it.

It’s not hard to buy a basket, some nice paper, and make your own basket. That’s fine, and you can create some lovely baskets that way. But you can be a little more creative than that if you try a little bit harder.

After all, if it’s for a really special man you need to impress with your effort.

Think a bit about what he is like and what he likes to do. And about what you’re going to fill the basket with. This may well give you some more ideas about how to construct his basket.

Firstly, it doesn’t need to be a basket. It can be a box, a bag, a packing case, a photographers bag , a – well anything at all that will carry the gifts you plan to put in it and which he’ll relate to.

So if he’s a fishing nut and you’re going to be giving him a range of small gifts for his fishing, why not think of something fishing related to use? Like a cane creel for instance? Once he’s taken his gifts out he can use that as well.

What you’re doing is creating a THEME for his basket.

Maybe it’s a gourmet food gift basket, so think of a foody type theme. Try and find some wrapping paper with food designs, perhaps some small foody type items to add to it in addition to the main gifts you want to add. Think laterally, creatively, and PERSONALLY.

Think about him and his interests and the types of things he might like to see in or on his basket that he would enjoy.

Make it about him and his interests.

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There is a lot of speculation about the origins of Valentines day, and much disagreement, unfortunately. So for those looking to understand about where Valentines day comes from, here are a few of the many theories.

Many believe that Valentines day came from the time of St Valentine, or Valentinus, a Roman who was martyred in 269 AD, it is believed on February 14th, for refusing to give up Christianity. It is said that he had become enamored with his jailers daughter and left a love letter for her to find after his death, signed “from your Valentine”.

Unfortunately it is not entirely clear who St Valentine was. There are a number of martyrs who could have been St Valentine. The Catholic Encyclopedia says that St Valentine could have been one of at least 3 martyred men, all Romans, who carried the name Valentinus, a reasonably common name at the time. Some say there are many martyrs who could have been St Valentine.

Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine’s Days. These days recognised a range of martyrs, all named Valentine, or Valentinus. However in 1969 the church dropped St Valentines day from the Roman calender of worldwide Catholic feasts, presumeably because of the confusion and doubt surrounding the origins of the day and the exact identity of St Valentine.

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I love to eat. I also like to cook, and I cook the meals for my family. However despite my love of cooking I never get around to cooking yummy desert and snack type things. Like cake and cookies.

I figure that it’s time consuming enough cooking meals without spending time after that doing deserts. So for me cookie gift baskets are a wonderful gift idea. I won’t get around to making cookies, but you bet I’ll eat them.

Cookies gift baskets make a wonderful gift for a man who likes to eat, and don’t we all.

Now of course there are some women who cook so well that they can make cookies just as well as any of the cookie companies, so they can make their own.

And I think there’s something extra special about receiving a yummy gourmet cookie gift basket which has been hand made by someone just for you.

They have invested their love and time into making a gift for a special person, and that is a wonderful gift. That would be my favorite cookie gift basket. So girls, if you cook beautiful cookies and have a few artistic skills you can make your own cookie gift box or basket, and fill it with your own wonderful cookie creations.

But not all of us cook so well, and if that describes you, and your man loves cookies, then you have to look for another option. Good news is, you’re in luck.

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Here is where I admit to my addictions. Dark chocolate. I love it. I can’t get enough of it, especially now since it’s been revealed that it’s loaded with healthy anti oxidants. What a bonus.

So when thinking about finding gourmet food gift baskets for men I immediately think of a chocolate gift basket. There are of course lots of other wonderful gourmet gift baskets available and I’ll be looking at all of them over time. But why not start with one that I know many men would like. Gourmet chocolate gift baskets.

So if you’re looking for a great chocolate gift idea for the gourmet man you can’t go past a gourmet chocolate gift basket. It’s not the cheapest way to give chocolate, but it has to be one of, if not the best, way to do it.

Now I should say here that I’m not overweight. I love chocolate but I recognise that eating too much leads to a result that I don’t want, so I don’t go overboard. So before you just jump in and buy a gift for your favorite man that includes lots – and lots – of chocolate, think a little about whether it’s the perfect gift for him.

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