Family gift baskets are the ultimate in both pretty and efficient gift giving. You can fill them with either store bought items, handmade ones or a mix of both.

Your first step is deciding what to go in them. Personally I like to have a theme, but that is mostly for my own benefit. It narrows down what to put in them and makes them look a bit more put together. I will share some theme ideas at the end of the post to give you some inspiration.

How to decide what to put in:

This is where you will have to mix what your recipients will like with what you can realistically make/afford. Think about who is in the family that you are gifting to. Is there a little something for each kid to unwrap? Dad’s favorite snack? Make sure that each person sees at least one item that is clearly included with them in mind.

I also like to mix some consumables into every basket so that it is not entirely objects that they will need to find places for after the holidays. Food is the obvious example, but anything that can be used up works.

Your next criteria to keep in mind is how long you think it will take to make each handmade item, as well as how long in advance it can be made. I suggest only one “big” item in terms of time. If you are hand knitting personalized mittens for the whole family, that will probably be your star item, but you can start making them now and work on them slowly one at a time in quiet moments over most of the year.

If you are including food items you can’t start working on them as far in advance. If you are sharing something from your garden (seeds, dried herbs, tea, jam) then you can plan now to grow extra, but the time to package it will be set aside in the fall. Keep in mind how many last minute items you intend to include! I had two this year. One was a special cookie, the only thing I made last minute. For the other one I chose to make a baking mix because it could be assembled just far enough in advance that it was done before the holiday craziness began.

If you are buying all or part of your gifts it is still well worth it to plan in advance! Knowing what you need and having plenty of time to acquire it lets you shop sales because you are not in a rush. It also lets you spread out both the time and money needed. Especially if Christmas is a bit of a stretch financially, picking up small things here and there all year long can be a huge buffer against the lump sum required in December. Even if that isn’t your normal reality, lay offs or illness can happen at any time. Having a good chunk of the money and effort needed for Christmas already spent could be an enormous relief if you find yourself ill over the holidays!

Inspiration:

Now that we have talked about some of the practicalities, onto the fun! What is going to tie all of those items you choose together? There are infinite possibilities but here are a few ideas to get you started:

Food! Everyone needs to eat and there are so many directions you can take with this. A full dinner, a certain type of treat, a regional specialty, snacks, baking mixes…

Activities, like a movie basket, games, picnic, road trip, sport, barbequing, camping, hiking

Hobbies, such as crafting, gardening, reading, music, cooking, photography, woodworking, gaming, sports teams

Home based themes can be a nice start, like kitchen items, relaxation/spa, decorating, cleaning, pantry items, eco friendly swaps

And for a few last miscellaneous ideas we have things like colours, a specific decade or era, a book or movie, a country or region, a milestone like first baby or first house, or first time decorating your own place for Christmas.