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Gift Baskets
How to construct
and prepare gift
baskets for all
occasions
Written by:
Holli Bowman &
Dr. Frank Flanders
Georgia Ag Ed Curriculum Office
Updated January 2006
Objectives
1. Students will be able to name various uses and
occasions for gift baskets.
2. Students will be able to prepare and assemble a
gift basket with a theme.
3. Students will be able to calculate the cost of a
gift basket.
4. Students will be able to describe the general
design guidelines of making a gift basket.
Uses of Gift Baskets
• Decorations
• Banquet Centerpieces
• Door Prizes
• Teacher Gifts
• Holiday Gifts
• Welcome to Our School
Gifts
• Theme Gifts
• Gifts to supporters
• and many other uses
Special Uses of Gift Baskets
in Ag Ed Programs
Banquet Centerpieces
- Baskets make beautiful table
centerpieces.
- The baskets can be used as
door prizes at the banquet.
- Baskets make a great class
learning activity.
- Baskets can be made in
advance of the banquet if non-
perishable products are used.
Special Uses of Gift Baskets
in Ag Ed Programs
Ag Products Basket
- Use products in basket to tell
the story of agriculture and
agricultural careers.
- Include literature to explain
agriculture and agricultural
careers.
- Use products from your state
or highlight one local
product.
Determine a Theme
Baskets can be created
around any theme.
Examples:
– FFA
– Garden
– Education
– State Products
– Circus
– Birthday
– Your School
– Holidays
Theme Idea
As a class activity, the
teacher may want you
to choose a theme and
make a list of the
items to include in
your basket.
Theme example: Dairy
Items you might include: plush dairy cows, cheese
crackers, milk chocolate candy, macaroni & cheese, dry
milk, dairy drink, cow print pen, fabric swatch with
cows and evaporated milk
Assemble Supplies
Supplies:
- Basket or container
- Excelsior filler or shred
- Jams & Jellies
- Peanuts
- Flower Seeds
- Magazines
- Ribbon
- Silk Flowers
- Soil Sample Bag
- Fabric Swatch
- Cokes
- Candy
- etc . . .
Assemble Tools & Materials
Tools:
- Wire cutters
- Scissors
- Florist picks
- Tape
- Rubber bands
- Floral tape
- Floral wire
- Cellophane
wrap
Preparing Items
One of the challenges beginners face is making items stay in
place in the design. Here are a few techniques that can be
used on a wide variety of items.
To include seed
packs and other
small items in the
basket, they may
need to secured to a
florist pick. In this
case, tape the pick to
the back of the seed
pack.
Preparing Items
Fabric swatches add an
inexpensive splash of color to
your basket design.
To insert a fabric
swatch, attach a
wooden pick. Fold
the swatch around
the pick and then
wrap the wire on
the pick around the
folded swatch as
shown. A steel pick
machine may also
be used to make the
job much faster if
one is available.
Preparing Items
A steel pick
machine is a handy
tool for making
quick work of
putting picks on
items.
A steel pick has been
attached to this flower.
Preparing Items
To use a bottle of
Coke in the
design, secure
picks to opposite
sides of the bottle
with rubber
bands and tape.
Preparing Items
Here, florist tape is used to secure a pick to silk leaves.
Florist picks and floral tape may be used to prepare
many items.
Preparing Items
Ribbons add a splash of
color to your basket. To
include ribbon tips, they
must be secured to a pick.
To attach a wooden pick, fold the
ribbon around the pick and wrap
the wire on the pick around the
folded ribbon. A steel pick
machine may also be used to
make the job much faster.
Preparing Items
To give the ribbon a
nice finish, cut on an
angle or in a “V” shape.
To easily cut into a “V”
shape, fold the ribbon in
half and snip on angle.
Preparing Items
Stems
such as
wheat
can be
secured
together
using
floral
tape.
Preparing Items
Making “tubes” of magazines,
handouts, newsletters, etc.,
facilitates placement, but
items may be used un-rolled
in many instances.
Make tubes out of magazines by
rolling the magazines and
securing with curling ribbon.
These make good “tall” items for
your basket. If they need to be
taller, just put a rubber band
around one end and slip a
wooden pick underneath.
Designing the Basket
The principles used in making gift baskets are very similar to those of
floral design. You may want to review different geometric shapes
used in floral design. The following shapes are most commonly used.
Horizontal
Inverted T
Symmetrical
Asymmetrical
Triangle
Triangle
Right-Angle
Circle
The first step in putting the basket together is visualizing the
overall shape and size in your mind.
Filling the Basket
Excelsior is Other fillers
commonly include colored
used as filler. paper shred,
It is shipped in mylar shred and
compacted plastic shred.
bales. Begin
by separating
and “fluffing”
the excelsior.
Filling the Basket
Fill the basket with the
separated and “fluffed”
excelsior. Remember,
filler is inexpensive.
Pile it high in the
basket to display and
showcase more
expensive items such
as stuffed animals.
Showcase items
sinking to the bottom
and becoming partially
hidden is a common Beginners tend to underestimate the height
problem for beginning necessary to make their baskets look good –
basket makers. especially after the filler settles. Start with a
lot of filler to make items stand tall.
Is the basket to be viewed from one
side, all sides, etc.? Place the items
with the “view” in mind.
If the basket is to
be used as a table
centerpiece, start
by placing tall
items in the
center and
prepare the
basket so it is
attractive when
viewed from all
sides.
Filling the Basket
When filling the
basket, split the
excelsior into two
sections to facilitate
putting tall items in the
basket. Beginners will
have the most success
if their first basket is to
be viewed from one
side with the tallest
materials in the middle
and to the back of the
basket.
Inserting Items
First, establish the height.
Begin by
inserting the
tallest items in
the basket first.
Birch or other
tree branches,
wheat, an ear
of corn (shucks
up) and rolled
up magazines
make good tall
items.
Inserting Items
Second, establish the width and depth.
Adding items on
each side of the
basket and to the
front and back
helps to establish
the width and
depth. Here, a
bottle of Coke is
used.
Inserting Items
Third, establish the shape of the design.
Add items, one-by-
one, to establish the
shape of the design.
Heavier, darker
colored items should
be kept in the center
and lower in the
basket. Smaller,
lighter colored items
can be placed near the
edges and higher in
the design if needed.
Inserting Items
This soil sample
bag and
instructions are
added to this
agricultural theme
basket.
Inserting Items
Specialty jams and
jellies are added to the
front of the basket.
These heavy items give
visual stability to the
design. If they were
placed high or both on
the same side, the
basket would not be
visually balanced. It
would look heavy on
one side.
Inserting Items
Play money, an
apple and a boll
of cotton add to
the design of
this basket.
Filler items,
mostly small,
inexpensive
items are put in
last to fill gaps.
Inserting Items
Filler items
include
ribbon tips,
play money,
small silk
flowers,
fabric
swatches,
silk leaves,
cotton bolls
and candy.
Wrapping the Basket
To give the basket a
“professional” look, the
basket should be wrapped
with cellophane. It is
important to cut the
cellophane large enough to fit
around the basket. Be sure to
measure before cutting. To
measure, unroll a length of
the cellophane and set the
basket in the center. Before
cutting, pull the corners of the
cut end and the cellophane
roll above the basket.
Wrapping the Basket
Make the cut at the
point where each
end extends 6” – 12”
taller than the
basket.
Wrapping the Basket
To wrap the basket, start
by brining the opposite
corners of the cellophane
to the top of the basket.
Hold in place with one
hand while bringing the
other two corners to the
top. It may be helpful to
get the assistance of a
friend with this step.
Wrapping the Basket
Once all corners are gathered
at the top, secure the
cellophane with ribbon or
raffia just above the tallest
items in the basket. Some of
the taller items may stick out
above the cellophane.
Wrapping the Basket
If the cellophane is
just a bit too short in
some places, it may be
necessary to use a
piece of plastic tape to
secure the cellophane.
However, the tape
should be placed so
that it does not show.
The mechanics of your
arrangement (tape,
picks, holding devices)
should never show.
Finishing Touches
Adding silk
flowers and
a bow gives
the basket a
touch of
class.
Basket Cost
It is important to know the
cost of your baskets– either
for the budget or if they are
to be sold as a fundraiser.
Make a list of every item in
your basket and materials
used. Assign a cost to each
item, estimating as
necessary. Be aware that a
professional basket maker
would determine the cost
before making the basket.
Basket Cost
Many of the
items in the
basket must be
purchased in
multiples or in
bulk to get the
best possible
price. The
following slide
gives a break-
down of
individual costs
based on bulk
purchases for
this example
basket.
Cost of Example Basket
Basket $2.25 Georgia Growing Magazine $ .00
Relish $1.65 FFA New Horizons Magazine $ .00
Blackberry Jam $1.65 Georgia FFA Today Magazine $ .00
Peanut Brittle $1.50 Fabric Swatch $ .20
Twix Fun-Size $ .15 Flower Seed $ .35
Dum-Dum Suckers $ .10 Soil Sample Bag $ .00
Salted Peanuts $ .25 Cellophane Wrapping $ .40
Microwave Popcorn $ .35 Georgia Peanuts
Pecan Log Roll $2.25 $ .00
Apple $ .35 Raffia $ .25
Silk Flower $ .45 River Birch Twigs $ .15
Bottle of Coke $ .50 Dried Wheat $ .25
Yellow & Blue Ribbon $ .35 =====
Ting-ting $ .15 Total $14.45
Excelsior Filler $ .40 Collecting donated items
Play Money $ .15 significantly reduces the
Cereal $ .40 cost of making baskets!
Additional Ideas
Be creative when thinking of
containers for your “basket”
designs. Almost any
container can be filled with
items to make a unique gift.
Mugs Insulated Lunch Boxes
General Design Guidelines
1. A basket design should be about 1-1/2 to 2-1/2
times the height or width of the basket, which
ever is greater.
2. Larger, heavier items should be placed toward
the bottom and center of the design for
balance.
3. Smaller items should be toward the top and
edges of the design.
4. Dark colors should be placed toward the
bottom and center of the design.
5. Use more light, bright colored items than dark
colored items.
General Design Guidelines
6. Establish the height of the design first by
putting in tall items.
7. Establish length and width second.
8. Put in the dominate/spotlight items third.
9. Be sure that all items can be seen. Hidden
items add to the cost, but not to the display.
10. Add filler items or other materials as needed
to finish the design.
Making gift baskets gives
students a unique chance
to express their creativity
and learn new skills in
addition to constructing
items valuable for many
uses.
Special thanks to Lauren Jarrett for her
assistance in creating this example basket.
