[inanotherlife95]

I always hear people mentioning they are working on stuff for gift baskets for Christmas etc. I wanted to know what you all coupon to put in them? I haven't been able to send Christmas presents to family b/c of expenses, and I wanted to try and get some nice stuff this year for free or cheap. So would love to hear from all of you. TIA. Ashley

[Alexdur85]

Mostly HBA items. Each item has a special gift in it that is specifically for that person. Like last year I got my FIL a book about photographing ghosts, (he got a camera specifically for it from his 2 other children) along w/ a basket of hba items. I got my MIL the McAfee thing for her's (she got a laptop form her other 2 children)

We were going to go in on the gifts but Juan got laid off a couple weeks before xmas so we couldn't. But we got things that went with it which was good. Everyone liked theirs.

[joshmamabear]

^^ what Alex said.

there's always coupons good for trial/travel items that you can put together. Another place to look ~ clearance aisles for all kinds of stuff. I've found lots of Olay stuff on clearance that when paired with the $3 and $5 MQs came out very cheap. These make very good gifts that look expensive but you don't have to spend much to buy them.

I do my Christmas shopping way ahead of the rest, that is immediately when Christmas clearance starts in different stores. I'm done buying gifts by June of the following year and I usually give Christmas gifts by Thanksgiving so I don't get stressed in December while thinking of gifts for everyone. I just enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas while everyone else is scrambling for gifts.

[narwhale]

Glade candles.

[sar1]

I just did a small one for DD's toddler class teacher. I only used one freebie coupon item - Nivea body wash - but it looked like the most pricey thing in there. I also included a body wash puff, and handmade soap wrapped nicely (I didn't make it - I'm not that crafty), and then one of these little paper soaps from Pier One. I love them b/c they're unusual and useful, yet really cheap. And yes, I know some of you will recognize them from any exchange boxes I've done. Anyway, w/the body wash as the main item it was a decent size and looked a lot more expensive than it was.

[Gloriaob]

Body washes, air fresheners, candles, anything that smells nice, there was so much for free this year.

[Alexdur85]

Originally Posted by sar1

I just did a small one for DD's toddler class teacher. I only used one freebie coupon item - Nivea body wash - but it looked like the most pricey thing in there. I also included a body wash puff, and handmade soap wrapped nicely (I didn't make it - I'm not that crafty), and then one of these little paper soaps from Pier One. I love them b/c they're unusual and useful, yet really cheap. And yes, I know some of you will recognize them from any exchange boxes I've done. Anyway, w/the body wash as the main item it was a decent size and looked a lot more expensive than it was.

Paper soap.. SOOO COOL! That's going in gift baskets this year!

[sar1]

Originally Posted by Alexdur85

Paper soap.. SOOO COOL! That's going in gift baskets this year!

- look for them right near the registers in huge glass jars. You know, right where they put all the impulse buys for suckers like me. ;-)

[twinmommma]

I just made a gift basket for someone's anniversary party. I put in pasta sauce, spaghetti, candles, a bottle of wine, and a wine tool set. I already had the spaghetti, pasta sauce and candles. The wine tool set came from Kohl's, after I used a $5 off $5 and 15% off, it was ~$2. So really my only expense was the wine.

[Kimmergal]

I just did a makeup gift bag for my neice. Nailpolish, tweezers, emery boards and toe separators fom the dollar store for pedicures. And then all kinds of clearanced makeup - eyeshadows, eye pencils, lipsticks and glosses, bronzer. I buy the items when it's buy one get one free from Revlon, Loreal, Rimmel, whatever and match the sales with coupons plus I watch for the orange clearance tags at Walgreens. I put it all in the hobo bag from Target that was clearanced and then almost free with a TQ and she loved it all! I bet I didn'ty spend $10 for all of this stuff!

[kmayhew]

I haven't made any yet since I have only been couponing since april However since then i have acquired quite a lot of HBA so i am thinking of making some gift baskets. For My sister i was thinking of putting some slipper socks, body wash, lotions and glade candles. For my nephew who is a teen I was thinking deodorant, Nivia for mens body wash and axe body sprays and some shaving stuff. However , he's only 14 so I'm not sure if he'll need the shaving stuff yet . .

[Cadnil]

Most of the people I give baskets to are family members who receive food stamps. I put in the expensive necessities that food stamps won't pay for, like shampoo, body wash, deodorant, bandaids, and cold medicine. I also put in fun stuff like makeup or a cute tee shirt, but always that I got free or for a pittance. Last of all, I put in something specific based on each person's interests: one niece got a scratch-off art board, a nephew got a camo fanny pack for hunting, again, always free or cheap.

They are huge baskets, so I put everything in a wastebasket (from the resale store, like new), a pretty shopping bag, or a cheap bucket.

I look for things year round, and by Christmas there's just the wrapping to do. Last year I wrapped almost every item separately. The kids (oops, they're 20-somethings) had fun guessing what everything was before they unwrapped it.

[twinmommma]

Does anyone do gift baskets for their mail delivery person? I'd like to make one for ours for Christmas, but I don't know if I want to give them HBA items.

[Kimmergal]

How about treats like assorted snack bars, candy and SOBE water that's always on sale? Stuff they can munch on as they deliver mail.

[twinmommma]

Originally Posted by Kimmergal

How about treats like assorted snack bars, candy and SOBE water that's always on sale? Stuff they can munch on as they deliver mail.

Good idea! Thanks.

[couponmominma]

Don't forget about those card games awhile back!

[Maggiew]

Every year I make my older brother some of his favorite spread/crackers, a jar of sauce I canned, and I buy a small gift that I think he will really like like a Cincinnati Reds History Video.

This year his basket also included household things he will use: his brand of toothpaste, dental floss, peppper grinders, batteries for his smoke detectors. He totally loves that those items are free. Saves him the money of buying them.

And...my dad ended up with many types of his favorite tuna.

I love making a basket and putting in a gift you made, a small gift you bought, and items that you couponed for that would help them save money.

Of course, with amount of dental floss I have right now, I might have to wrap all those gifts with it!!

[Katena]

I found a great gift delivery service giftbasketsoverseas.com
They aren't expansive and deliver gifts worldwide. Another positive about them is that they always offer different coupons and make contests where one can win free gift baskets and other stuff.
Btw, you can also create your own custom gift basket with them.. this is quite comfy
To be updated about their coupons you can just follow them on Facebook, it's smth like facebook.com/giftbasketsoverseas if I'm not mistaken..

[missteena]

I've never done couponing like I have within this past year so before I made gift baskets the expensive way! This year I am thinking about doing then with whatever extras we have around the house: razors, body wash, lotions, candles, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.

I like the idea that everyone is saying about getting one gift for the basket that makes it personal. That seems like a great idea because some people may look at each other's gift and think I was pretty generic.

[mestevez]

These are all great ideas. Thanks for sharing. Something I have done in the past is make a home made greeting/holiday card to personalize the gift. You can get great ideas from scrapbooks or ladies in your church, that's where I took a class after one of our bible studies sessions. You can always ask an elder church member to host an event.

A new idea which I am working on is putting together a family recipe box which will include favorite family recipes.

[libby2595]

even before i started couponing, this was the way i was going to go for this holiday season:

the gift baskets i'll be creating will have the following (or some variation):
* loaf of home-baked whole wheat bread
* tin of home made savory/salty nut blend
* fudge
* hand-knit dish cloth
* candles (glade, probably)
* book (from a used book store, specific to the person's interests)
* metro card for one round trip (for my uncle in nyc)
* pamper bag within basket, which will contain: razor, body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, lotion, lip balm

i'll be making about 5 of these:
* my uncle
* my mom
* my mom's boyfriend
* my mom's roommate
* one for an unexpected gift

[mestevez]

thank you for your great ideas.

[couponmommy06]

This year with the free tasters choice at walmart I am going to be makeing a few baskets with 2 coffee cups, some tasters choice and some hot coco. Maybe a few candles or something like that, depends on the person and what I can all find. I will be getting the coffee cups at resale shops.

[libby2595]

Originally Posted by couponmommy06

This year with the free tasters choice at walmart I am going to be makeing a few baskets with 2 coffee cups, some tasters choice and some hot coco. Maybe a few candles or something like that, depends on the person and what I can all find. I will be getting the coffee cups at resale shops.

i'm doing something similar for SO.
we were in a book store, i think it was B&N, and he fell in love with a travel mug. he's a bit of a coffee drinker and has a long commute on the train.

so i decided that one of his gifts will be around this mug. i'll be making a coffee gift basket for him. it will have the fancy travel mug, all the coffee samples i've gotten (which i was told to store in the freezer) (they're at work so he doesn't find them). i'll also include some biscotti, different sugars (raw sugar, vanilla sugar, cinnamon sugar).

i sure hope he likes it