8 Unique Christmas Gift Basket Ideas
Christmas gift basket ideas for the homebody, spa lover, DIYer, entertainer, baker, movie lover, and coffee fanatic.
I’m calling it. Christmas shopping is DONE! I have to tell myself to “officially” stop or else I’ll just end up giving my heart out right up until the day.
Having the gift giving love language might be a blessing and a curse in that regard. 😉
But I truly can’t help it. I LOVE giving little treats to teachers and neighbors and the mail man and the garbage pickup crew. It’s a big reason why I love this time of year, not for the receiving but for the giving.
This year, since the economy is causing families to tighten their budgets this holiday season, I decided to put together “experiences” in the form of unique gift baskets for our neighbors.
I didn’t want to give people “stuff”. I wanted to create a moment for them, whether that was in the form of a movie night on the couch or a s’mores making evening in the backyard or a cookie decorating afternoon in the kitchen.
So I pulled together 8 fun gift basket ideas, if you need out-of-the-box ideas for friends, family members, or neighbors.
You can do same-day pick up for a lot of the items in these gift boxes from Walmart, Target, or grocery stores if you need to get your holiday gifting finished quickly.
I plan to just leave these little kits on our neighbors’ porches for them to enjoy.
All of these could work as a birthday gift, housewarming gift, or thoughtful care package too.
8 Unique Gift Basket Ideas for Christmas (or Any Holiday)
This one is really fun for large families with kids who bake together in the kitchen. Maybe throw in some Christmas themed cookie cutters for good measure. To make it even more personal, throw in your own DIY cookie or muffin recipe mix. It’s a food gift they can choose to eat later if they don’t want it right away.
1. Baking Kit Gift Basket Idea
- Batter bowl
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Butter dish
- Kitchen towels
- Scone mix
- Cookie mix
- Cookie icing
- Sprinkles
This basket is perfect as a housewarming gift. After moving boxes and prepping your new house, sometimes you just need a relaxing evening vegging out with a good movie and eating junk food. Include your family’s favorite Christmas movie (or include an Amazon gift card for $10 so they can rent a movie on Prime).
2. Movie Night Gift Basket Idea
If you have a java lover in your life, this one is a guaranteed hit. Fill a jar with biscotti and add your favorite bag of ground coffee. (Even better: hit up your local coffee shop to see if you can grab a bag of locally roasted beans to support their small business). I
f you want to get extra fancy, add this milk frother for making lattes and cappuccinos.
3. Coffee Gift Basket Idea
- Percolator
- Locking jar with biscotti
- Ground coffee
- Sugar & creamer set
- Tall travel coffee cup
- Travel coffee mug
If someone on your Christmas list is always building something or diving into another home improvement project, whip up a basket with some DIY essentials. (We’re always losing tape measures, safety glasses, work gloves around here.)
4. Handy DIYer Gift Basket Idea
This is another fun one for families with kids, especially if that family enjoys spending time in their backyard.
5. S’mores Kit Gift Basket Idea
- Tabletop gas fire pit
- Telescoping roasting skewers
- Marshmallows
- Hershey chocolate bars
- Reese’s cups
- Lighter
This basket is especially perfect for anyone newly retired, someone with health issues who can’t leave home often, or a new mom. But really… we could all use a spa pampering sesh every now and then.
6. Spa Gift Set Idea
- Throw blanket
- Slippers
- Essential oil diffuser
- Essential oil
- Apothecary jar with bath salts
- Hand and foot set
- Facial mask
If you know someone who loves to entertain regularly and enjoys wine gifts, a sangria kit complete with a nice bottle of red, brandy, juice, fruit, pitcher, and mixing spoon is a unique idea. Print out this sangria recipe and tuck it inside of the basket.
If you want a little something extra, maybe add some chocolate covered strawberries or meat and cheese for charcuterie on the side.
7. Sangria Kit Gift Basket Idea
- Pitcher
- Wine glasses
- Wooden spoon
- Red wine
- Brandy
- Orange juice
- Brown sugar
- Oranges
- Apple
- This recipe written with a note
This is another sweet idea as a housewarming gift. It’s hard to dislike a canister filled with cookies, cocoa, and a cozy blanket. If you choose to give this basket in warmer months instead, substitute the cocoa with ice cream sundae fixings.
8. Cozy at Home Christmas Basket Idea
More Themes for Christmas Gift Basket Ideas
Family Game Night Basket
Compile 2-3 small games like UNO, Skip-Bo, and Phase 10 along with a few snacks.
Postpartum Basket
The first few days after having a baby are rough to say the least. Here are some postpartum basket stuffers you can give to a new mom to help her make it through the stressful days and sleepless nights with a newborn during her recovery. Gift it before she has the baby so that she feels prepared.
Nacho Basket
Fill a festive basket with chips, salsa, queso, and guacamole. Throw in some margarita mix, salt, tequila, and a cute margarita glass for good measure.
Hot Cocoa Basket
Gift all of the fixings for an epic hot cocoa bar by including mugs, cocoa mix, peppermint stir sticks, Pirouette cookies, toffee bits, caramel sauce, and of course mini marshmallows and marshmallow fluff.
BBQ Gift Basket
If you know someone who loves to smoke meats and grill out, make a basket filled with spice rubs, barbecue sauces, meat shredders, grilling tongs, and an apron that can stand up to the job.
Tip: Keep an eye out at thrift stores for any good sized secondhand baskets you can use for around $3-5.
We’ll be making the rounds to drop off all of the goodies in our neighborhood with the kids this week. Can’t wait!
Do you do fun little gift baskets? Or any sweet gifts for neighbors. I’m not really one who bakes cookies for lots of people so this is my alternative. 😉
