Day 3 of Miss Lori’s #Blogbaskets giveaways at Blogher with 1800Baskets

Sorry for the divorce? That kind of makes me laugh. I wish my friends had given me a “Good Riddance” basket after my divorce.

What could we put in there? A set of four wine glasses (so you can have the girls over), a nice red and a nice white, and a bottle of Tequila with four decorated shot glasses. Add some chocolate for stress, a box of really nice tissues for the sad moments, a picture book of some hot guys and a mini personal massager (wink, wink) and you’re good to go!

I like the idea of a quote book and the chicken soup for the soul in the sympathy basket. That may work well for a “sorry for your divorce” type basket. Is that too crass?

Although sad, yes a sympathy basket is a unique and good idea. Would be good to include a quilt, pillow or something comforting like that.

Lori, I would have never thought of a Poker basket. That made me think of a Spades basket and any number of other games and card games that people have. Then it led me to the idea to do a hobbies basket: sports, quilting, knitting, crochet, woodwork, jewelry making… gosh, the list is endless.

Robin, thanks re: my name. That handyman basket idea is great. I’m with you, all these ideas make me wanna start my own business. But I don’t have the skills of 1800Flowers. Color a basket with Kool-Aid? Really? Wow…. that’s good to know. It’s one of the facts that will stay in my head for years and then pop up randomly for me to use. LOL

How about a poker theme basket? Could use a bucket type basket for it. Cards, chips, and then add rootbeer (or beer) pretzels, peanuts,and other assorted little snacks

I agree with Beatrice, the sympathy baskets should have a book of quotes, and that would also be a great touch to a wedding basket too. Or something along the lines of a “chicken soup for the soul” book added that fits the style of basket.

Was looking at the wedding baskets on the website, why not a honeymoon basket? Dipped strawberries, champagne or sparkling white wine with two glasses very simple but also very classy

@Petula, I love the idea of a writer’s basket!!

@Kirby, I love your Family Game Night basket, too!

I think that the Sympathy Baskets should include something like a book of quotes on remembrance/memorial/grieving. Likewise with the Wedding Baskets–a book of quotes about marriage, love, relationships, that sort of thing. Food is nice, but books last for a long time!

Loving the ideas here. The our First Christmas one is one of my faves. Its so hard to shop for a couple on their first Christmas together. How about adding tradional food items to it too like big peppermint sticks, hot chocolate mix, or apple cider mix. That would be great!

I’ve made a beers of the world basket for a friend of mine as a housewarming gift. I added tortilla chips and salsa, beer nuts, pretzels, and two beer mugs. It’s a cool idea Robin!

I know there’s a ton of new baby congraulatory baskets out there, but Ive always thought one for the big brother/sister would be cool (you know how kids sometimes get jealous when there’s a new baby in the house-this would make them feel special too). Things like toys, stickers, “proud older brother (or sister) t-shirts, and stuffed animals would be great! I’d call it the “Older Brothers/Sisters Rock” basket!

How about an “empty nest” basket or a “back to school basket” for Mom’s? I know with my kids starting back to school I am looking foward to relaxation. Included could be candles, an inspirational book, chocolate, bath salts, any kind of thing you can think of that screams “relaxation!”

Another really good one for the guys is a “Beers Around the World” basket.

I’d use a nice heavy, dark bucket for this one. There are so many specialty beer stores around the country now. Here in Chicago, we have Binny’s, Lush, and Sam’s just to name a few. Anyway, with the help of any of their wonderful staff, you can put together a really nice “bucket-o-beer” for your special guy.

Just as an aside, do you know that you can actually color a light colored wicker basket with KoolAid? It’s true. Just use a few packages (depending on how dark you want your stain to be) of unsweetened KoolAid and water. You can put it in a five-gallon bucket about halfway full of water and just dip the basket or let it sit, rotating it every so often. Or you can use a sponge and squeeze the liquid onto the basket while holding it over the bucket. Make sure you wear gloves!

Petula (love your name BTW!

I always thought a gift basket business would be so cool. Don’t worry, 1800basket people! I could never do this the way you do!

I used to sell baskets. Empty baskets. But I always had fun filling them up and decorating them to show my clients how to use them or give them ideas so that they’d want to buy more baskets.

One of my favorites was for the guys. It was my “Handyman’s Special” basket. You know, when a couple gets married, the guy could care less about the shower and wedding gifts, and in that vein, not much of the loot is specific to his needs. So I cam up with this basket idea:

Use a nice, sturdy, dark-colored manly-looking basket. In it put tools (screwdrivers, hammer, a small level, pliers, a wrench, etc), some brads, screws and nails, some wood glue, a tape measurer, a stud finder, some work gloves and a six-pack of beer.

1800Baskets.com: It would be great to see some of these ideas actually develop and these are great ideas for us to make our own baskets as gifts. Well, you know, us frugal folks.

What about a sweet 16 basket?
High school graduate basket?
Happy haircut basket? For someone who has really long hair and decides to get a cut or do something drastically different. There could be a mirror, shampoo, conditioner, styling products, scarf, headband, shower cap, combs, brushes…. That would be great for someone who is going to be a stylist too.

@Robin: I’m so down for new business ventures. LOL… especially when they’re fun.

@Sarina: Exactly! Wow, an art one would really be fun. Wouldn’t it? Oh and one for writers. Pens, booklights, laptop coolers, notebacks, journals, books on writing, something creative, a coffee mug for late-night writing and coupons for coffee or little coffee, sugar and creamer packs. What else could go in there?

OK, I said I was a basket queen!

One of my favorite bridal shower gifts to give is a basket with Christmas decorations. Call it “Our First Christmas Together” basket. Look for a nice big basket that you can decorate or paint yourself. In it you can put a couple of boxes of pretty glass ornaments (good for a young couple with no kids yet!), a couple of boxes of Christmas tree lights, Christmas stockings, some pretty garland, Christmas candles and candle holders, a holiday cook book, a holiday CD, and maybe one or two really special ornaments (dated would be nice).

Kids birthday parties are so expensive especially when you have them at a place that does all the work for you. Why not do a basket party for your daughter (say 8 to 12 years old) at your house and free up some of your cash.

You can do a spa night for the girls where they actually make their own bath salts, lip gloss and face masks. All you’d need to do is have some small, clean jars (like baby food jars), some ribbon (for decorating the jars), small containers for the lip gloss and facial masks. Throw in a couple of colors of nail polish and a sleep mask from the dollar store, and they will leave with a really cute basket of things that they made themselves.

I have recipes if anyone needs them!

Love this basket! i follow on facebook and twitter

@momtodanielle on twitter

Hi All, btw, we are voraciously reading all this feedback! It is absolutely fantastic. We literally print out this feedback and bring it into our Design Room and discuss in groups. This is great stuff!!

Hi All, btw, we are voraciously reading all this feedback! It is absolutely fantastic. We literally print out this feedback and bring it into our Design Room and discuss in groups. This is great stuff!

Robin, that road trip one is great! I know a lot of board games now come in travel-sized cases. Those would be fun to add and play with while on the road

Petula that’s a really good idea (I was a pre-med/Biological Sciences major myself) You could add sketch books and paint sets for art majors, stethoscopes, lab googles, and lab coats for the pre-meds, novels for English majors, I could go on forever!

Petula, Maybe we can start our own business! LOL