Gift Basket Ideas for Friends

• Give your friends a picnic basket for a special occasion. picnic basket with wine and glasses image by Nikolay Okhitin from Fotolia.com

  Create a themed gift basket for your friend when a holiday or special occasion rolls around. With a gift basket, you can combine lots of small items and end up with a big gift. Think of your friend's hobbies, personality, interests and other factors when you decide on the theme for your gift basket. Use an item that fits the gift basket's theme as the container for this gift, rather than a regular basket.

Picnic

• This gift is especially good if you are looking for a gift basket to give a couple. Select a traditional picnic basket that has flaps that close over the top. In the basket, place reusable plastic plates, cups, wine glasses and cloth napkins. Next, place a bottle of wine or Champagne in the picnic basket, along with a blanket to lay on the ground. You could also include a gift card to a local gourmet grocery store for your friends to purchase food for the picnic. Alternatively, include a gift card to a local restaurant that does takeout.

Herbs

• Create this gift basket for a friend who likes cooking and gardening. Choose a large flower pot or a watering can as the base of this gift basket. Fill it with packets of herb seeds, or even small herb plants that she can transplant. Along with the herbs, place a pair of gardening gloves, a trowel and a container of herb fertilizer in the basket.

Chocolate

• You can't go wrong with a chocolate-themed gift basket for someone who has a sweet tooth. Use a traditional basket as the base of this gift, or a large ceramic mixing bowl. Include all sorts of chocolate items in this basket, such as gourmet truffles from a chocolate shop, hot chocolate mix, white-chocolate-covered pretzels and candy bars. You could also include chocolate cake mix, brownie mix or chocolate chip cookie mix.

Decorations

• Choose this gift basket if a holiday is coming up and your friend enjoys decorating his home for the holidays. For example, when Christmas is approaching, fill a red or green basket with ornaments, garlands, Christmas figurines and stockings. For Halloween, use a plastic jack-o-lantern as the container for the gift basket and fill it with spooky wall hangings, fake spiders and orange and black table place mats.

Travel

• People who travel need lots of small items, so create a gift basket to help them out. Use a toiletry case or a regular basket as the container for this gift basket. Fill it with items like travel-sized toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. Then, add magazines for the plane or train ride. A gift card for gas is a good idea for someone who prefers road trips. If your friend is going to be going on a trip soon, include snacks for the ride.