3.20.2013

Gift Baskets

Happy Hump Day readers!

How was your St. Patty's Day?

Mine was lots of fun.  Saturday, Bryce and I met some friends downtown for Richmond's Shamrock the Block.

CLW & ABE

If you recall from this time last year, Bryce's birthday is right around the corner...in 5 days to be exact!  As I've tried to figure out a good present for his birthday, I can't stop thinking I'll never outdo the oyster basket I made for him last year!


Being that the oyster basket post was a popular one, I thought I'd share some other baskets I've made recently!  

In college, I planned my sorority's silent auction two years in a row and really enjoyed putting together all of the auction baskets.  I have since used those skills to put together other baskets.  It is a great way to give a really personal gift and is also fun for those friends that seem to already have everything.

In December I put together two gift baskets.  One, as a Christmas present for Bryce's dad and stepmom and another for my cousin CAE's 21st birthday!

The one I made for Bryce's dad and stepmom was centered around a margarita theme.  Bryce's dad makes the best margaritas and we also enjoy going out for Mexican with them often, so I thought it would be the perfect gift.  

The main ingredient of the basket was, of course, margarita mix and a bottle of Patron!

I found this Guacamole Mix and Salsa at Williams-Sonoma.

And the final ingredient was some chips to go with the salsa!

I arranged it all in a cute green basket I found at Marshall's.

And finally topped it off with a bow!

CAE's basket was also a lot of fun to put together.  Being that she was turning 21, I chose an alcohol theme.

I thought one of these aluminum buckets from Michael's would be perfect!
Being that blue is CAE's favorite color, I decided to decorate it with blue and green polka dots!

I also added this green ribbon on each handle!

I found these cute "Alcohol Warning" cups at a local gift shop.

Each cup has an alcohol warning, I loved this one:
"Excessive consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what happened to your clothes."

I got airport bottles to put in each alcohol warning cup!
I tried to get CAE a good variety of liquors to try!

I filled the bucket with blue filler and also added some to each cup before placing the airport bottles in!

The finishing touch to the basket was a birthday crown and margarita glasses (we were meeting for dinner at a Mexican restaurant)!

Ready for the birthday girl!

Woohoo!  21!

Instagram Pic from the Night!

Have you ever made or received a gift basket?

And now friends,  I need to decide to get for Mr. B!  I had signed us up for a beer tasting class in Charlottesville followed by dinner at our favorite C'ville restaurant, The Local, tonight.   Unfortunately a last minute work trip to Montreal (sometimes I really  hate Bryce's company...) forced me to cancel.  So now I am boyfriend-less (just for the week) and present-less.  Any suggestions?

Have a great day!