A Gift

Would you like to have a gift delivered to your door, especially on a cold, rainy, dark day? Today we are delivering one to someone and I would like to tell you how we made it. 

To offer comfort and cheer to someone in the hospital, we have prepared a gift basket for her.  As the shopping in my area is limited, the ladies of the local church and I did our best to make a luxury-looking basket using the dollar store, Goodwill and the grocery store.  

We found two teacups at Goodwill, with no damage or chips or any sign of wear. The basket will be delivered  by a relative and they will both have a tea time together.  Dollar Tree had some realistic looking hydrangea stems and colored glass jars.

The recent Victoria magazine has a bright bouquet on the cover, which, in itself gives off a happy feeling.

Shrink-wrap is no longer in style, which is something we used to wrap packages in, but in its place are clear cellophane basket bags that fit over large baskets quite well and are a lot easier to manage than shrink-wrap.  It is wet and windy outside and we wanted the contents of the basket protected in something waterproof for transport.

The basket is from the dollar store and is reminiscent of a vintage shopping cart. 

The bag is twisted tightly and fastened with a kitchen clip. Although the bags come with wire ties, it is much easier to open using the clip, available in a package of 4 colors at Dollar Tree.

Inside is also a package of gourmet cookies and high quality tea.  A hand-stamped card was made by one of the ladies.

I can remember when cellophane bags and gift wrap were very expensive, and now we have fairly attractive packaging from dollar stores. 

While we do not want to be stingy, we also have to be careful not to make gifting a burden on anyone, so we try to keep the costs down. This makes it possible to create more charity baskets and get-well gifts. The cost of this basket was as follows:

Floral , basket, wrapping papers, ribbon - $4.00 from the dollar store

Cookies, tea bags and magazine  $10.00 from the grocery store

Two teacups and saucers from Goodwill- $2.50

Of course this can all be made almost without laying out any cash, by finding things at home that you cannot use anymore, and making a gift with them.  

If you want to give something like this, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. 

-First, make it have a cheerful appearance, as first impressions set the mood for openning the gift. 

-Second, wash the teacups if they are from a thrift store, and use soda bicarbonate to remove any stains. Remove price stickers, rinse in hot water and dry well. Pad the saucers with squares of bubble wrap so the cups do not chip in transit. 

-Third, if uncertain what to put in the basket or what kind of container to choose, find something YOU would delight in receiving, as well as the other gifts inside.  If it is something you would like, it might please someone else.

Long ago I discovered that creating a gift for someone else was just as good or better than getting one. When I get to feeling that I want a little lift or a little excitement, I put together a gift (within my means and my ability) for someone.

This weblog is my gift to my readers, like a basket of your favorite things. I know I like to get mail, and I am sure you do, as well, so I try to put up informative and useful, uplifting posts whenever I am able.

May you have lovely moments in your little dwelling for the remainder of this day.

These interesting plastic baskets, like the old shopping baskets or laundry carts, also were available in pink and other colors at Dollar Tree and would look nice in the laundry room with white towels folded neatly inside, a pretty perk to the house.

A close-up of the handmade card.