Homemade Holidays/Gift Baskets/Inexpensive gift ideas

I love making & receiving gift baskets, so I thought it would be appropriate to blog about them! Whenever I see a gift basket selling for high dollar at a store, I always think, "Why would anyone pay that much for that--I could put that together for so much cheaper!" Pictured at the right is a gift basket that would make a great gift for that special man in your life-husband,boyfriend, father,brother, nephew,uncle, friend, ect. Also pictured is a small tote that you could give to a sister,friend,mom, neighbor, niece, ect. Both of these gifts costs me next to nothing. It's the thought that counts, right!?!
When I first started "couponing" and "stockpiling" I always kept in mind-- while things started piling up, that I would use my stockpile for gifts. You can make a gift basket using your stockpile and it's a great gift that you paid very little for, and they don't have to know it!
In the gift basket pictured is Gillette shave gel that I got free after sale & coupon several months ago, Gillette shampoo that I paid next to nothing for a couple months ago, Brut deo free after coupon & sale awhile back, Schick midnight razor-free after sale, coupon, and ECB at CVS last week, and the Vaseline men lotion was a freebie that I got in my mailbox. The basket was purchased at Goodwill for 50 cents, and I already had the ribbon & gift tag. I already had the small tote bag. (I always keep & reuse tote bags, containers, baskets ect. for this reason!) Inside the tote bag is Aussie leave in conditioner-free after sale,coupon, and ECB at CVS last week, Goody hair bands-around 29 cents after coupon, Revlon nail clippers, and nail files free after coupon & sale awhile ago, Revlon nail polish around 30 cents after sale & coupon awhile ago, and a small bottle of hand lotion that I got in my mailbox free.
These are just a few of my ideas, you can be creative with this!
When making a gift basket first decide who it is for, and what that person likes. For example, if your BFF loves coffee, you could make a "coffee-lovers" gift basket. Inside the basket put an assortment of different packs of coffee (free samples from your mailbox, or purchase them with coupons.) Add a coffee cup, powdered coffee creamer(use coupons!) and her favorite chocolate, or cookies. For someone who loves movies, you could make a "movie-lovers" gift basket. Add popcorn, popcorn containers(found at Target's dollar spot), candy, and either a DVD, or a gift card for Blockbuster!

*Need more ideas for a gift basket? I found this wonderful website called Homemade Gift Basket Ideas! They share lots of ideas to get your creativity going!

One more tip--
You can find gift baskets and containers for very inexpensive at Goodwill, or your local dollar store. At the Dollar store I also found cello bags, tissue paper, shred, filler materials, ribbon, curling ribbons, and gift tags for very inexpensive!

I hope this was an inspiration for those of you that still need gift ideas! Do you have any ideas that you'd like to share? Please leave a comment & share! Comments are my fuel--so please don't be shy!!!