Homemade gift baskets add personal touch to the holidays

Every Christmas presents new challenges. You don’t want to give Aunt Mary another cardigan or Uncle Ben a sharp, new flannel shirt, yet again. But what do you give?

Give what they like. No, that doesn’t mean buy them exactly what they asked for — it may not be in your budget.

What do they do with their time? Uncle Ben or Grampa may be explorers at heart. Aunt Mary may be an avid reader or tea drinker. Your mother-in-law might like to sew or lounge in the bathtub. Those interests can provide the theme for a gift basket. It’s a gift that will show your thoughtfulness and express your wishes for a happy holiday or whatever the occasion may be.

Oh, there are people who prepare gift baskets for a living. None of them knows your relatives and friends or their particular interests.

Explorers always need maps, maybe a compass, a walking stick or film for their camera.

Tea drinkers might enjoy sampling a new brew or receiving a new teacup, a tea ball or teaspoon strainer combination — maybe a new teapot.

Whatever you decide, collect all the little things that will make up a gift basket. Perhaps they are the things your loved ones wouldn’t buy for themselves.

Preparing a basket for a harried friend or relative who just needs time to unwind could include a collection of tea, particularly soothing green tea. A nice new teacup always makes an attractive gift.

Use tissue paper, artifical straw or a linen napkin to line a small basket. Carefully place a teacup in the center. Fill the cup or surround it with a collection of teabags or containers. The tea ball or strainer can be placed around or in the cup. An individual cup warmer can be added. If you’ve included cloth napkins, they can stand around the edge of the basket as part of a liner.

Store-bought or homemade cookies can also line the sides or be wrapped in colored plastic wrap and topped off with a ribbon. More of the plastic wrap can be pulled up around your basket and tied above the handle with a ribbon.

You can get special cellophane or plastic wrap at many craft shops or florists, but Reynolds offers colored plastic wrap at the grocery store that will more than cover your gifts. Of course, regular wrapping paper is always an option.

To carry the tea and relaxation basket theme one step further, add bubble bath or bath oils. If it’s bubble bath treatment you want to offer, a bottle of wine, in place of the tea, and new wineglasses is a nice gift, along with a loofa sponge, nylon bath puff, back brush, attractive washcloths, scented soaps or lotion. Don’t forget scented candles and a fitting holder.

For the explorers, a Maine-made DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer for a chosen state is a good beginning. The company makes a unique holder for the book that can be filled with a pencil and paper, film for the camera and a small journal to record trips or sights. A compass can be a real help.

A small pair of binoculars for bird- or whale-watching would be a good addition with a gift certificate for a whale watch or seabird trip. Or how about sightseeing by rail? The items can be wrapped in the map holder or arranged attractively in a small basket, backpack or picnic cooler.

One of our Christmas traditions is having our favorite quiche for breakfast. If a member of your family can’t make it for breakfast, consider a quiche kit. This could include a quiche pan or a pie plate, a recipe, an attractive pie cutter, a package of prepared pie crusts, a half-dozen eggs and cheese. Or if you want, the quiche can be premixed, bought or homemade, and ready to pour into the prepared shell.

The pan can be your basket filled with the different ingredients of the kit. If you want to add a breakfast beverage, a selection of gourmet coffee or juice concentrates may be the answer. Mugs or juice glasses can round out the special meal.

For friends who are barbecue buffs, a barbecue set can be arranged in a cooler, on a tray, or in a compartment basket that will have other uses later. Barbecue sauce, maybe something homemade (include the recipe) can be added, along with at least two brushes to apply the sauce and to scrape the blackened grill. Large oven mitts and an apron round out this thought. The basket or container can be lined with napkins and wrapped in a matching tablecloth.

Keep in mind, baskets don’t have to be woven wicker. Plastic may serve as a more useful container. A plastic tool tote is good for gardeners and could be filled with garden tools, gloves, kneepads and a gift certificate for seeds.

Food baskets can include specialty foods or varieties the recipient may not have tried, or a sampler of gourmet treats.