Whenever someone does something nice for me, I like to show my gratitude with unique thank you gift baskets. I always create the baskets myself, filling them with things that I know the person likes. There are lots of thank-you gift baskets out there for sale that are pre-made, but I think the personal touch you can give yourself sets a homemade basket apart from the rest.

This summer I made two thank you gift baskets for people who have done some very cool things for me and my family. My next door neighbor has a six-year-old son and she is always bringing over his old toys so that my younger son can play with them. Some of the toys are expensive, like the wooden puzzles and the children’s keyboard, and I wanted to thank her for her generosity. Since her kid has everything his heart desires it is impossible to go out and buy him a toy. He already owns everything and he doesn’t more toys to clutter the house when he doesn’t even play with half of what he already has. So I decided to create one of my thank you gift baskets for the woman who has been so sweet to my son.

The only thing I know about the woman as far as hobbies go is that she likes to drink. She drinks a lot and is always talking about the new cocktails she comes up with in her kitchen. I figured that one of those thank-you gift baskets filled with coffee or tea or sweets wouldn’t be the way to go with her. So I made her a custom gift basket filled with booze and presented it to her. The bonus was that she made pomegranate martinis that night using the vodka from her basket, and invited my husband and I over to drink them with her.

In our world of excess where everyone usually already owns the things they like, thank-you gift baskets are the perfect way to let someone know you appreciate them without buying them a silly trinket they may not like. I’ve created thank-you gift baskets filled with booze, stuffed animals and coffee products, depending on the recipient’s taste. The only small problem with baskets as a gift is that they can sometimes get pricey if you go overboard, but just like with any other gift, your imagination is the best resource when it comes to figuring out how to fill a gift basket.