Surviving Christmas

Breakfast in Bed: On a sturdy decorated serving tray with high sides, or in a picnic basket, put together bagged pancake mix, a couple flavored syrups, a bag of powdered sugar, some sample sized jellies, coffee or tea, and appropriate cups.

You can also include specialty cooking shapes for eggs and pancakes (these can be specialty items, or cookie cutters with no sharp angles).

Gardener's Basket: Include decorative plant markers, seeds, garden gloves, small hand tools, and perhaps a book on the gardener's favorite kinds of plants (flowers, veggies, houseplants, etc).

Put in a nice bar of soothing oatmeal or milk and honey soap, too - they'll love you for it! If you're doing a basket for someone who loves houseplants, check out department and home improvement stores for a small plant to tuck in at the last minute.

Good containers would be terra cotta pots, decorator indoor plant pots, or a harvest basket.

Golfer's Basket: Tees, ball markers, club covers, golf balls (go figure!), golfer's hand towels, a water bottle in a holder with a strap for hanging on the bag, leather cleaner, and a tape or DVD on techniques would make a great basket for the avid golfer in your life.

Be sure to include a pair of sunglasses for a laugh! Folding six-pack coolers make great containers.

Fisherman's Basket: A small selection of lures, packages of hooks and weights, bobbins, line, and snips are great starters. Add to these jars of bait, rubber worms and maybe a nice fly or two.

Additional items could be sunglasses and sunscreen, and a small book about "fishing jokes." Containers could be a tackle box, a cooler, or a small boat-shaped basket.

Coffee Lover's Basket: Specialty and flavored coffee, chocolate dipped spoons, flavored creamers and a mug are great beginning items.

Add to this biscotti cookies, or the person's favorite type of cookies, a coffee mill or electric grinder, something chocolate (truffles are great, homemade truffles even better!) and a favorite magazine if you know which they prefer to read.

Night at the Movies: Popcorn, boxes of "movie chocolate" and other snacks, two or three movies, a couple cans of soda and a custom printed "movie guide" round out this basket.

A perfect container would be a lap tray or serving tray with 1 - 2 inch high sides. Decoupage a plain wooden one with movie poster clip art, then varnish.

A variation would be passes to the local movie house, a gift card to a nearby restaurant, and a coupon for a free night of babysitting, in addition to the snacks.

A great container for this one would be a plain child's square lunch box, or a papier mache box decorated with movie related clip art.

Bookworm Basket: Choose one or more books in the recipient's favorite genre as a foundation for this basket. Hunt down unique and inspiring book marks, one for each book included.

Add in a reading light, some snacks and a drink (coffee and a mug, soda and a glass, etc).

Other items to consider would be personalized book plate stickers, a lap stand, and a subscription (usually free) to the local bookstore's catalog/newsletter, with one hard-copy in the basket.

Ice Cream Social: Ice cream or sundae glasses, a scoop, a couple types of chopped nuts, a bottle of maraschino cherries, sprinkles, sauces/toppings, spoons, napkins and a "lazy susan" start this basket out.

If you're like me, these would all be placed into an ice-cream maker with a bag of rock salt, a coupon for whipped cream, and a booklet of ice cream recipes.

As an alternative to machine made ice cream, there are some very good blender-to-freezer recipes for home-made ice cream as well.

Our Beauty Queen: Teenage girls will love this one! In a shiny metal basket (as frilly as you can find) place eye shadows, eye liner pencils, mascara, an eyelash curler and comb, blush and powder brushes, blush, foundation, assorted nail polish, a couple lipsticks and lip glosses, bronzing and finishing powders, body spray, and perfume.

You can also add hair accessories like pretty yet sophisticated barrettes, hair combs, scrunchies, clips and such.

Be sure to include cotton balls, make up sponges, make-up remover, and nail polish remover in a nice scent. Finally - toss in a set of jewelry in her birthstone, and a mirror for the final touch.

From My Kitchen Basket: In a decorative tin or hamper-style basket, layer in plates and jars of homemade cookies, candies, jellies and jams, quick-bread loaves, spreads, a be-ribboned jelly spoon and a pretty butter knife.

You can include 8 inch plastic plates - they come in clear red and clear green during the holidays. Tuck in a couple pretty napkins of paper or cloth, a mug or tea cup and flavored coffee, creamers or teas.

Alternately, you can make salsa, flavored oils and flavored vinegars very quickly, and tuck those in with a homemade or store bought loaf of french bread and some crackers, a bottle of wine, with glass and corkscrew, or a couple cans of specialty beer.