Gift Ideas For Fun and Profit! You are free to give this Ebook to your friends, family or website visitors. You may also resell this Ebook. Here is the cover image link: http://i62.tinypic.com/28btpbs.jpg Table of Contents Part I: Gift Basket Business and Gift Basket Making Ideas Ideas for your Gift Basket Company Being Successful With Your Gift Basket Biz Designing Your Gift Basket Website Marketing Your Gift Basket Business Why Give a Gift Basket? Buying Gift Baskets for Family and Friends Decorating your Gift Basket Baby Shower Gift Baskets Candy Gift Baskets Creating a Birthday Gift Basket Creating a Coffee Gift Basket Creating a Gourmet Gift Basket Creating a Themed Gift Basket Do-It-Yourself Gift Baskets Gift Basket Ideas for Women Giving a Gift Basket for Christmas Giving the Perfect Wedding Gift Basket Making Christmas Gift Baskets Sending a Gift Basket College Care Package Part II: Holiday Gifts Top Five Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas Holiday Gifts: Food in Baskets, Bottles & Boxes Holiday Gifts: Crafts Holiday Gift Ideas That Are Perfect For Men Holiday Gifts for the NASCAR Racing Fan Holiday Gifts; Home Parties Holiday Gifts: Pets Holiday Gifts That Give All Year Long Holiday Gifts: Tickets, Gift Certificates and IOU's Holiday Gifts: Unusual Gifts Holiday: Scrapbooking - The Gift of Memories This Holiday Give the Gift of a Star Timeless Holiday Gift Ideas Why Crafts Are Still A Wonderful Holiday Gift Idea Part III: Frugal Gift Ideas Frugal Gifts for the Housekeeper Frugal Gift in a Jar Ideas Handicraft Gift Idea: Make an Apron Part IV: Gift History Gift Giving Superstitions and Legends The Six Worst Gift Ideas Ever Part V: Links Links Ideas for your Gift Basket Company If you have ever wanted to create your own gift basket company then there is no better time to do something like this then the present moment! There are all sorts of ways that one can go about creating a gift basket company and if you haven't started one yet then you have run across the exact type of book that you should be reading. First off, it's important to have a kind of entrepreneurial spirit when starting your own gift basket company from the ground up, or any other type of company for that matter. It's important to keep an open mind about pretty much all of the issues that goes along with creating your business, but making sure that you have a business plan should also be your number one priority! Before starting your own gift basket company, however, the first thing that you want to think about perhaps should be what kind of gift basket company will you be and what services you will offer to the public. Of course for many people this may be a huge no-brainer question to answer, but if all your answer consists of is that you want to start a company that sells gift baskets then you should definitely put more thought into what you want. For starters, will you be a year-round gift basket company or will your business specialize in providing gift baskets just for major holidays? One suggestion here would be to open yourself up to virtually any type of gift basket that you get a request for. Whether it's a birthday gift basket, Easter gift basket, or even a Christmas one, there are millions of people that buy gift baskets on a regular basis for their family and friends and your whole goal should be their primary source from which they buy gift baskets! Another issue when it comes to starting your gift basket company is what type of prices you'll charge for the different sizes of gift baskets, assuming that you'll have more than one size. Many people simply choose to make all of their gift baskets a "one size fits all" type of deal, but creating different sizes and ranges of the baskets themselves makes it a whole lot easier for people to judge how much of something they'll be receiving when they purchase one. Nevertheless, though, the price of the gift baskets is important. A few sample prices may include selling a small gift basket for $15, a medium sized one for $25, and perhaps a third larger gift basket set at $40-50. Of course you can always make your prices higher or lower depending on how much you will be including with the gift ba skets, but chances are that those prices are right on the nose. Of course these two issues are just some of the starting issues to think about when preparing for your gift basket company. Deciding if you will have employees, where you will store your supplies, as well as if your gift baskets will be delivered are important to think about as well, but thinking small is a good idea to creating a solid business everyone can enjoy! Being Successful With Your Gift Basket Biz Creating a unique business always gives you the upper hand because it gives you the opportunity to stand out from the crowd. If you live in a relatively small town and would like to start a gift basket business then chances are that you are pretty much the only one in town who is going to do such a thing. As a side note, one of the great things about living in small towns is that you can develop creative businesses without fear of it being replicated too much, but on the other hand big cities usually always have duplicates of small businesses. Nevertheless, though, a gift basket business is not only a lucrative opportunity for you to profit in your market you're about to advertise to, but it also gives you the chance to hone your creative thinking skills and personality! If you have already somewhat gotten started making gift baskets and advertising your service to family and friends then you probably already have a lot of orders coming in. This can be a good thing because it allows you to get your feet wet without having a full- fledged brick-and-mortar gift basket store, but once you can keep up with the orders then it may be time to take your gift basket biz to the next level. What's the next level, though? In many businesses people see the "next level" as something that they will eventually reach, but the next level for a small gift basket business often involves making professional ways to advertise your services at the very least. For example, creating a website is just one of the ways you can successfully advertise your services. Another way, though, is through the development of business cards that you can pass around your city or town. The point is, though, to spread the word about your profession so that you will be able to have orders for gift baskets coming in daily. Let's face it: there are plenty of occasions going on daily that people need gift baskets for and tapping into the market is one good thing about your business. Another thing that one should definitely do with his or her gift basket business is to keep him or her self as organized as possible. Even though you may have previously just gone out to stores to create gift baskets on a per-order basis, one idea to try would be to keep everything at your house or another storage facility so that you can simply use the resources and materials that you have as you need them. This will not only save a whole lot of money, but you'll also be saving valuable time as well just in case a whole bunch of gift basket orders come in all at once! There are plenty of other ways to be successful with your gift basket biz. If you're just starting out in the business then you may want to experience making many different types of the gift baskets themselves, changing the actual gift baskets that you use, or just mixing things up a bit so that your business will stay as creative as possible! Designing Your Gift Basket Website When creating your gift basket business chances are that you'll be advertising it to family and friends first so that they can easily spread the word along to their other family members and friends as well. However, one thing that many people and gift basket businesses don't think about, though, is creating a website to go along with their basket business. But in today's modern society one can hardly ever get along in the business world without first having a legitimate website to identify itself with. A website will not only add spunk to the creative gift basket business, but it will also give it some sort of personality that can be great for any business if it's hoping to attract customers. The first thing that you'll want to do when designing your gift basket business website is to have everything neatly laid out on your website so that your customers and potential buyers will be able to see everything you have to offer. This includes making categories, making sure that the product information is accurate, as well as including pictures so that everyone can see what you’re selling. In addition, if you are going to allow custom gift baskets to be ordered from a variety of different products then there also should be a separate website section for that! Another issue that you'll want to have clarified on your website is the ordering process. As with any business the ordering process should be smooth and easy. This is obviously very simple to do when creating your business in the offline world, but in the online world there needs to be much more thought put into it, especially if you want your gift basket business to succeed. There should be at least several large buttons that read "Order Here" or something else to that effect so that your visitors will be able to tell where the ordering form is. Perhaps another creative idea for designing your gift basket business website is to give your customers interesting content to read . For example, if you have a sports gift basket business then your website could possibly include some updates on the latest football, basketball, or baseball games. In addition, if gourmet chocolate gift baskets are being sold then having a couple articles devoted to the history of chocolate and the many different varieties of gourmet chocolate may not be a bad idea. Of course one issue that perhaps lies underneath everything else that was described above is the actual website design itself. There are many businesses that may just have a plain white background, but on the World Wide Web it has been said that businesses only have a matter of seconds to hold and keep their customers' attention. Adding relevant images, pictures, and patterns to your website is a great idea! All of these things are important, though, if one is going to succeed in the online world with their gift basket business. Having an organized site, as well as making sure there are interesting designs and content to look at and read are all very important to your business! Marketing Your Gift Basket Business There are many different types of businesses that one can get involved with, but one interesting and unique type of business that one can actually create by him or her self involves gift baskets. Even though there may be plenty of individuals around your city or nearby town that specialize in creating gift baskets for all different types of occasions, there is also plenty room for more gift basket businesses simply because the options and choices for gift baskets are wide and varied. Indeed, there may be a gift basket business that only creates products around the holiday time, but on the other hand if you want your gift basket business to stand out from the crowd then a good service to offer your customers is the creation of gift baskets all-year round! Needless to say, though, if there indeed are many different gift basket businesses around your area then you will definitely want to have a marketing plan all lined up in order to attract customers and hopefully raise sales of your gift baskets. There are many different ways in which one can market his or her gift basket business, but there are three messages that need to show through whatever marketing technique you are going to use: creativity, customer appreciation, and variety! Variety Of course when it comes to the gift basket business the absolute best thing to do would be to diversify practically everything that you have. From the many types of gift baskets that you can have for your basket business down to the different products that should also be diversified, there are many things about your business that are already unique. Indeed, there are probably millions of types of gift baskets on the market today and having variety in the gift baskets that you create is of utmost importance to the advertising of your business! If you create custom gift baskets then this is one good thing to include when advertising among the many other qualities of your business. Appreciation As the gift basket business owner you will definitely want to show appreciation to the customers who patron your business. Showing your customer appreciation through special customer appreciation days, free gift basket samples, and discounts are good ways to attr act new business with your advertising methods. Creativity Perhaps the greatest and most important characteristic that should show through when advertising your business is creativity. The potential customers of your gift basket business must know that y ou can be creative in the way that gift baskets are made and what's better than showing them through your advertising of your business? As mentioned, all three of these qualities should be displayed to whomever you are trying to advertise to. The variety of gift baskets, customer appreciation, and creativity are all three main important defining characteristics of your business! If people can easily see and understand these characteristics then chances are that you will have a better opportunity to gain more customers and increase your profit as well! Why Give a Gift Basket? The perfect gift for anyone is always a hard thing to do. Many people are afraid that they'll give their friends or close family members the wrong thing for Christmas, their Birthday, or another holiday, yet they want to buy them something very special that says they care about them! If you have never thought about this before, but might want to try it, one suggestion for the next occasion that comes up is to buy gift baskets for the person in your life. In addition, if the gift goes over well then you may just need to start a tradition of buying gift baskets regularly for the special people in your life. However, if you're not totally convinced that someone would love a gift baskets, here are a few reasons that it may just be the perfect gift: You Have Choices One good thing about trying to find gift baskets is that you typically always have choices when buying them. If you're buying a pre-made gift basket, one that was put together and wrapped beforehand, you will still have the option of buying another small gift and including that in the gift basket as well! Furthermore, many businesses that sell gift baskets usually create a variety of packages so that their are choices for everyone. For example, one company may have multiple selections of women's gift baskets, while another one only has limited varieties. Examining all of them, though, is a good idea to selecting the perfect one for your family or special friend. They Offer Variety Another reason why you may want to invest in a gift basket is because gift baskets usually offer variety that you can't find anywhere else. There are so many items that may come in a gift basket that are just perfect for the person on your list. In addition, women and girl- friends typically love these types of gifts, so if you're a guy trying to figure out what to get your sweetheart or your mother then you should just consider a gift basket. Gift baskets are also creative if they're given to the right person and for the right reasons. One option that you'll always have is to actually create your own gift basket. During Christmas time one avenue that you may want to take up is actually making your own Christmas gift baskets. For example, you could fill a basket with different loaves of bread, like banana, pumpkin, or apple spice, along with including several other small types of gifts that are perfect for Christmas. Of course, pre-filled gift baskets are also usually readily available around this part of the year and holiday season, but choosing to be creative and making your own Christmas gift basket is something that many people choose to do. As you can see, gift baskets are a great way to show the people in your life that you care and a great way to offer a variety of gifts instead of a single one. Gift baskets are usually always well received by their recipients as well, which is another reason why it makes them an awesome gift for any occasion! What to Put in a Gift Basket Gift baskets are great gifts for virtually everyone on your list for any type of occasion. Even though you may think of gift baskets as impersonal on one hand, on the other hand gift baskets can be truly a creative gift for anyone to receive. Prepackaged gift baskets, however, may actually be those impersonal gifts that many people don't like to receive because they may only include generic gifts anyway, such as hot tea packets, chocolate candies, and other types of food or candy that you may not even want. However, if you make a gift basket right and include all of the things that the person you are making it for may like then you definitely have a good shot at pleasing the recipient. After all, giving a gift is the most important concept about a gift basket so making sure that it is received well is of utmost importance! However, the problem with gift baskets usually lies in the fact that many people simply are at a loss as to know what type of gifts to put in their gift basket for whoever they're buying. On the other hand, chances are that if you're not buying for a total Scrooge then virtually any type of gift that you place in the basket will be well received by the recipient! But because there are many people who arrive at a loss or hesitate after they start making their own gift baskets, here are some suggestions for what to place in the gift basket you are creating: Movies and Books Who says that movies and books don't make great gift ideas? Chances are that if you are purchasing a basket and making a gift basket for one of your close friends or family members then you know the types of things that he or she likes. Most people generally love to watch movies and read books, so these can make great gifts when put together in a gift basket. On the other hand, if you're not too sure about whether or not the person loves to read then you can also buy a [...]... There are all sorts of ideas for creating your own gift basket to give away to someone, but one idea that is actually freque ntly used by many people throughout the world is a candy gift basket Unless you're buying a gift for someone that's intentionally on a diet or just can't stand candy for some reason, candy is usually always well received! Here are some ideas for filling the gift basket you're about... Christmas to birthday parties, gift baskets can be filled with a range of gifts that are perfect for any occasion Family Gift Baskets A gift basket for your family member is considerably a lot different than gift baskets for your friends However, some of the same gifts could be used for each, but the reason for saying that was to make note of the fact that your family's gift baskets should definitely... if someone loves movies and goes to see movies regularly then filling a gift basket with DVD movies, popcorn, and other movie theater candy can also be created into a themed gift basket All in all, though, there are many great gift basket ideas to use for your family and friends and there is pr etty much no end to the way they can be presented! Do-It-Yourself Gift Baskets The gift- giving season has... cookies and boxing them with a pretty bow make a delicious holiday gift for friends, family or even your child's teacher Kick the gift up a notch by adding some homemade candies Need a gift for people who love being outdoors, pick up a nice inexpensive picnic basket and add a bottle of wine, some cheeses and crackers with a small cheese cutting board and a couple of pretty wine glasses for a classic gift. .. a great gift idea However, for the tech-head guy, stickers for his laptop or game console can excite them - or even a new mp3 player for them to play around with and show off to their guy pals However, our guys do grow up (even if just a little) and we get married Holiday gift ideas for husbands and fathers of our children deserve something special as well One idea would be to get him a beer gift basket... is buying a gift basket for that hard-to-buy person Gift baskets can be a wonderful thing to buy, especially for a Christmas gift, and many people choose to do this each year Of course, pre-made Christmas gift baskets are not your only choice when looking into this type of gift On the contrary, a good thing to add to this gift would be your own personality and style, so creating an actual gift basket... friends Gift basket care packages, though, are a simple and fun reminder to those college students that want to see their family members and miss the smell and taste of their mother's home cooking! Of course there are plenty of other options for making a gift basket care package for a college student as well One option is to buy a pre-packaged gift basket from a gift basket company, but on t he other hand... in a gift basket and chances are that she'll love every bit of it! Just remember: when making a gift basket for your wife or girlfriend stick to the most romantic gifts that you can think of to put in the gift basket! Giving a Gift Basket for Christmas Christmas time comes once every year, but the fact that it comes only once a year makes buying gifts for the people in your family and circle of friends... members then you won't even be purchasing a gift basket, but nevertheless these are some great ideas for family members' gift baskets! Friends' Gift Baskets On the other hand, chances are that your friends' gift baskets will take on a whole different meaning Think about the times, though, that you've tried to find the perfect gift (other than a gift basket) for one of your friends If they are a relatively... on the other hand you may also have other ideas for your friend or family member that you're buying for If that's the case then one is always free to purchase a whole variety of other small gifts and put those in their gift baskets instead, but just remember that stocking stuffers and loaves of bread will usually always be well received as holiday gift baskets! Giving the Perfect Wedding Gift Basket