One way to avoid long lines at retail outlets involves making and sending your own gift baskets. In high school, our band program always had a fruit sale in November, with fruit arriving just in time for the holiday season -- this made gift baskets of fruit and other homemade goodies a popular thing in our community.
But in order to make the "best" gift basket with a wide range of gifts included, you'd better start shopping early and keep an eye out for those unique items to add to the basket. The earlier you start, the more likely you are to spot those sales on just the right items!
What are some other creative gift basket themes? I've seen fruit baskets for residents at a local nursing home, all-inclusive cookie-baking baskets (with all ingredients and utensils included) for newlyweds, and even a cartoon/comic book basket for the young-at-heart Marvel fan.
