Getting a unique gift for Mother’s Day can sometimes be a challenge. Instead of buying her another bouquet of flowers this year, try your hand at this beautiful gift basket! A handmade gift basket is a thoughtful way to show anyone special how much they mean to you.
This gift basket includes a variety of handmade projects that anyone can do. Follow along as we show you how to assemble your creations into a beautiful gift basket for Mother’s Day or any other special occasion!
Love making gift baskets? Check out our Valentine's Day Gift Basket and Men's Gift Basket projects!
What to Include in a Mother’s Day Gift Basket
For our gift basket, we’re using projects from several of our favorite recipes. To assemble this gift basket, you’ll need to start by making the projects below. We’ve included brief estimations of how long each project takes to complete.
- Floral Bath Bombs (estimated time: 20 minutes + 1 day drying time)
- Calendula Petal Soap (estimated time: 30 minutes + 2-4 hours cooling time)
- Aroma Bead Vase Filler (estimated time: 20 minutes + 2 days to 2 weeks drying time)
- Butterfly Lotion Bars (estimated time: 25 minutes + 30 minutes cooling time)
For an even more luxe gift basket, you can also whip up a batch of Tinted Lip Balm (20 minutes + cooling time) or Glitter Nail Polish (5-minute project). Feel free to include as many little extras as you like!
You can complete the hands-on work for all these projects in a single afternoon. If you’re making a last-minute gift basket, give yourself 1-2 days of extra time to allow for drying/cooling time. Keep in mind that depending on the fragrance you use to make your aroma beads, the drying time may be longer.
Choosing a Theme for Your Gift Box
One of the secrets to making a beautiful gift box is to choose a theme and color palette. We’re using these four projects for our gift basket because they all have a floral/spring theme that works perfectly for Mother’s Day. Butterflies, floral soap and flower arrangements all look lovely together in a gift basket.
You can make these projects exactly as instructed in our tutorials, or pick your own theme or color palette and fragrance profile that ties them together even more. For this gift basket tutorial, we’re making each project with a pastel color palette of cream, yellow, green and pink.
You can emphasize your theme even more by using a cohesive design for your labels and packaging. Using the same font and overall design for your labels and packaging will make your gift box look carefully curated.
Supplies for Making a Gift Basket
Once you’re done with your projects and you’ve chosen a theme, it’s time to pick out the supplies and accessories you want to include in your gift basket. It’s helpful to buy these supplies after you’ve already decided on a theme and finished your projects. That way you know exactly what items to buy, as well as the size and quantity needed.
Supplies you may need for your gift set include:
- A box, basket or container for holding the items.
- Crinkle paper or shredded wood excelsior for filler.
- Shrink wrap, labels or other materials for packaging your gift items (or wrapping the box itself).
- Ribbons, raffia grass, lace or other similar items for decorating the box or packaging your items.
- Extra gifts for filler (optional). For this tutorial, we’re including a soap dish, a ceramic tray for the lotion bar, a vase for the aroma bead flower arrangement and a shower loofa. We packed our aroma beads in a muslin drawstring bag.
Choosing a Box or Basket
To choose the ideal container or basket, start by arranging all the items you want to include in your gift box on a table (see photo 1 below). Consider how much room you will need to comfortably fit all the items, then take note of the basic measurements you should be looking for.
In addition to thinking about the width of your box, consider the depth. If you plan on standing items upright, you’ll need a taller basket that can accommodate this. Or if you want to lay all your items out flat, a shallow box or basket will look best.
Any type of basket or box can work great for making a gift set. You can also get creative when choosing a container. Upcycling a vintage box can put a fun twist on your gift basket. Or you might consider choosing a container that the gift recipient can repurpose after using all the items in the gift basket. For example, packaging your gifts in a sewing box or sun hat might be a fun idea. Depending on the direction you take, the box itself can be part of the gift!
Tips for Assembling a Mother’s Day Gift Box
There’s no right or wrong way to put together a gift basket. However, there are a few basic steps you can follow to create a beautiful gift box.
Follow these tips below, or check out the photos above for a visual of the steps.
First, package and label your items as desired (photo 2). For our gift box, we’re using a neutral color palette with our labels and packaging to create a farmhouse chic theme.
Second, fill your box/basket with crinkle paper, wood excelsior or other filler material (photo 3). For the best overall appearance, you’ll want to fill the box all the way to the top. If there isn’t enough filler material, your items won’t stand out as much and the box will have the appearance of being a little empty – even if it’s full of gifts. Save some filler material for propping up/arranging your items. You’ll need to adjust things as you add each item to the box.
Third, decide if you want to lay your items flat or have them standing upright. There are benefits to either approach, so use your creativity to decide what looks better.
- If laying items flat in the box, arrange them so that each corner of the box has something in it. Try to avoid having large empty spots in the box. At the same time, try not to place the items too close to one another, as it can make the box look cluttered. It will look best if there is an equal amount of “negative space” between each item.
- If having your items stand upright, arrange the larger/taller items near the back of your gift box (photos 4-6). The tallest or largest item will generally look best in the center-back. Medium-sized items can go in the middle (photos 7- 8), while smaller items will look best in the front. Fan out the items as needed to make the box look full.
- Finally, place more filler material around the items as needed to prop them up or create space between the gifts (photo 9). If there are lots of empty spaces, try repositioning your items. You can also fill empty spots with silk flowers, individually-wrapped candies or other small items (photo 10).
