How to Make a Fruit Basket

When buying a gift for a near and dear one, we often end up without any exciting ideas. Whatever we think is either been already used, or is a tad too boring. In that case, a gift basket always comes handy. For those, who may not be aware, a gift basket is a decorated basket that is filled with goodies, food treats, etc. One of its many advantages is that it can either be customized, according to a particular theme, or you can simply put in any items you wish and gift it to someone. A fruit basket is also one of the most loved gift baskets meant for spouse, lover, friends, family members or older people. It can also be a perfect gift to give someone who is not well; i.e., it is also a good option for a get well gift. Gift baskets are available in gift stores, and you can even customize them according to your choice. But, they can also be easily made at home.

Fruit Gift Basket

Homemade gifts seem more personal than those gotten from the market. If you have already used all other homemade gift ideas like making a card or a scrapbook, then you can try making a fresh fruit basket at home. The things that you will require are some fruits, a wicker basket or any decorative basket, cheese / chocolates / flowers (optional), gift wrapping paper, plastic sheet (optional), bows and other decorative material (optional).

Procedure

• Before actually making a fruit gift basket, make sure that the basket you have chosen is sturdy enough to hold all the fruits that you will put in it. Secondly, it is preferable to use fresh, blemish free fruits.
• Now the structure of the basket depends on the size and number of fruits. If you have large number of fruits, you can try making a fruit pyramid. If the number of fruits is less, a horizontal arrangement can be useful.
• Firstly, you can cover the basket with a gift wrapping paper.
• Place larger fruits like pineapple at the center. Now start arranging other smaller fruits around it.
• Make sure that the softer and smaller fruits like grapes, figs, mangoes, are not placed under any other fruits, as they might get squashed.
• You can co-ordinate the fruits according to color, alternating between yellow, red, green, red, etc.
• Now, if you have to include cheese, chocolates or flowers, try to put them in between the fruits randomly.
• Cover the basket with a transparent plastic sheet if you are want the basket to be delivered to a longer distance. The sheet will protect the fruits, and also prevent them from falling off.
• Lastly, decorate with a bow and stick a card.

Fruit Basket Centerpiece

Now, do you know that a fruit basket can also be used as a centerpiece for a dinner or lunch party at home. You can either follow the above mentioned method to make a fruit basket and place at the center of the table, or use the following easy method of making a centerpiece.

Procedure

• You can use fruits like strawberries, grapes, mangoes, apples, pineapple, bananas, etc.
• You can cut fruits in decorative shapes and slide them onto fruit skewers.
• You should use creativity and co-ordinate or contrast colors to make branches of the basket.
• Fruits like apples should be cut and inserted, and consumed quickly as they change color if cut and kept for a long time.
• Now, stick in these skewers on a carved melon or a watermelon, and your fruit basket centerpiece is ready.

You must have observed that both these procedures are extremely simple and can be very helpful for making a homemade gift as well as a centerpiece. So, next time a friend asks how to make a fruit basket, suggest her to go through this write-up or simply instruct her the way! Good luck!