Christmas gift ideas - DIY hamper

The run up to Christmas is hard enough without having to worry about what individual gifts to buy each member of the family, especially with the days zooming by and the big day approaching faster than you can count. This is where my idea of a personal hamper made in your very own hands falls into place. I loved the idea of this as soon as I saw the beautiful baskets made by various people I know previously in the past and this year, I knew I had to gather the goods and get working on a distinctive hamper with all my mum's favourite things topped with the glitz and glamorous decorations. 

What you'll need: 

- A Basket

- Tissue Paper

- Shredded Tissue Paper

- Decorative items of choice

- Cellophane

- Ribbon

- Scissors

- Sellotape

The preparation is simple enough, buy a basket from any local warehouse or bargain shops, top up with your own preferential decorations which can be bought from most card and birthday shops and then be rearranged according to the size, shape and angle of the products as you start to add them into your hamper. Then once finished, give yourself time to perfect the cellophane, which does require patience and a steady hand as it can be tricky to hold it into place as you wrap it around the complete basket, which is where the sellotape comes in (there are also tutorials online you can search). Once that is done, tie the top with the ribbon of your choice and either curl the ends of that or like I did, cheat and buy a ready made bunch of ribbon to stick on. 

It's an easy creation which may look like it's taken a huge chunk of your time up but truth be told, it hasn't at all. It adds to that novelty and excitement of buying gifts but not to just wrap and forget about, to include in the hamper which becomes greatly admired and appreciated by your loved one with the effort and thought you have put in. You can make it as special as you want to and set a theme according to what the person enjoys and what their hobbies are (e.g. beauty, food, gardening). It's the unique touch to the hamper that makes all the difference to fabricate the perfect present. 

Products/items featured:

After Eight Chocolates - Morrisons

Mini Bucks Fizz and Chocolate Set - JTF

Beauticology Foot Cream Set - Asda

Yves Rocher Cocoa and Pistachio Nut Handcream - eBay

Body Butter Set - Bodycare

MAC Smoulder Black Kohl Eyeliner - eBay

Shea Shower and Moisture Christmas Set - The Body Shop

Cupcake Candle - Primark via eBay

Pink Sweet Candle - Primark

'To My Mum' Card - Asda

Basket - B&M's

Tissue paper (both shredded and sheets) - Card Factory

Decorative Bows - Card Factory

Star Tinsel - Card Factory

Ribbon - Card Factory

Cellophane - JTF 

As you can see, I'm not professional, nor does it look like anything a professional would produce but I am pleased I have succeeded in my plans to design the hamper and hopefully my mum will be happy with the final piece of her which will be sat under the tree on Christmas day. I hope it will be useful to at least one of you to get that last minute gift quickly sorted!

Lots of love...