Hobby Ideas

Tea gift baskets, the perfect gift for any tea lover. What would be the perfect thing to find in a special basket like this? Being an avid loose leaf tea drinker myself finding those loose leaves in a gift basket would make it special to me. Lots of luck though, trying to find this type of basket. I’ve been disappointed to find that most companies that offer tea gift baskets fill them with lots of goodies along with tea bags. Offering a true tea lover tea bags, is comparable to offering white lightening to a wine connoisseur.

What’s the answer to this dilemma? Create the tea gift basket yourself. Don’t be intimidated, you can do this. Today I’m going to give you three tips to get you started on your way to making beautiful tea gifts. You will not break the bank while doing this either.

Let’s get started.

You will need a basket or container to hold your gift items. Here’s a great tip, purchase containers just after the holidays when prices are slashed. I often pick up beautiful baskets for 50% to 80% off retail. Why, because they are decorated in some way for a particular holiday and that holiday has past. Retailers need to move that inventory out of their stores.

I will save some of the containers for that same holiday next year. Others will have the ornaments or decorations removed. I recently made a just because basket from an after Christmas find. It was completely covered in a green felt with ornaments on it. The covering was easy to slip off and the basket became a perfect container for any occasion.

Definitely use good quality loose leaf tea in your basket. Again, you don’t have to break the bank to do this. Purchase sample sizes of tea. Many companies offer this small size to allow consumers to see if they love a particular tea and want to buy more of it. This eliminates the barrier of trying something new for fear of wasting money. That makes it a win-win situation for both the consumer and the retailer. The consumer is more willing to make a small purchase, but will often pass on spending more for something they are not sure they will like. The retailer wins because those teas that the customer really likes they will purchase again and again.

I have even found some companies that have great teas that send you a free sampling with a purchase. You just can’t get any cheaper than that. Use these samples to place in your gift of tea.

This type of gift basket will always have some tea food items. Scones are a favorite food to serve with tea. Rather than buy from an expensive bakery make the scones yourself. I bake scones and freeze them. After they are frozen I vacuum pack them. This keeps them fresh for a very long time. Many years ago I purchased a Food Saver vacuuming appliance that has saved me a lot of money over the years. This item has turned out to be worth the cost of purchase.

If you don’t have access to this type of appliance, you can still wrap you hand made gift perhaps in several layers of saran wrap or aluminum foil. If you must use this method, I recommend wrapping them in tissue or gift paper complete with a bow to add to the appearance of the tea gift baskets.

There you have it, an easy start to making your true tea loving friends a special gift that will be enjoyed and appreciated.