This weekend my husband and I (plus Dolly of course!) are headed up north to spend Easter with his parents. In preparation for our visit, I mentioned that I will be baking this cake to serve at Easter brunch and I am also planning on bringing a homemade Easter basket as a hostess gift for my mother-in-law.
Yes, I totally went for it and created a very grand basket and hostess gift. The reason for this elaborate creation is actually two-fold. First, I hope you all can take some ideas from the many items/goodies you see here when creating your own Easter baskets. Second, right after my husband and I got engaged we went up to my in-laws for Easter and I will never forget the beautiful basket my mother-in-law had put together for us. It was filled with beautiful candies, gourmet candles and even a toy for Dolly. It was absolutely beautiful, very thoughtful and something I have always remembered. So now I am thrilled to have the opportunity to reciprocate this Easter.
Before I could start assembling this Easter basket, I needed to make sure that all of my components were prepped and display worthy. The chocolates that remained in their original packaging were given fresh coordinating bows. These gourmet chocolate covered almonds from Whole Foods (pictured above) were transferred to a clear treat bag, tied with a bow and then situated in this beautiful bunny candy dish.
My favorite bit of additional packaging by far, would have to be the green and white Caspari treat box (pictured above). I had found this box of adorable Easter cookies at Whole Foods, but didn't think that the original packaging would fit the aesthetic of my basket. When I came across the green and white chevron box I was thrilled! To keep the cookies looking great, I placed the entire store box inside the decorative box and then lined the edges with tissue paper to keep it from moving during transport. The cutest part of this box would have to be the removable paper tray included. It makes for easy removal of the treats from the box without causing damage to the cookies! So cute and beyond practical.
To create this ultimate Easter basket, I started by lining the base of the basket with Easter basket grass I found at Target. I then placed the biggest items in the basket first- the cookie box, Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Easter bunny candy dish with chocolate jordan almonds. Placing these items in first helped to balance the basket and begin to set up the parameters.
I absolutely adore Williams-Sonoma's holiday tea towels. They are always beautifully designed and add a lovely and festive touch to any kitchen, so including this year's Easter themed tea towels was a must! To display the set of towels- I placed them in front of the cookie box to provide the towels with additional support since they are similar in shape (*Tip- I inserted 2 bamboo skewers between the towels to keep them standing up straight). Once I had secured the largest items, I began filling in the rest of the basket with most delicious assortment of Lake Champlain Easter Edition Organic Chocolates (again, all found at my local Whole Foods!). I used the brightly colored chocolate eggs to flank the Napa Cellars wine and secured the Dark Chocolate Bunny to the handle (because it was simply too pretty and delicate to keep in the basket). The final touches were the Hammond's Chocolate Egg and Hugo & Debra Naturals Egg Shaped Bath Fizz Set.
What makes this basket extra fabulous is the fact that with the exception of the packaging and tea towels, all items came from my local Whole Foods grocery store! This month has been exceptionally busy with work, so not having to go on some crazy extensive hunt to find beautiful items for my Easter basket was so helpful! I really hope my mother-in-law enjoys this basket as much as I enjoyed the one she gave me years ago. For those of you celebrating Easter this weekend, I hope this post has provided you with some ideas for creating a beautiful gift basket for your loved ones.
Happy Easter!
