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Simple Autumn Gift Basket



It's Thanksgiving tomorrow here in the US and things look pretty different this year with Covid.


Our family is staying home to have a nice, small dinner for just the six of us.


In some ways, it sounds kind of nice, but in other ways, it feels a little sad.


We have some friends that recently had to cancel their plane trip to visit family out-of-state and I think we're all just feeling the reality of things right now.


This year is just different.


But just because it's different, doesn't mean it can't be meaningful.


We wanted to come up with a creative way to connect with people we care about, so we decided to make a simple gift basket to leave at the door.


It was pretty easy to put together and super fun!


I started off with an intentional color palette to keep in mind before I even headed to the store. It really helps me to do this so I don't get overwhelmed by all the choices.


My mental color palette was full of autumn colors that looked a little like this:



I used the color palette to choose only TWO FOOD ITEMS to put in the basket.


Sticking with just two items kept things simple for me. I also made sure that only ONE ITEM was something I had to make.


I do like to make food gifts, but I don't like to be a slave in the kitchen for hours, so this helps me stay within my personal sweet spot. :)


I grabbed a simple wire fruit basket and placed a white kitchen towel inside. I never get tired of white for things like this. It just seems to always create the perfect, easy and clean backdrop for all the goodies that will be placed inside.



Then I bagged up a few tangerines and tied them with a simple autumn-colored ribbon.



Next, I made these caramel apples. I think this was the first time I have ever made caramel apples and I loved this recipe. It was SO SIMPLE and only took me about 30 minutes to make, from start to finish. I did use red apples instead of green ones, though, because I can't stand green apples and can't figure out why anyone would choose sour over sweet, even if they are drenched in sweet caramel. I think that might be a "me" problem, though. :) I then wrapped them up and tied them with the same ribbon as the tangerines.



After dipping the apples in the caramel, I dipped them in a bowl of crushed Heath bars, which ended up giving them a nice texture. Then I drizzled white chocolate over the top. I don't eat sugar (for autoimmune reasons) but I have to say these are so pretty that you don't even need to eat them to enjoy them!


Next, I added a few pine cones that I gathered from my local park.



Next, I threw in a few dried stems into a small vase I already had. A few of the stems were from outside and a few were purchased previously. You can definitely just use dried stems cut from outside and don't have to spend any money at all.


This vase is a little more in the peachy-orange family, but I like it with the brighter tones of the tangerines. I think it's fun and refreshing.



Last, I printed out this card and then put it all together.





This project did take a little bit of planning, but I'm learning to enjoy the planning stages for projects like this. I used to be in such a hurry to get to the finish line that I didn't even enjoy the process. Now I try to take my time and enjoy all of the steps. It's really helping me enjoy creativity in a new way. I like to call it INTENTIONAL CREATIVITY. When I make the effort to be intentional, I have SO much more fun.


So that's it!


I hope you have a very peaceful and happy season and I hope, with all my heart, that our world can soon heal from this difficult Covid chapter and become all the better for it.


My heart truly goes out to all who are suffering at this time.


Click on image to print the card.


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