5 Steps For Making the Best Gift Basket for a New Mom

When you're invited to a baby shower, it's a custom to bring a gift or two for the mom-to-be. Gift baskets are a traditional yet ever-trendy gift for new moms, and putting them together can be very easy and cost effective. Using these steps will help you create the ultimate gift basket for a mom-to-be.

1. Pick out a basket. Ideally, it'll be very roomy and stylish. Wooden baskets are perfect as they have more character and nowadays they come in a wide variety of shapes and colors.

2. Pick out some stuffing. Shredded newspaper is good for an olde tyme feel, but plastic shreds, tissue paper or confetti work best. Line the bottom of the basket with stuffing. Normally, stuffing matches the baby's gender but this doesn't have to be always the case. Sometimes it's best to simply follow the color theme of the baby shower.

3. Buy a bag of diapers, a bunch of organic baby food, a stylish bottle, and other useful knickknacks. Line the edges of the basket with the diapers and start topping off the basket with the bottle and baby food. Cans or jars of baby food usually make for a better presentation than "jelly packets" which can often look very sloppy in an otherwise neat gift basket. Arrange all of the knickknacks elegantly around the gift basket and try to make room for a "centerpiece" object.

4. Buy a centerpiece for your gift basket. The centerpiece should be a more expensive gift that the mom-to-be (or new mom) will use almost every day. Baby quilts, organic baby food makers, baby toy bags, diaper stackers, decorative crib pillows are all excellent choices for a centerpiece. Put the centerpiece in the middle of the basket. Once again, artfully arranging the items is part of making a really great gift basket.

5. Decorate the basket. Adding a festive ribbon to tie everything together is a great way to make your gift basket shine. A good way to make it more cohesive is to match your ribbon to the color of your stuffing. Some creative friends might use a little bit of paper craft (or woodworking) to create a stork that can be attached to the outside of the basket. After you finish decorating it, stick a thoughtful card inside the gift basket wishing the new mom the best of luck with the baby's birth.

The most important of all is to deliver your gift with a smile. Let the mom-to-be know how happy you are for her new addition to the family. After all, that's what friends do and that's what friends appreciate.