I love homemade gifts and gift baskets are my favorite! This is my first Rustic and Resourceful gift basket, made my yours truly.

I’m always honored when people come visit me on the homestead. It seems so far from civilization, I try to reward brave visitors.

In this case, I was so excited to see a dear friend, I started putting a gift basket together. Before long, I had several items – Most of which I either grew, harvested, found or made.

Gift Basket Breakdown

What was in there? Let me break it down….

1. Chopped Kindling – Cedar
2. Lavender – Grown and dried
3. Thai Hot Chilis – Grown and dried
4. Natural unscented soap – shhh… it was a re-gift.
5. Buck Skull & Antlers – From a local hunter
6. Lupine Flower Plant – A volunteer from the garden
7. Rose Distillate – Scented Oil for baths or lotions
8. Bug Repellent – Essential Oil Blend
9. Myrtle Leaves – Picked and dried for culinary use

I can’t wait to make more gift sets in the future! They are very seasonal. For summer or spring baskets, I’ll include more fresh herbs, seeds or seed starts, bulbs, plant shoots, etc. Fall and winter baskets might include fresh Cedar or Myrtle bows, sapwood (sap soaked wood is great for starting fires), etc. If I’d preserved more foods last summer, I’d include those.

I think it’s great to add items that will be used and are helpful to encourage interactions with nature. More recently, I made some joyful Conoravirus Gift Baskets for friends in social isolation.

What would you like to receive in a gift basket?