Make Guests Feel Welcome With A “Welcome Basket”

Have you ever heard of a welcome basket? It’s an idea I’ve seen in various places on the internet {though one of the best descriptions/idea lists is here}. Basically it’s a basket of goodies and useful items for house guests. Well, we’re having two of Adam’s brothers visit us over the holidays. And I wanted to make them feel welcome. Here’s what I did:
 
I included:

• 1 toothbrush
• 1 baggy of flossers/toothpicks
• 2 fruit leathers
• 5 bags of fruit snacks
• 4 granola bars
• 1 eye mask
• 1 book light {that matches the eye mask}
• 1 novel
• 2 mini cans of ginger ale
• 1 decorated pack of gum
• 1 decorated chapstick
• 1 puffy box with 5 Wint-o-greens, 1 Lindt, and 1 mini candy cane
• 1 bottle of water with a cute pouch for a single serving lemon-lime Crystal Light pack

I picked up the baskets for two bucks each at the “Almost-everything-is-a-dollar Store.” I also plan on including a bookmark cross-stitched by me, but haven’t finished them yet. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, eh?
{I used Christmas scrapbook paper and clear vinyl to decorate the gum, water bottle and chapstick. Be sure to click on the links to find the tutorials I used to make the puffy box and the bottle tag pouch. I did the bottle pouch a little bit differently because I didn’t have all the same supplies but generally it was the same.}
It was a fun and easy project. I’m looking forward to seeing my house guests’ reactions. Come back tomorrow for another picture for the December Photo Challenge. And tell me in the comments what your own ideas are for making guests feel special/welcome.