Mini gift baskets

A basket is the one thing on this site bought empty on purpose. What it does is turn several small presents into one present, and that is why it earns its place next to a shelf of things that cost two dollars each: four balms loose in a bag is a handful, and the same four in a woven tray with tissue is a present somebody photographs. The measurement to read is the inside one, and the depth matters more than the width: a shallow tray shows what is in it, a deep basket hides it.

The favor bags are the small end of the same idea: organza and kraft bags by the dozen, bought when the present is already decided and it needs to arrive separately in thirty hands. Between the two sit the trays, which are the right answer when a present is going on a table rather than into a hand. None of this is the present itself, and it is worth deciding the contents first: a basket bought before the things that go in it is almost always the wrong size.