How To Make A Going Away Gift Basket

Gift Basket

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure policy for more information. 

It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. Right? Ugh, that expression is so much easier said than done. One of my best friends moved to Illinois this summer. Her husband received an incredible job opportunity and they just couldn’t pass it up! Thankfully, the move is temporary, but it will be for a couple of years. She is a southern girl through and through and I knew she was going to feel homesick moving so far away from home. I wanted to give her things that would remind her of home and comfort her when she was feeling stressed, exhausted, and homesick. Instead of buying her one thing for her new home, which is GORGEOUS by the way, I decided to make her a going away basket full of little reminders of home. Each part of the basket went with a different letter and each letter included an encouraging scripture card that fit that occasion. I started each letter with, “Open When You are Feeling….” My hope was that each gift and letter would help her feel better during that moment. I made her a total of 6 different cards. 

Gift Basket

Open When You Miss The Sweet Sweet South

Going Away Gift Basket

There are certain things that remind us of home. For this part of the basket, I wanted her to have a taste of home when she started feeling homesick. A local jar of Texas salsa, two mini bottles of wine, and a letter full of all things Texas.

Open When You Can’t Even

Moving Gift

I knew there would be moments where she would just be over it! Sometimes, you just need to get in your jammies and chill out! This gift included one of her favorite types of candy, a romantic comedy, popcorn and wine. This letter reminded her that home is not where you live, but who you live it with and to enjoy every second of this new chapter.

Open When You Feel Stressed

Gift Basket Idea

We all experience stressful days, but being far from home with a house full of boxes definitely does not help. For this part of the basket, I included a bottle of wine, homemade essential oils bath salts, and a book to read while soaking in the bath.

Open When You Have Your First Snow Day

Gift Basket

Moving from Texas to Illinois means a major change in weather! She would finally have a real white Christmas! I wanted to make sure that she stopped and enjoyed the moment. I included a mug from Magnolia, (I have a matching one) candy canes, marshmallows and plenty of hot chocolate packets!

Open When You Need A Mollie Day

Moving Away Gift Ideas

One of our favorite things to do is to open a bottle of wine, sit on the couch in our jammies and talk late into the night. We are also really big fans of Target. It is our magical place that takes all of our worries away. For this occasion, I included a bottle of wine, a Target gift card, and a card reminding her to call me anytime, day or night.

Open When You Open and Unpack Your Last Box

Moving Away Gift Basket
Unpacking is exhausting! I wanted her to have something to look forward to and clearly there are few better ways to celebrate than by popping a bottle of champagne! I made this letter a celebratory letter to help encourage her about their fantastic new journey!

For the actual gift basket, I purchased this beautiful wicker basket from Target. I knew that this would be something she could also use in her home for décor and storage. I packaged everything together and made her promise not to open it all at once!

Have you made a going away basket before? What would your Open When cards say?

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DIY Tropical Themed Hospital Door Hanger

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own. Please read my disclosure policy for more information. 

The hospital door hanger is one of my favorite things to incorporate into the décor for a baby shower. It looks great at the shower, but it looks even better on the hospital door when sweet baby finally arrives! For this example, I used a Tropical theme for my inspiration so that it also matched the baby shower décor. Here is what you need to get started!

DIY Hospital Door Hanger

Artificial Flowers. I bought my flowers from Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Hobby Lobby puts all floral 50% off every other week and Michaels is always having sales on different flowers. If you can catch them right before a new season, this is a great time for deals on flowers.

Foam Floral Ring. I purchased mine from Hobby Lobby for $4.99 and then used my 40% off coupon. I did later see them online at Dollar Tree for $1. However, you are required to buy a minimum of 4 and you will have to pay for shipping. If you know you will eventually use 4, this is definitely the way to go! Amazon is always a really great go-to if you just want it shipped to your door! 

Low-Temp Hot Glue Gun. You can find one at any craft store for under $5.

Ribbon. I purchased my ribbon from Hobby Lobby, but you can find ribbon at any craft store.

Wooden Craft Boards. I purchased a package of 4 from Hobby Lobby for $4.99. I knew I would use them eventually and it gave me extras in case I messed up and I definitely did. You will hear about that in step 1.

Adhesive Letters. For this project, I used these beautiful gold chipboard letter stickers from Hobby Lobby. They are very easy to apply and look fantastic against the pink paint. If you already have an Amazon order going, they have some great options for adhesive letters

Wooden Initial. I purchased this adorable pineapple initial from Build-A-Cross. They have SO many options and their customer service is phenomenal! They also work with the Ministry Freedom Challenge, a Faith-Based Drug and Alcohol Discipleship Program. I love knowing that they are giving back to their community with the help of proceeds from their products. If you are looking for a very specific wooden monogram or design, this is the place for you! If you just need a simple letter initial, Amazon has plenty of options! 

Paint Brushes. I like to use the foam paint brushes. Michaels carries a set of multiple sizes in their dollar section bins at the front of the store. I purchased this set of 25 foam paint brushes for $5. Or you can just stock up on a large pack of foam paint brushes from Amazon. 

Paint. I used bottles of acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby.

Fishing Wire. I will be totally honest here. I might have borrowed mine from my brother and just never gave it back. Sorry, Face. (I call my brother Face.) Add some fishing wire to your Amazon order! It will come in handy for so many craft projects! 

Wire Cutter.

Scissors.

Step 1: Paint Your Wooden Boards and Initial

I found this adorable pineapple initial from Build-A-Cross. They have SO many options and designs. I would highly recommend checking out their site. Before I ordered the initial, I measured the length of my foam ring to make sure I selected the right size. Paint the initial and the boards you will use to display the name, weight, length, date, and time. I would recommend testing the paint colors you are going to use on the back of one of the boards to make sure they don’t clash with any of the flowers. I had this issue for this example and had to start over with a new board. While you wait for the boards and the initial to dry, move on to step 2!

Step 2: Place your flowers!

Tropical Hospital Door Hanger

DIY Floral Hospital Door Hanger

Have your hot glue gun on and ready to go. Using the wire cutter, cut the flowers from the stems leaving just enough stem to push into the foam ring. I prefer using several large flowers with smaller flowers as fillers. As you place the flowers, you can easily pull the flowers out and place them in a different spot to finalize the design. I incorporated leaves from the stems throughout to give pops of green. This also went with the tropical theme. If you notice any of the flowers not staying in place, just put a little dab of the hot glue in the hole and then stick the flower back in and hold in place for 10 seconds. Once you have all flowers and leaves in place, hold the wreath upside down just to make sure none of the flowers fall out.

Step 3: Date, Time, Weight, and Length

Now that your wooden boards are dry, add the adhesive letters for the time, date, weight, and length. You can also change this to pounds and inches if you prefer. You, of course, won’t know any of this information while you are making the door hanger, so make sure you leave enough room for mommy and daddy to add this information at the hospital. If they have already picked a name, you can add that to the first board. For this example, the mommy and daddy had not decided on the name, so I provided them with a full set of the adhesive stickers to add the name later.

Step 4: Put It All Together!

Tropical Themed Hospital Door Hanger

Now that all of your pieces are done, it is time to put it all together. Take the wooden initial and use fishing wire to attach it to the inside of the ring. I wrapped one piece of fishing wire around the top of the pineapple and looped in around the top part of the wreath. I tied four knots in the fishing wire to make sure it stayed. Repeat this step on your initial at the bottom of the wreath. Once the wooden initial is secure, cut two pieces of ribbon to attach at the bottom of the wreath. These pieces need to be the same length. Using the hot glue gun, attach both pieces of ribbon to the back of the wreath. Before you glue the ribbon, measure the length between the two pieces to make sure you are leaving enough space for the length of the wooden boards. Once both pieces of ribbon are secured on the back of the wreath, glue the wooden board pieces on the ribbon. If there is any additional ribbon hanging below the last board, trim that off with scissors. Cut one more piece of ribbon to use for the top part of the wreath. This will help you store the wreath leading up to the shower and can help it hang from the door hanger if needed. Just make sure you cut enough to make a full bow. For this example, the door hanger allowed us to hang the wreath without the ribbon at the top.

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