Friday 27 June 2014

Graduation Gift Basket


So I mentioned that the reason for my vacation to the Maritimes was to attend the high school graduation for one of my younger cousins (who ended up graduating a year early and still finished second in her class - I'm such a proud big cousin!). Instead of giving her a card with money in it, which I know every grad LOVES, I decided to do up a giant gift basket to get her ready for residence life instead. I bought most things at Ikea, since there isn't a store on the east coast (so I knew she wouldn't be receiving duplicate items). I went a little crazy while I was at Ikea, and didn't really think about how much space it would all take up in a suitcase, but I managed to make it work...I did need to pay to check an extra suitcase on the flight though... 

*I've tried to include links to the websites to buy the items whenever possible*

I did wait until I got to New Brunswick to buy this, there's no way I could have fit it into a suitcase. I had one the exact same as this one (only in lime green) back when I lived in residence years ago, and I loved the hip-hugger design. 

I always go a little crazy at Bath and Body Works during their June semi-annual sale, and always end up buying way more then I could ever possibly need or use. This year though, I went with a purpose - to spend money on my cousin!
Cost: 
Carried Away Shower Gel and Lotion (travel size): $2/each

When I graduated from high school, I received a number of brand new towels/ handtowels/ face-cloths, and I still have some of them to this day, 8 years later (I've moved so many times since then, some have been lost along the way, and some have just worn out). I think it's such a practical, useful gift for someone about to move out on their own! Also, I had talked to my younger cousin's mom to find out the colour scheme she was going with for her dorm room - black, white and fuschia - so I tried to stick to it as much as possible.
Cost:
Pink Bath Sheet (Ikea): $11.99
White Bath Sheet (Ikea): $14.99
Black Bath Towel (Ikea): $6.99
Pink Hand Towel (Ikea): $3.99
8 pack Face Cloths (Walmart, 2 packs): $3.97/each

Even though my cousin is staying in residence, and has already purchased a meal plan for the year, I thought it was important to buy her a pack of cutlery. This Ikea pack is much nicer than Dollarama stuff, while still being cheap enough that it doesn't matter if it gets lost. Who doesn't need a spoon to eat a bowl of cereal at 3am during exam week? 

A few people asked me why I thought my cousin would need a giant pack of straws when she went away to university...I just chuckled. The Raspberry Lemonade Blistex is my favourite lip balm ever, I bought 7 or 8 of them a few months back when they were on sale. Everyone should have a travel-sized mascara to throw in your purse! And the bag clips are handy for everything! We use them to lock in the freshness of cereal, chips, pasta, etc, etc, etc. I think Luke and I have 2 or 3 of these 30 packs in our apartment.
Cost:
Straws (Ikea): $1.50 (100 pack)
Bag clips (Ikea): $1.99
Blistex: I can't remember exactly, but I want to say ~$1
Benefit Mascara: Sample size, came in a subscription box 

My cousin LOVES tea, so I wanted to introduce her to loose leaf tea (which you know I am a big fan of, see my review on the David's Tea Pitcher HERE). I bought her a new teapot for brewing loose tea, a set of 4 teacups and a 100g tin of my favourite tea from David's (the Mango Fruit Punch, only available during the summer months).
Cost:
4 pack Tea Cups (Ikea): $2.99 (the style I bought are discontinued, which is why they were so cheap, but these are similar)
Teapot (Ikea): $9.99
Loose Leaf Tea (David's Tea): $15/100g (the tin is free when purchasing over 100g)

This stuff is fairly boring, but great for a dorm room desk! Plus, everything matches the colour scheme my cousin is going with.
Cost:
Dokument Pencil Cup (Ikea, 2 pack): $2.99
Dokument letter tray (Ikea): $9.99
Dokument magazine files (Ikea, 2 pack): $7.99

I would have loved this when I was in university! It's a free-standing laundry basket with two separate bags so you can sort lights and darks. Then, once a bag is full it just slides off the arms holding it in place and you can throw it over your shoulder with the attached handles. So smart Ikea!


Everything came to a total of $163.84 after tax (the laundry basket was the only thing purchased in New Brunswick, where tax is 13%. Everything else was purchased in Alberta where tax is only 5%). I originally decided that I was going to spend ~$150 for this cousin, since we have always been close (despite the 9 year age gap). I didn't do too bad, I can deal with going over by less than $15, and I think it ended up being a very well-received gift. My cousin was very excited about how many things I had crossed off her list of items she knew she needed, and her parents were excited with how much money I saved them by buying it for her. I thought I did alright, there were quite a few items included in this gift. I had wanted to include a roll of quarters for laundry as well, but then I wasn't sure if machines these days only take loonies/toonies.

 I'd love to hear about some gift baskets you've given people!

 xoxo,
Fallon
*Please note I paid for everything pictured in this post with my own money, and none of the stores mentioned asked me to write reviews for them. These are all my own thoughts and opinions*
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