Turn a Drink Carrier Into the Cutest Strawberry Gift Basket
I love finding unexpected things to use for gift baskets, and this might be one of my favorites yet.
Instead of a traditional basket, I used a 4-section cardboard drink carrier and turned it into the cutest strawberry-themed gift.
The four divided sections are perfect for holding smaller gifts, and because the carrier is fairly shallow, you can actually see everything instead of having half the goodies disappear inside a basket.
You can watch exactly how I put this together via this tutorial video I put together.
For this one, I decided to go all-in on pink and strawberry-themed finds. The result is a bright, cheerful little gift that would be perfect for a birthday, Mother’s Day, Galentine’s Day, teacher gift, thank-you gift or just because.
What I Put in My Strawberry Gift Basket
I started with the 4-section drink carrier and then looked for goodies that fit my pink and strawberry theme.
I used:
- A pink tumbler with a straw
- Strawberry freeze-dried treats
- Strawberry-scented soap
- A small pink candle
- Strawberry Flrt
- Pink flowers
- White crinkle paper
You don’t need to find these exact products. That’s part of what makes this gift idea so easy to recreate. Pick a color, flavor or theme and look for little things that coordinate.
How I Put It Together
I started by adding white crinkle paper to the drink carrier. I didn’t completely cover the carrier because I wanted some of the cardboard to show, but the paper helped soften the look and gave me something to tuck around the gifts.
Next, I added my tallest pieces toward the back. The pink tumbler gave the arrangement some height, and I tucked the pink flowers behind and around it.
Then I added the freeze-dried strawberry treats and strawberry soap toward the center. Their packaging was too cute to hide, so I made sure the fronts were visible.
I placed the candle toward the front and the tall pink drink on the opposite side. Once everything was where I wanted it, I tucked more crinkle paper into the empty spaces.
That’s it!
There really isn’t any complicated crafting involved. The arrangement is what makes it look special.
The Secret Is Varying the Heights
One thing I quickly noticed while putting this together was that everything looked better when the gifts weren’t sitting at exactly the same height.
If something sits too low inside one of the drink compartments, put a little extra crinkle paper underneath it to raise it up.
I also let some of the items overlap rather than trying to give every product its own perfectly defined space. It makes the finished gift feel fuller and more like a professionally arranged gift basket.
Try This Idea With Other Themes
Once I made this one, I immediately started thinking about all the other ways you could use a 4-section drink carrier.
You could make a coffee lover gift with coffee, syrups and treats; a cozy gift with a candle, fuzzy socks and hot cocoa; a teacher appreciation gift; a movie night gift; or even choose someone’s favorite color and fill the entire thing with goodies in that shade.
You don’t need a huge number of items, either. Four or five larger goodies plus a couple of inexpensive fillers can make the carrier look surprisingly full.
Turn a Drink Carrier Into the Cutest Gift Basket
My favorite thing about this project is how simple it is.
There’s no actual basket to buy, and the 4-section drink carrier helps hold everything upright while giving the gift a fun, unexpected look. Add some crinkle paper, a few coordinating goodies and flowers, and you’re done.
I went with strawberries and shades of pink and red for mine, and I love how cheerful it turned out.
It’s proof that sometimes the cutest gift basket isn’t a basket at all.
