WHere to buy cheap woven baskets for hamper making?

[IlanaK]

I had such trouble getting these last christmas for the hampers I made so I thought I would start looking early this year. I really need them to be cheap though. Alternatively, what about nice large pretty boxes?

If you have an Au naturelle near you - I noticed they had a lot of woven baskets - not sure if they would be suitable for a hamper though

Bewise had some for £7.99 each. They measure 27 inces long by 18 inches wide and are 10 inches deep.
I bought three last week to fill with goodies for my friends for christmas.

Thanks, but £7.99 is way too expensive for me. I was thinking of just a couple of pounds really. Maybe I would be better to go for boxes. I remember seeing some in Wilkinsons once that were not too expensive.

Can i hijack and ask what kinds of things you put in the hampers? This sounds like a lovely idea for family and friends so I might give it a go.
Thanks

I made one up using a fruit box/crate thing that the bloke on the market let me have for nowt.

I also make hampers sometimes for Christmas. Any containers that come my way during the year get stashed in the loft. I've also found carboot sales a good source.

Failing that you can use plastic packaging boxes in which you buy fruit and veg in supermarkets.
cover it in wrapping paper and stick a bow or two on.

Meant to say, another good place to look is Ikea. For all kinds of little bits that help you with your hampers. In the past I've picked up biscuit jars for a pound or two each that I could fill with home-baked biscuits, and vinegar pots for a couple of pounds each that I used to present home-made oils, vinegars and salad dressings. Also sets of tins with Christmassy pictures on them. They do a big selection of baskets which are very inexpensive.

/link{http://www.qsgroup.co.uk/collections/homeware.asp\ I used the smaller version of this last year}
Filled it with a bottle of wine, some nice choccies, lots of fizzy bath bombs, a book and some scented oils and candles for my sisters christmas pressies.
This year Ive bought the very small version and have plans to put a bottle of fizzy and a couple of nice glasses in them.

Ilanak have you tried ebay? There are some cheap boxes around that you might be able to use.

argh!!!!!

Boxes could look really pretty and would cost nothing but a bit of tissue paper, glue and time.

Use strips of torn tissue in toning colours, and watered down PVA glue. Let dry and apply more as needed, a bit like paper mache. You could even buy a few cheap serviettes and cut out designs as in decoupage. Wrap in some clear or pretty acetate and tie in a big bow.

Aww...I must start thinking ahead for myself too!

I can see myself doing this for Christmas,but where can i get acetate from?

I got my large roll of acetate years ago from what I remember I got it from a little local florist. It wasn't a bad price either.

I'll have a quick hunt around.

You can get it in Hobbycraft.

Thanks everyone - some really nice ideas there. I have previously checked Ikea and even their baskets were a bit too pricey. We need about 10 hampers this year so they really do need to be cheap.

I think I will definately go for boxes this year - also makes a nice change frmo last year. If I can get some that are already decorated from Wilkinsons or somewhere, then I will. Otherwise, I like the idea of covering boxes in tissue paper. Shoe boxes would be the perfect size and I bet I can beg/borrow some from some local shoe stores.