Some gift baskets offer a delightful miscellany of items. But successful gift baskets often attract attention because they're built around a unifying theme. Those themes can run the full range of creativity.

They may be as simple and obvious, but still as lovely, as the items desired for an upcoming wedding. Perfumes, dried flowers, or small jewelry will be appreciated by bridesmaids. Or the theme may run in an entirely different direction connected to no single event at all. A gift basket of potpourri or forest-related items can bring joy to any recipient.

Combination themes always make for a great gift basket. Chocolates can well stand alone in a delightful container of straw or wood. But how much better to add a small bottle of champagne or wine to mix in with the sweets? Sometimes a combination makes for a unifying theme itself, as when sewing accessories are combined with beautiful buttons or cloth samples, for example.

The traditional fruit basket is sometimes mocked. But there's always the possibility of giving a new twist to an old idea. Pick exotic fruits from a certain country, or combine them with unusual nuts. Lay some flowers from the fruit trees themselves among the produce and create an explosion of color. The result will be not only something delicious, but a work of art as well.

Gift baskets that are associated with a particular state or country are very popular. Everyone loves to see the familiar items from home joined together in creative ways.

The pine cones of Idaho or the native flowers of Colorado are only two possibilities of natural items that will be welcomed. But miniature toys like oil wells from Texas or skyscrapers from New York can equally fill the bill. Go international and include some stuffed lions from Africa or turtles from the Galapagos islands. Announce the time in a gift basket with a reproduction of London's Big Ben.

Handicrafts make for a great gift basket theme and the choices are endless. Small, hand-made jewelry of jade quickly become collector's items. Silver shaped into tiny tools or trinkets will be kept for a lifetime. Tiny bears or badgers carved out of ivory or sandstone can fill a basket with reminders of happy vacations.

Holiday gift baskets are a natural theme. There are many to choose from. Christmas is an obvious, but still perfect option. Tiny toys or traditional foods can be surrounded by a perfect wreath. Miniature reindeer happily pull a sleigh filled with Santa and his package of gifts. But the 4th of July, Halloween, and many more make it just as easy to devise a great set of gifts for friends and loved ones.

Let your imagination soar. The possibilities for a gift basket theme are bounded only by the creativity you possess.