Gift baskets and gift sets seem like an easy choice to make when shopping for gifts for people. It is not necessarily the best choice. If you want to five someone a gift filled with items that you know they will use then you may be better off making your own gift basket.

Stores often try to make things easy for you. I was looking in the paper today and saw that a local shop had a coffee set on sale with coffee, biscotti, and flavored syrup in the gift set. I love coffee but never eat the biscotti or use flavored syrup. So the person who gave me a similar set before I felt as though I was wasting the person’s money. I have a couple of coffee lovers on my gift list and I would rather just buy them some good coffee and put them in a box or bag.

Other items that comes in sets are fragrances. Even if it is a person’s favorite scent, he or she may not want the after shave, or scented soap. Although if it costs the same then buy it. I went shopping this weekend and saw that two gift sets for the same cologne were the same price but one had 3 additional pieces and the other had only one and both included a 3.3 oz. cologne. It may sound crazy but sometimes you get more for the same price. Only get it if you think the person will use all of the pieces. Some people do not like shower gel so a gift set with shower gel might not be used. Other people may prefer scented lotions while other only want their perfume to do the scenting for them.

Do the math… sometimes gift sets are on sale or offered at a special price. So in that case you are getting a bonus. If the gift set is the same price or less than individual pieces the gift set is the best way to go. I was looking at Bath and Body Works and with the discount they were giving some sets were less than buying the individual pieces. The same was not true with the sets available from the Body Shop. The gift sets allow you to purchase some of the more popular fragranced body butters but in smaller sizes. Buy the person’s favorite scent in a larger container for less. Avon has some full size small items that can be used for stocking stuffers on sale.

Know your recipient as well as you can. If you are unsure then the more lavish looking gift may make it seem like you spent a lot more than you did.

Shop around.