Last-minute basket case

With only a week's worth of shopping left until Christmas, you may be hunting for a few more gifts for somebody special. How about avoiding the malls and assembling a personalized gift that's planet-friendly too?

Care2 has an excellent list of 10 gourmet gift baskets you can make yourself. All you need is a basket (look at thrift stores for inexpensive ones; you're keeping stuff out of landfills too). Then go to the grocery store, farmers market, or maybe a specialty food store for the contents.

Add a recipe or two that matches the theme of the basket -- curry for a Taj Mahal basket or pasta sauce for an Under the Tuscan Sun basket. Print it out on pretty recycled paper. Decorate the basket with a raffia bow, and you've got a unique gift that gives the recipient an evening of tasty eats.