A tisket, a tasket, everyone likes gift baskets. Maybe it's because receiving a gift basket is like getting a bunch of gifts all at once. The popularity of the goodies-laden baskets has grown. They are available at just about every florist and gift shop in the county. Manorville native Marcia (Ridenour) Orton already is very busy putting together gift baskets for Christmas. Some of them are for stocking the shelves of her floral and gift shop, Marcia's Garden along Route 66 near Ford Cliff. Others are custom baskets for shop patrons who are eager to have their gift lists checked off early. Marcia had worked for years at a floral shop in Ford City, and had been contemplating the pros and cons of going into business for herself when she was offered the chance to rent the commercially-zoned brick house beside the Pleasantview Plaza in Manor Township. The home was perfect for what she had in mind, so she moved in and opened her shop in August of 2002. Today, friend Vickie Kirscht helps Marcia keep up with requests when the holiday gift basket frenzy hits. "We started out with fruit baskets," Marcia said, "and then, because people aren't as health conscious as they used to be, we started putting pop and chips in baskets." "Then we had someone come in who said her aunt collected something, and could we do a basket with something like that." That's why the team puts together theme baskets, such as a chocolate lover's basket or a gingerbread basket. The gift basket isn't always assembled in a traditional woven basket. "You can use anything as far as containers," Marcia said. Some of her customers bring in containers and the gift items and ask if she will do the assembly. "I have customers who have everything for in the basket, but don't know how to put it together," Marcia said. "So they just bring their stuff in and we put it together for them." One of the most important things to do before putting a gift basket together is take off the price tags. "Be sure to remove all of the price tags. You don't want them in there," she said. "I've had baskets finished and then see a price tag sticking out. Then I'd have to take it apart to take the tags off and put it together again." Marcia starts assembling a gift basket by cutting off a big piece of cellophane, which can be used as shrink wrap. "It's best to start with your cellophane underneath your basket," she said, "because if you put the basket together and you try to move it, the things in it might start to fall out." Measuring the cellophane is crucial to a neat job. "Check to see if it's big enough before you cut it," Marcia said. "See if it'll cover the basket." After the cellophane comes the packing, or base, which supports the gift items in the container. "Different people use different things," she said. "Some use shredded paper, some use tissue." Marcia prefers excelsior, a dried grass-like basket filler. "I'm not sure exactly what it's made of and it's pretty messy," she warned. "Put that in your basket, then you arrange the items in it." A chocolate-themed chocolate lover's basket might feature items such as a coffee cup and some hot cocoa mixes, chocolate covered pretzel rods or chocolate covered Oreos. For the gingerbread theme, she begins with a cutout rusted tin candle box and puts in a gingerbread man appliqued dish towel, gingerbread man soaps, a gingerbread man candle, bubble bath and body lotion in gingerbread man bottles. "I like to try to put them in a container that the person will keep and be able to use later," she said. For a neat presentation, tall items can be propped up against the handle of the basket. "You should try to put the taller things to the back," Marcia explained. To hold the items secure in the baskets, Marcia doesn't use hot glue or packing tape like some gift basket makers do. "From years of experience," she said, "you just learn how to put it in there so it stays together. Just pack it tight and the shrink wrap holds it together." When the innards are snugly arranged, she then brings the cellophane up around the basket -- "try to get it as neat and nice as possible" -- and secures it with a chenille stem or pipe cleaner. Then she uses a heat gun to shrink the cellophane, which helps tighten the package and keep everything in place. The finishing touch is the ribbon. "A lot of my customers don't know how to make bows," Marcia said. "They'll bring ribbon in and we'll make bows for them." "It's all in the twisting and turning," she said as she gaged, then twisted the loops of a red velvet bow. "I can't even begin to imagine how many bows I've made." "Then you tie the bow on, and there you go."

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