What kind of merchandise can you buy that will last from the summer through the holiday season? The obvious answer is non-perishables, but beyond that, veteran gift basket business owners and designers suggest planning seasonal color groups that can transition and overlap.

Plan a color theme that can be transitioned through the seasons. For example, white is great in summer and a staple for the holidays. Bold ladybug red looks super in the summer, paired with white, black and green. And so on. A base of colors can be transitioned from one season into the next through primary themes such as summer ladybug, fall witches (black and green), and Christmas candy cane motif. As you shop you can look for general category merchandise in these base colors.

In the photo above, the designer used the same container from Valentine to Christmas. How many other products can you find that are identical, from one basket to the other? Only the florals and one focal point item were changed to move the Valentine basket into Christmas. The base color group of red, green, and white remained the same.