I'm still gathering stuff, too. Our temps are in the 60's so it's very pleasant wandering around the garden or nearby fields & roadsides. As to containers, I've used all the items you mentioned plus things like oatmeal box weighted with rocks, wrapped in burlap & tied with sisal. Or for fancier presentation, wrap a milk carton in white nylon net or crepe paper and tie with gold cord or colored ribbon. I get a kick out of low-cost low-tech solutions. What can be more fun than enjoying flowers & foliage fresh, then dried, then painted and extending the pleasure for still another season! josh

That's it I'm booking a flight tonight! I've been jonsing for a reason to fly to New England. I grew up in Lynnfield MA and lived in NH for 15 years before moving to FL. There is no "Tree" here. Every time I fly home I spend a couple of days driving from Tree to Tree while visiting friends and family. When I'm through shopping I drive to a friends business and wrap and pack up several boxes to ship back to FL. He always laughs and asks "You couldn't find things like this in FL?" While I love FL the shopping is just not the same. Marion

My very favorite gift was from a friend who can cook quite well, that went to the trouble of sending it to me via post. In nice containers too. My son and I would try one each night. Maybe even two. Or three. It was nice to enjoy! List? Not really. My work gave me a turkey (already eaten), my boss gave me a check, my workmates gave me some really cool pop them in the microwave booties that can warm my toes, mom gave me a check, nephew gave me cash, and my sister gave me shiny baubles. I did buy myself an incredibly cheap tablet. So cheap, it is a 10 inch screen, but it came with a keyboard case and stylus, all for $100. I'm not kidding. That's how cheap it is. I have figured out, I only use the tablet for games and magazine reading. I rarely even surf the internet with it even. I'm just glad anyone thought of me at all.

It depends on how busy you want to get with the decoration. :) When you mentioned your variety of goodies, I envisioned a whole farm out of cut and glued construction paper. The loaves would be a ranch house, barn, tractor shed, maybe even greenhouses. Bars would be stacked like hay in a pole barn, a manger, a wagon. Cookies would be stacked and formed into a silo or two, a windmill, a watertower. Canned jars could be tractors, cars, planters, fuel tanks, etc. The same kind of idea could be a North Pole scene, or a creche, or a railway station, etc. Rhizo's presentation, besides being easier, is definitely more elegant. As an alternative, you could get one really gorgeous roll of elegant brown paper wrapping paper and use that instead. For an in-between, you can wrap your goods in brown paper, then angle some more paper squares to make points and bind them with raffia around the waist of the item. The points can be decorated with drawings or cutouts, flowers, ornaments, pen, paint, glitter. Clear cellophane also works. The gift wrap kind. Be really generous with your cuts, angle a couple of lengths and bring together loosely. Tie with a big bow or twists of colored cellophane. Use stiff cardboard (or plywood skin) covered with waxed paper or parchment paper under your baked goods if you don't have baker's boards. Don't use plastic wrap unless your baking has cooled for at least a day or you'll trap moisture. Wrap in paper or cloth instead. Another nice way to wrap, btw, is just to fold new (or, better, new that has been washed once) pretty tea towels around the items. Pin in place with decorative pins or scarf clips or even just discrete safety pins (try to keep them from looking like diapers!). Gathering isn't such a good idea with cloth because the weight could disturb the goods. There is a company called WrapSacks that makes cotton drawstring bags for wrapping. (Or if you're sewing inclined, you could make some yourself.) If you want goofy, there are limitless ways you could go. You could wrap the items in funny T-shirts, for instance. Or use a little felt and glue to dress them up as sheep. Or Easter bunnies. You could garage sale/thrift shop source some cookie jars, bread boxes, jam pots, baskets, etc., and put each item in its appropriate container, in its jar or bag or whatever basic covering you're planning. You could make baskets out of window screening and ribbon, and hang little ornaments and even solar lights from them. Whatever you choose, have fun. I know that your loved ones will enjoy your goodies.