Guest Author - Cheryl Lewis

If your Mom is a coffee, tea or cocoa lover, finding the perfect gift will be so easy. Make her a basket filled with her favorite beverages and some accessories to go with them. Pick a nice sized basket and fill it up. Mom is sure to love it!

Start with a bag of fresh, delicious coffee. I always reccomend that gift givers select something the receiver doesn't buy for themselves on a regular basis. If they rarely buy flavored coffees, try a delicious vanilla or some other flavor you think they'll enjoy. If you're honestly not sure if a flavor is the right way to go, stick with the unflavored but make sure it's a good blend. I also

Now we're going to add a box of teas. You can find all different kinds of teas from green, darjeeling to roseberry. Try a selection of different teas in the basket. The nice thing about giving a basket like this is that you get to try different flavors that you wouldn't normally buy for yourself.

You may want to add a bag of cocoa too. Cocoa also comes in lots of different flavors. If you're not sure if your Mom would like a flavored cocoa, get an individual size serving of a couple of different flavors. Cocoa, like flavored coffee's and tea's is a real treat.

Now you have the foundation for your gift basket and it's time to build up around that.

Find a nice sized mug, maybe a pretty teaspoon to go with it and add those to the basket. Mom has to have something special to drink all of her delicious treats out of.

Creamers are a perfect accessory in a coffee and tea basket. I can't tell you how many times I've someone say "My mom doesn't take cream in her coffee". My response to that is, "we're talking about run of the mill, plain old cream". Creamers come in so many different flavors you could probably try a different one each day of the month. Add some flavored creamers.

Look for some flavored honeysticks which are great to have with tea. You may also find some chocolate covered stir sticks which are fabulous to stir in your coffee, cocoa or just eat by themselves.

Add some small items to nibble on. Pick some gourmet cookies or possibly some fudge. I sampled a dark chocolate fudge recently that was so incredibly good it felt sinful. That fudge was made by a company called Grandee's Goodies who also makes homemade peanut brittle, cookies, caramel corn that melts in your mouth, and flavored chocolates that come in cute shapes. Any items like this will make perfect accessories to your basket.

Top all of this off with a pretty bow, a nice card and a big "I love you" and you've got the perfect gift!