September may feel early for the holidays, but for retailers, this is when the scheming begins.

What can you bundle? What will customers give? What can you create at a $25, $50, $75 or $100 price point? And how can you turn merchandise already sitting on your shelves into something that feels new?

One of the simplest answers is to stop thinking about individual products and start thinking about finished gifts.

Turn Products Into Presents

A candle is a candle.

Add a complementary room spray, matches and a small decorative container, and suddenly you have a housewarming gift.

Gourmet foods become a hostess basket. Bath products become a self-care gift. Coffee, mugs and treats become a morning-after-Christmas kit. A bottle and a few carefully selected accompaniments become a client gift.

The merchandise doesn't necessarily have to change.

The way you package the idea does.

Create Gifts at Different Price Points

Holiday shoppers frequently arrive with a budget before they arrive with an idea.

Make their decision easier.

Create several ready-to-go gift options at intentional price points—perhaps something small for teachers and coworkers, a mid-range hostess or family gift, and a more substantial premium or corporate option.

Baskets, trays, boxes and decorative containers make it possible to combine products into assortments that feel designed rather than simply bundled together.

And when the container itself has value, it helps support the value of the finished gift.

Use the Inventory You Already Have

Before ordering an entirely new holiday product line, look around your store.

What could become a gift if you combined it with two other things?

Slow-moving products may suddenly make sense when they're part of a themed assortment. Small items that don't command much attention individually can become useful fillers. Best sellers can anchor a higher-value package.

You may already own most of what you need to create your holiday collection.

The missing piece might simply be what you put it in.

Don't Forget Grab-and-Go Gifts

December shoppers are not universally thoughtful planners.

Some of them are going to walk into your store needing a gift right now.

Help them.

A selection of finished, clearly priced gifts removes decisions from the buying process. Instead of choosing several products, finding packaging and figuring out whether everything works together, the customer can simply grab something beautiful and go.

That's especially valuable for hostess gifts, teachers, coworkers, neighbors and those inevitable I completely forgot we were exchanging gifts situations.

Think Beyond Christmas Morning

Holiday merchandising isn't only about gifts under the tree.

Think about:

• Thanksgiving and hostess gifts
• Corporate and client appreciation
• Employee gifts
• Holiday parties
• Family gatherings
• Winter weddings and events
• New Year's celebrations
• Thank-you gifts

One thoughtfully designed assortment can often be adapted for several occasions simply by changing the ribbon, tag, filler or presentation.

Make the Container Part of the Gift

Disposable packaging disappears.

A beautiful basket, tray, planter or box gets used again.

That's part of what makes a reusable container so valuable during the holidays. The customer isn't only giving what's inside—they're giving something that can become storage, décor, a serving piece or the beginning of another display.

And for retailers, that means the packaging itself can help make the finished gift feel more substantial and special.

Start Building Before the Rush

September is the time to experiment.

Pull together products. Try different combinations. Photograph your favorites. Test price points. Decide which containers work best. Create a few prototypes and see how customers respond before holiday shopping reaches full speed.

By November and December, you don't want to be asking:

“What should we make?”

You want to be asking:

“How many more should we make?”

So cozy up with the Wald Imports catalog, start scheming, and find the baskets, boxes, trays, planters and containers that can turn the products you already sell into this year's most giftable ideas.