You say you have to get a gift for someone who has everything, needs nothing, and has eclectic tastes? You note you can’t spend a lot of money, but you want the gift to speak to the love and respect you have for the person? Here’s a great gift idea for boys, girls, men, and women – edible bouquets.

Edible bouquets are nothing new but somewhat forgotten. I remember about thirty years ago, every Halloween my grandmother would buy a bag of Tootsie Pops® and a huge pumpkin, and would push the pops into and all over the surface of the pumpkin, making a jack-o-lantern with candy "hair".

Edible bouquets are ideal for those special people in your life. Here is an idea for an edible bouquet that I once gave to a very special friend who had quit smoking. When my friend quit smoking, he basically got hooked on lollipops, which he would enjoy instead of a cigarette. I created a stunning edible bouquet of lollipops for him and I am including the instructions below if you would like to try making one yourself.

Edible Bouquet Instructions

1. Go to a department store and find a gorgeous glass vase for a few dollars. (I found one for $4.50. It was hand blown and stood about a foot high.)
2. Buy a bag of the lollipops that your friend loves—fruit-flavored suckers, Tootsie Pops®, Dum Dums®, etc.. (This will be under 5 bucks.)
3. At a discount/dollar store, get a cheap but beautiful bow or ribbons. (Total cost=under $2.00.)
4. Visit the florist and ask for an oasis–a green, malleable foam block used by florists to arrange flowers with–which you can also sometimes get in the floral section of the major grocery stores. (The blocks are about $1.00 each. Get a couple in case you want to stuff the vase tightly.)
5. Back at home, fill one half of the vase with half of the lollipops.
6. Then, cut the oasis to fit fairly tightly in the vase’s neck (making it look like a bed of green grass from afar).
7. Next, insert the lollipops, one at a time, into the oasis, starting in the center and circling outward with varying colors/flavors (or all one color if you know your friend’s favorite).
8. When the edible bouquets are finished (in under ten minutes!), wrap the ribbon around the mouth of the vase, adding a big bow, if you bought one, and present your unique and edible bouquets to their recipients!