There is a holiday approaching which millions will celebrate yet little is known about it in the mainstream This holiday is Kwanzaa. It basically means first fruits of the harvest, in Swahili, the East African trade language. It beens a holiday for years yet only now is it starting to become popular among the masses.

Kwanzaa is celebrated by sitting down each day to discuss then celebrate each one of the holiday's seven principles a day. There are times when gifts are exchanged, but not all the time so that it does not become commercially driven like many holidays have become. Actually, if gifts are exchanged that are only done so to to children and be handmade or hold some cultural relevance.

One great way to show your Kwanzaa spirit is by making a gift basket filled with the vibrant items fabrics, cloths, and fruits of Africa. You can even customize the basket to represent your own family's African culture. Here are a few tips to help you create the best looking Kwanzaa gift basket:

• Before you go build any kind of basket, you better get yourself in the holiday mood and to do this you need to surround yourself with all things African during Kwanzaa. Only by decorating your home for Kwanzaa can you truly build a traditional gift basket.

• Your first decision involves what type of basket you are going to use a base to build everything from. You can do this by picking yourself up a African made Zulu basket. It will give your work an authentic and traditional cultural look and feel. Make sure the basket is made from traditional materials like native plants and grasses. I've seen some stores offering a more modern version of a Zulu basket that is made from recycled telephone wires in wide range of lively colors.

• If you are looking for a more natural texture with detailed and colorful patterns, use a Swazi Sisal basket made in South Africa. These are usually well-made and thicker using a wicker style basket than a Zulu one.

• Find some different themed items to fill up your Kwanzaa basket. The celebration of Kwanzaa is derived from ancient African harvest celebrations. It is this theme that you are looking to capture with your gift basket.

• You want to show off your harvest theme by giving the impression of a plentiful and abundant harvest by filling the basket up with different African fruits and vegetables such as apples, grapes and citrus fruits. If you are looking for different African items to set in the basket, some grocery stores offer sections dedicated to certain sections of the world. You can also go online and simply do a search for different African foods.

• Go shopping around some various places to find fabrics of brocade and kente cloth which are symbols of African heritage. You are going to use these clothes to line your basket with. They will give it a textured look. If you are looking for a colorful and strong cultural look, make some mats with the same fabrics. This way nothing goes to waste.

• Go to the grocery store and find items such as African gourmet coffee or bags of beans and rice to make African soups and meals out of. Lastly, you cannot forget to line your basket with the seven candles of Kwanzaa in red, green and black.