Wicker Does Wonders for Gifts : Basket shops can create a tower of treats that cater to a person’s special tastes. Food, whether fancy or healthful, is always a safe bet.

You’ve decided. At long last, you’re going to give that person a gift: the one you’ve secretly adored for years; the one you want a raise from; the one who’s made your life, well, what it is. Your wife, say; your enemy; your paper boy.

What’s the one present that can swing so many ways?

The fabulous, shape-shifting gift basket--that overstuffed, underpraised item that aims to give the world what it wants, perfectly wrapped and tied with a bow.

The problem is, what do they want? Check the phone book under “Gift Baskets,” and your head will spin with the possibilities. An army of companies is standing by to stuff the wicker with cheese, wine, chocolates, perfume, fruit, coffee, bath beads, flowers and toys--some even delivered by a tuxedo’d gentleman singing a love song.

How do you choose the right tower of treats for the job?

“I always ask, ‘What’s this person like?’ ” says Gina Catan, co-owner of 101 Baskets in Reseda. “If they like golf, we’ll do a golf basket; for animal lovers, we’ll do an animal theme.”

While firms like Catan’s will pack just about anything people want in a basket, a quick survey of this gift field reveals that what they want is often edible. Things to eat and things to rub on the body lead the list of basket picks.

“People love to get food, especially good food,” says Carolyn Johnson, director of food projects for Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Foods Markets, which do a brisk business in holiday baskets.

On the other hand, argues Greg Purcell, co-owner of the Body Shop in Canoga Park and Northridge, “Personal care products, presented beautifully, are a refreshing change from wine and cheese. Even after the holidays, people can go on using them.”

Here are some San Fernando Valley sources for presentable baskets, which, by and large, do not come cheap. At the budget end, however, many liquor stores and supermarkets offer their own versions of the seasonal horn of plenty, attractively packaged and reasonably priced.

Among companies that specialize in creating gifts to go, 101 Baskets is one of the most energetic in its efforts to accommodate customer needs. Started three years ago by three recent college graduates, two of them sisters, the business aims, says Catan, “to replace the traditional, boring food basket with something fun and delicious.”

For $35 and up, Catan and her partners assemble an array of dainties that might include imported chocolates, popcorn, cookies, nuts and fruit. Their “Romantic” basket includes bubble bath and scented candles, and their low-fat offerings feature “healthy food that tastes good,” Catan says. They will also tailor toy baskets to an individual child’s tastes and create grown-up baskets around whatever gift items customers bring to them. Orders may be placed by phone via credit card and delivered overnight anywhere in the world.

101 Baskets, 6901 Canby Ave., No. 106, Reseda; (818) 343-2261.

The Body Shop, a British company that began distributing its luxurious skin and hair products in the United States in 1988, offers gift collections in every price range, either already assembled or custom-made. At the firm’s Canoga Park and Northridge stores, $5 stocking stuffers come in small cellophane bags and might include a sampling of Peppermint Foot Lotion and some scented bath beads. Willow or bamboo baskets--as well as larger cello bag assortments--begin at $10 and run into the $75 to $100 range. Most baskets come with a cotton facecloth and several Body Shop products--Banana Hair Conditioner, Japanese Washing Grains, Mango Body Butter or Fuzzy Peach shower gel, for example--and are festooned with dried flowers and bows. Credit card phone orders are welcome, and next-day delivery is guaranteed.

The Body Shop, Topanga Plaza, 6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park, (818) 710-8223, or Northridge Fashion Center, 9301 Tampa Ave.; (818) 341-0124.

To the uninitiated, a place called the Irvine Ranch Farmer’s Market might seem an unlikely source for gourmet foods and fine wines. But in addition to farm-fresh produce, the Woodland Hills store stocks an array of imported cheese, coffee, cognac and caviar, all of which make prime pickings for holiday hampers. Not surprisingly, in manager Jim Larson’s words, Irvine Ranch turns into “a basket factory” this time of year, hiring extra staff to pack up delicacies and tie on gift ribbons. Prices start at $20 for a simple wine-and-cheese basket and run into hundreds of dollars for sky’s-the-limit, champagne-and-caviar assemblages. An interesting alternative is the $15 to $24 fresh herb assortment, which features six to 12 potted herbs tucked fetchingly into wicker. All baskets may be purchased pre-assembled or custom-designed and may be ordered by phone for delivery anywhere.

Irvine Ranch Farmer’s Market, 6401 Canoga Ave., Woodland Hills; (818) 704-0485.

Along the same lines but with an emphasis on health-wise comestibles, Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Foods Markets in Sherman Oaks, Northridge and Glendale offer 23 different ready-to-buy baskets in addition to custom picks. Already-made selections range from a basic $25 “hostess” gift of chips, dip and ginger brew to a $60 organic selection of rice, baking mixes and cookies to a $500 extravaganza that features, says Carolyn Johnson, “just about everything we like best in the store packed into a big-as-a-Volkswagen basket.” Among the custom baskets, which start at $10, the most popular is a $50 fruit-and-cheese mix. Order by phone or in person.

Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Foods Markets, 12905 Riverside Drive, Sherman Oaks, (818) 762-5548; 9350 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, (818) 701-5122; 826 N. Glendale Ave., Glendale, (818) 240-9350.

For those hungry for the childhood smells of Christmas, the Bakery Basket in Calabasas offers selections of fresh mini-muffins, tea breads and cookie bars packed in a bow-tied you-know-what. A price tag of $21.50 buys a customer’s pick of 16 mini-muffins, four cookie bars and a jar of jelly; $100, six cinnamon rolls, six tea breads, 66 mini-muffins and 15 cookie bars. Phone orders are welcome.

The Bakery Basket, 23564 Calabasas Road, Calabasas; (818) 591-2335.