October 2011

Hello again Readers!

I’m so happy that everyone seems to enjoy Halloween as much as I do! Loved reading all of your stories, your favorite Halloween costumes, and hilarious Halloween pranks (although I will never trust anything that is sitting still for too long and is human-sized). I can tell these Halloween witches hat treats will be going into the right hands. Congratulations to Maddy (posted at October 23, 2011 at 6:11 pm), Tiffany S. (posted at October 27, 2011 at 12:51 pm), Noel (posted at October 21, 2011 at 11:16 am), Shannon Schulte (posted at October 27, 2011 at 12:06 pm), Ashley (posted at October 20, 2011 at 10:01 pm), Rajat (posted at October 20, 2011 at 6:59 pm), Natalie J. Vandenberghe (posted at October 21, 2011 at 3:57 pm), Michelle Rosborough (posted at October 25, 2011 at 1:05 am), and Heather Garity (posted at October 21, 2011 at 6:03 am)! Email your full names, address, and information to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I’ll send out your delicious Halloween witches hat towers!

Pumpkin Halloween Sweets Gift Jar $24.99; product code: 94789

So I know we just talked about Halloween and all, but really, it’s this weekend and it’s pretty much the only thing on my mind until I start daydreaming about all the food I will be eating on Thanksgiving. Just bear with me for another week. Besides, who could say no to giving away free candy!

This week I’ve been watching as many scary movies as I could handle while still being able to sleep without the need for a nightlight (Although I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sleep again after seeing Paranormal Activity 3). I put up a lot of cool Halloween decorations, bought a sufficient supply of Halloween candy (enough for me AND the trick or treaters), and best of all I carved pumpkins! Might I say, my Futurama themed pumpkin carving might be my best yet.

Which reminds me of one of our cutest Halloween gifts. The Pumpkin Halloween Sweets Jar is perfect for Halloween and Fall in general. It’s filled with goodies like M&M candies, chocolate covered pretzels, The Popcorn Factory orange and purple kettle corn, a frosted ghost cookie, and more! Plus, the pumpkin jar changes emotions with a turn of the top.

Let’s talk Halloween again! Have you carved any pumpkins? Post your photos to our Facebook page! Seen any good Halloween movies? Tell me in the comments (1-2 paragraphs) and I’ll giveaway 15 of these cool Pumpkin Halloween Sweets Jars!

Welcome Back Readers!

Looks like we’ve got some world travelers amongst us! I saw a really awesome trip deal for a week in Africa and I think all 50 of us should go…think it over. Or maybe four of you will be too busy enjoying your gourmet international gift baskets. Congratulations to Gita (posted at October14 ,2011 at 9:07 pm), Audrey (posted at October 20, 2011 at 9:45 am), Mitch (posted at October 20, 2011 at 2:36 pm), and Meredith (posted at October 15, 2011 at 12:14 pm)! Send your full name, address, and choice of gift basket to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com so I can send it off to you right away!

Halloween Witches Hat Tower of Sweets $24.99; Product Code:94797

Spooky Scary! We’re getting frightfully close to Halloween and I couldn’t be more excited. Halloween has everything that’s good: crazy and creative costumes, Halloween candy, and an excuse to watch Hocus Pocus every day (dead man’s toe!). Is it just me, or are Halloween decorations even better too? First off, carving pumpkins; I have 3 pumpkins awaiting my skilled carving mastery (as soon as I find a design I like best online…). Continue Reading…

Welcome back Gift Basket fans!

Once again, thank you to everyone for submitting your stories; they were hilarious! And it’s good to see that at least most of you have great bosses to work for 🙂 Congratulations to Suzanne (posted at October 12, 2011 at 9:12 pm), Jeff (posted at October 12, 2011 at 2:27 pm), Nathan (posted at October 9, 2011 at 8:51 pm), Ashley P (posted at October 7, 2011 at 10:02 pm), and Kelly (posted at October 13, 2011 at 2:02 pm)!! Send your full names and addresses to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I’ll send out your gift baskets! And now, on with the show…

Deluxe French Country Gift Basket $79.99; product code: 96349

Is everyone settled in their cozy sweater with something warm to drink already? The days will start to get shorter, the air a bit more crisp, and soon you’ll find yourself daydreaming about anywhere that isn’t your house (unless you’re on the west coast or gulf, in which case, remember all of us while you wear shorts in the sun). I have about 10 different trips planned out in my head…and probably on an Excel file somewhere…all sorted into what features, monuments, or ruins I would visit in any given country, where I would stay, how long, and of course: food to try. Sure I put France on my list because obviously, France (Also I should probably put my minor and five years of language study to use). But mostly, I added it because of the food. Crepes, escargot, duck confit, all the pastries, bon bons, cheeses, wine…generally thought to be one of the culinary capitals of the world, I would be crazy to not want to go. If you’re in a Francophone mood yourself, I can’t really help you with your airfare, but I can point you towards our Deluxe French Country Gift Basket full of international treats straight from the motherland! Delivered in a lace-lined real willow basket, this gift basket will surely make you feel like you’re having a picnic on the country side of Provence, France. Continue Reading…

Hello Gift Baskets Readers!

I am loving all this influx of stories from everyone! And I definitely know that these Starbucks gift baskets will be in good hands with all you coffee lovers out there. So without further wait, Congratulations to Melissa (posted at September 29, 2011 at 9:22 pm), Kirby P. (posted at October 4, 2011 at 6:55 am), Milan S. (posted at October 5, 2011 at 9:42 am), and Marie Lujan (posted at September 30, 2011 at 12:42 pm)! Please send your full names and address to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I can send over your Starbucks® Break Time Gift Baskets!

Sunday, October 16 is National Boss Day! Yes, ironically a Sunday. And no, not The Boss: Bruce Springsteen (although his birthday was just a little over a week ago!). I’m talking about the person who gives you things to do but eventually gives you money for those tasks (“well duh, Alex” — Everyone). This is one of those “depends on what you do” kinds of holidays. You could have an extremely nice boss who is great to work for, or you could relate to the characters of Horrible Bosses more than you care to, in which case celebrate being the boss of yourself! I’ve been pretty lucky in regards to bosses, seeing as I’ve liked every single one of them. About two years ago, I was working in a restaurant doing bar backing when I accidentally broke a wine glass and cut my hand open with it. My boss ran at me with a wet cloth before I even knew I was bleeding everywhere and rushed me off to the hospital in his brand new car while I kept apologizing for bleeding. My other boss (his wife) sat with me while the doctors checked to pick out possible glass from inside my hand and gave me 7 stitches. Needless to say, they’ve always been nice people and I still like to go visit them. Hopefully you all have good situations as well, without having to get injured.

Either way, let’s not turn down a celebration/look a gift horse in the mouth (face?)! –What does that phrase even mean?—you’re right, I’m sorry, I’ll Google it.

If you’re at a loss for something to get your boss, I think gift baskets were pretty much made for this kind of day. Everyone loves food gifts, especially if they come in nicely decorated baskets and are mailed to you!  And you’re in luck; because that’s kind of something we’re really good at J Check out our National Boss Day collection or our everyday exclusive 1800Baskets.com gift baskets!

Deluxe Balsam Gift Basket $49.99; product code: 96333

We’ll be giving away FIVE of these Deluxe Balsam Gift Baskets to some especially lucky and random winners next Thursday! Just tell us in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs), a funny story about your boss or work. I look forward to reading them all!