Monthly Archives

February 2012

Gift Baskets, Gift Baskets Catalog

Spring Gift Baskets Preview

February 23, 2012
Glorious Garden Sweets Spring Gift Baskets

Welcome back readers!

According to all of your answers in the comments section, I clearly have not been trying enough “exotic” foods (no fried insects for me please, I prefer to think that maybe the food that I’m eating doesn’t already purposely have bug legs in there!) I didn’t think anything could ruin my love of eggs quite like that half developed “delicacy” does…also, fly larva? I need some ginger ale stat! Anyway, we have some winners who will be receiving a tasty gift basket that’s not filled with octopus, tongue, or insects! Congratulations to Ellen B (February 16, 2012 at 7:37 pm), Franklin (February 17, 2012 at 9:34 am), Amanda Vogel (February 17, 2012 at 10:37 am), Matthew Mckay (February 17, 2012 at 2:10 pm), and Tiffany S. February 23, 2012 at 10:17 am! Please send your name and shipping information to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I can send out your gift baskets!

Glorious Garden Sweets Spring Gift Baskets

Glorious Garden Sweets Gift Basket $39.99; Product Code:96395

I don’t know if this is unique to the Midwest, but the weather channel informed me that tonight we have a “thundersnow” ready to hit the Chicagoland and suburban areas. For those of you lucky enough to not know what it’s like to live in the crazy weathered world of that Dennis Quaid movie, The Day After Tomorrow, a “thundersnow” is the mixing of a thunderstorm, heavy snow fall of up to 10 inches, and wonderfully strong winds that will ensure an extra 2 hours added to your commute! It will be gloom and doom tonight and probably tomorrow for sure. But by Sunday, I’m almost certain it will feel like middle of Spring. Seeing as I’ve already forgotten what the sun feels like and I’m prepping for my commute home driving at 10 mph, I thought we should take a look at our Spring Preview and dream about what it will be like to not wear a parka outside every day!

Flowering Fields Spring Gift Basket Gift Tower

Flowering Fields Sweets Gift Tower $34.99; Product Code:96392

Spring means floral and pastels, the smell of fresh rain and dew on grass (I’m so close to breaking out into a Sound of Music song and dance right now). I won’t even mind the apparent community of 200 geese that live in the pond in my backyard making noise in the morning! Just looking at the bright colors and flowers on these gift baskets and gift tower is enough to remind me that Spring time is close.

Our Flowering Fields Sweets Gift Tower is bright and bouncy with its orange, yellow, pink, lime green and red colors popping out from a white background. Packed with delicious gourmet foods like Cheryl’s® Chocolate Chip Cookies, Ghirardelli® Dark Chocolate Squares, Harry London® Milk Chocolate Crispy Joys®, and more, the gift tower’s bright colors won’t be the only part of the gift to delight!

Spring Has Sprung Gift Basket

Spring Has Sprung Gift Basket $34.99; Product Code:96391

The Spring Has Sprung gift basket has enough in the title to make me excited for the upcoming months. Inside you’ll find delectable gourmet treats like Harry London® White Confection Pretzels with Pink Drizzle, a Daisy-shaped Sugar Cookie, Spring Pastel Taffy, Eurostyle Biscuits, The Popcorn Factory® Pink Berry Kettle Popcorn and more! Not to be outdone, is our Glorious Garden Sweets Box Gift Basket in similar Spring fashion. This gift basket is filled with the finest sweet and savory treats perfect for a fair Spring day (real or pretend!). Honey Wheat Pretzel Braids, Cheryl’s® Chocolate Chip Cookies, Dragonfly-shaped Sugar Cookie, Assorted Fruit Slices, Spring Pastel Taffy, Robert Rothschild® Chocolate Fudge Pretzel Dip, Tazo® Zen® Green Tea and more can be found in this beautiful Spring gift basket and enjoyed by all!

You can check out a small collection of our early Spring Preview here!

In the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) tell me what you’re most excited for this Spring and we can all hope it comes back really soon together!

Have a great weekend with normal weather!

Uncategorized

Trying New Foods

February 16, 2012
Picnic snacks for two gift basket tote

Welcome Back Readers!

Did everyone have a great Valentine’s Day (or Galentine’s Day for some of you)? I’m not going to lie; I gorged myself on some chocolates and tacos and then promptly wanted to nap for the rest of the week. Let’s hope you all have better self-control when it comes to this gift. Congratulations to Carol (February 11, 2012 at 11:42 am), Maddy (February 13, 2012 at 7:24 pm), Meredith (February 14, 2012 at 2:22 pm), Jessica B. (February 16, 2012 at 7:57 am), and Cindy H. (February 16, 2012 at 10:44 am)! Send your shipping info to amariscal@1800flowers.com and I can send your prize out to you right away!

I don’t know about all of you, but I’m kind of worn out from all the Valentine’s celebrations this month. Today is going to be a somewhat light day, but still with some good information! Another “sort-of” holiday that I like is coming up for me and I really couldn’t be more excited. Chicago’s Annual Restaurant Week kicks off this weekend I plan on trying as many weird dishes and meals that I can handle! I have basically been reading up on menus all week in preparation and trying to figure out where to make reservations. For anyone who is unfamiliar, during Restaurant Week, hundreds of participating restaurants create a special fixed price menu with a selection of appetizers, main course, and dessert dishes to try, usually at a lower cost than normal. It’s a great way to get out of habitual restaurants and go out there to find new things (and food, of course)! So naturally, I love it.

I like to think I’m a pretty adventurous eater when it comes to trying new foods. I think escargot is amazing and I want to incorporate pork belly into every meal that I have, however, I will never touch sea urchin again. It looks and feels like a tongue. (Which by the way, tongue, not that great either).

Picnic snacks for two gift basket tote

Picnic Tote for Two Snacks Gift Basket $79.99; Product Code:94998

Either way, trying new foods can be fun or you can even make a good party out of it! This picnic tote can be a great starter for snacks to lay out for a taste testing party. Packed with honey mustard onion pretzels, lentil chips, Tuscan almonds, garlic and herb pita chips, chili citrus twists, smoked salmon, sesame crackers, cheese spread, chocolates, Chipotle sauce, and more; they would make great additions to new dips, soups, or meats that you want to try. Use the crackers, chips and twists as great scooping or tasters to go with new dishes, and don’t forget to add the Chipotle sauce in your cooking to some chicken or salmon. Make a fun night out of new recipes! Also, the tote is very cute and very reusable for when you’re done. This gift basket also works well as a nice little picnic for two or a great house warming present!

While I continue drooling over menus, tell me in the comments (1-2 paragraphs), what is the weirdest food you’ve ever tried? FIVE of you lucky and random readers will win this picnic snack tote gift basket!

Have a great weekend!

Customer Appreciation, Feedback, Gift Baskets, Valentine's Day

Unique Valentine’s Day Gifts and Ideas

February 9, 2012
Love is in the Air Balloon & Sweets Product Code:96122

Welcome Back Baskets Readers!

zack morris saved by the bell valentines day

I wonder how much Zack spent on gifts for Kelly/every girl guest star on the show...

A lot of great deal breakers from your comments! I consider myself an expert Television watcher and at least 10 of the deal breakers you all commented on have happened on various episodes of Full House and Saved By the Bell; I feel like we all should have had these important life lessons ingrained into our brains by now (maybe it didn’t work because the moment wasn’t accompanied by some situational theme music or a long speech breaking the third wall from Zack Morris or Danny Tanner). Point being, aside from telling you all the television shows I know better than my own memories, is that I never knew these deal breakers happened outside of my television screen!  Anyway, winners! Congratulations to Danielle Levins (February 2, 2012 at 4:19 pm), Janey B. (February 3, 2012 at 7:26 pm), Lucy (February 7, 2012 at 6:49 am), RAJ (February 9, 2012 at 12:35 pm), Adrian (February 9, 2012 at 3:21 pm)! Email your shipping information to amariscal@1800flowers.com and I’ll send out your Valentine’s Day treat tower!

Love is in the Air Balloon & Sweets Product Code:96122

Love is in the Air Balloon & Sweets $29.99; Product Code:96122

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away! Are you all prepared? Do you have Valentine’s Day plans or non-plans? Maybe Valentine’s Day gift ideas? I will be doing everything very last minute, so I foresee a more “homemade” Valentine’s Day gift in my near-future project list. If you’re feeling rushed on time for Valentine’s Day planning, don’t fret! I have a few fun and interesting ideas for unique and loveable Valentine’s Day gifts.

If you’re looking for a unique spin to the traditional Valentine’s Day gift, 1800baskets.com has you covered! As we all know by now, I’m not a big fan of pink, but even I think this Valentine’s Day gift is very adorable and could be great decoration for after the holiday. Our “Love is in the Air Balloon & Sweets” gift basket would make for a great surprise for any sweetheart this Valentine’s Day. Containing Cinnamon popcorn from The Popcorn Factory and foiled-wrapped heart chocolates, it’s the perfect spin on a traditional Valentine’s Day gift (also the contents taste amazing!).

If you want to get more creative, we have some select gift baskets perfect for a romantic Valentine’s Day celebration. Try out our “Irresistible Valentine’s Day Wine Gift Basket” or “Romantic Evening Red Wine & Lindt® Truffles”, both equipped with delicious wine and fine chocolates. Have this gift ready to present with the promise of an intimate night in together. A great way to show you planned something romantic for this Valentine’s Day.

Romantic Evening Red Wine & Lindt® Truffles & Irresistible Valentine’s Day Wine Gift Basket

I recently went to a friend’s wedding and they had a really great and romantic idea that could be used for those of you who are looking for a more home-made idea. They had a series of empty and decorated wine bottles with different year increments on them (like 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, etc) and had all of their guests write small notes to them for each anniversary. So when they reach that anniversary date, they will read all the sweet notes everyone sent to them on their wedding. I think an idea of this that would be cute to try out is to get a few empty bottles, decorate them with certain dates or events and have some little love notes inside for your significant other to read later!

Another great home-made gift is to make a coupon book (this is a good stand-by for any celebration!). One of my friends went to a family Christmas party where one of the members decided that instead of everyone buying them gifts, they would rather have everyone pick a piece of paper hanging on a string from her ceiling fan, on each piece of paper was a chore or task to do. Personally, I think that’s brilliant and I’m a little shocked I didn’t come up with it first. Obviously, you can change around the book to more romantic, Valentine’s Day related things or coupons that relate directly to you.

What are some unique Valentine’s Day gift ideas that you have? Let me know in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) and FIVE will win the Love is in the Air Balloon & Sweets Valentine’s Day gift basket!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Uncategorized

Valentine’s Day Deal Breakers

February 2, 2012

Hello Baskets Readers!

Great comments, everyone! I’m glad we’re all in agreement that Valentine’s Day gifts (no matter how much pink is being thrown at us) are the best, even more so when we buy them for ourselves occasionally because usually the good candy is gone from the shelves February 15th! I’m seriously jealous of the five of you who are winning this Godiva Valentine’s Day gift basket. Treat it well, give that delicious chocolate a good home, and tell it I’ll miss it! Anyway, congratulations to Margarita Barajas (January 27, 2012 at 11:55 am), Emma (January 31, 2012 at 5:17 pm), NATHAN (February 1, 2012 at 8:19 pm), Christy (February 2, 2012 at 12:57 pm), Audrey (February 2, 2012 at 2:46 pm)

So we’re in for another week of talking about Valentine’s Day! Personally, I don’t think I’m a very gushy or romantic person (and to be honest I still think it’s acceptable to high five my boyfriend to show affection and Liz Lemon and I share an equal aversion to ever having to use the word “lover” in this lifetime). However that doesn’t mean that I don’t think Valentine’s Day should go just as smooth as any other holiday, or realize that it’s about celebrating an important relationship in your life (casual daters: maybe just hang out with friends and avoid the awkward notions of the day…as “30 Rock” reminds us, it’s also Anna Howard Shaw Day!). So let’s try to make this year great and like any good holiday, establish some structure and guidelines so it doesn’t end in chaos or someone getting mad that you don’t have reservations anywhere and are stuck eating Taco Bell drive-thru.

Never has something agreed with me more

I feel like it should be common knowledge (also it kind of goes with #2 on my list below) but no matter your feelings on Valentine’s Day, don’t show up empty handed. Whether that means a hand written letter, chocolates, flowers, a new dvd, whatever works for you, just don’t show up with nothing. Here are my two gift basket selections for this week, because I am really digging on the design pattern used on them! I’m a huge fan of old-timey looking things, and the font and pattern are perfect to me! Check out the Hearts Afire Chocolate Valentines tower and Valentine’s Day Love ‘n Kisses Sweets Box!

Valentine's Day Love 'n Kisses Sweets gift & Hearts Afire Valentines Chocolate Tower

And now, here are some Valentine’s Day Deal Breakers that I think would be helpful for any couple wanting to celebrate the day!

Deal Breaker #1: Letting Hallmark express your feelings…and only Hallmark.

Sure, the fine people at Hallmark are good at their jobs and can write some mean Valentine’s Day poetry bound to set the stage for a floodgate of feelings. But it should be just that: a stepping stone. If you’re getting a Valentine’s Day card, don’t forget to write your own words in there too and show how you really feel. You don’t have to coin a new “You complete me” phrase; it can even be a shared memory or story. Either way, personalize it (it could make up for if you commit Valentine’s Day faux pas #2)!

Deal Breaker #2: Marking Valentine’s Day as a fake/consumer holiday

No matter how much you complain that Valentine’s Day is not a real holiday, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Maybe the holiday is too gimmicky to you, but really it doesn’t have to be anything you don’t want it to be. Valentine’s Day is really about celebrating your relationship, and a reminder to be more romantic and just give yourself a change from the ordinary. There’s nothing wrong with dedicating a whole day to celebrating how awesome you and your significant other are together! Plan the day how you both would want to spend it and make it fun, not a chore.

Deal Breaker #3: Making your phone your Valentine’s Day date

Just, no. Put the phone away. Turn it off. Throw it somewhere. Whatever you do, do not focus your attention on that palm sized piece of plastic rather than the living, breathing person in front of you. And just so we’re all clear, texting “Happy Valentine’s Day” is not acceptable, that’s just lazy. Write a note.

Deal Breaker #4: Expecting your significant other to make the plans

If you’re going to celebrate Valentine’s Day, I think at this point you should know each other fairly well to know how the other person is with planning and expectations. If you’re usually the plan maker, don’t be shocked when your sig-fig has nothing laid out the day of. Find something that you both agree on and would enjoy, whether that’s going out to eat, staying in to cook, taking a nice walk, whatever it is that you both love. Make a date of it; it doesn’t have to be a spectacle. Surprises are great, but that’s because they’re unexpected, otherwise we would just call them plans.

Deal Breaker #5: Do not under-dress

Doesn’t matter if you’re going out or not, unless you made specific plans and are having a sweat pants/old high school track t-shirt (my outfit of choice) Valentine’s Day celebration, you need to dress nicer than normal. The whole day is pretty much considered a date, so treat it like one. Remind them of those days where you still tried to impress them and neither of you were comfortable enough with each other to show up looking like the “after” photo from Faces of Meth.

That’s just my list though, I feel like they’re pretty good guidelines to follow for any holiday or birthday really. Did I miss something on your list though? In the comments (1-2 paragraphs) tell me what your Valentine’s Day “Deal Breaker” is or maybe a bad Valentine’s Day story! FIVE lucky and random winners will win the Hearts Afire Chocolate Valentines Tower!