Browsing Category

Customer Appreciation

Customer Appreciation, Party!, Sweepstakes

DIY Easter Party

March 22, 2012
Easter gift baskets

Welcome Back Basket Readers,

Thanks for bearing with my late post earlier this week and the kind messages. Aside from some annoying allergies, I and my car are doing a lot better (who knew cars were allergic to pollen)! Also, congratulations to any of you who were lucky to win one of the truffle cake pops in our Facebook Sweet Spring Sweepstakes! Personally, I can’t be trusted to be alone with the cake pops for fear of eating them all and putting myself in a sugar coma; just know that I am very jealous of all of you who won. One more thing before we get on with the show, we’ve had a slight change in our shipping process over here and I know a few of you have emailed about your winning gift baskets. If you’re a blog winner who still hasn’t received their prize, please email me at amariscal@1800flowers.com with your name, the blog date you won and the gift, so I can track and correct anything that needs to be fixed!

Easter! It’s a great family holiday with lots of delightful treats to it. I’m also convinced that everyone wised up to the incredible egg and decided that we needed a holiday to celebrate how insanely delicious it is no matter what time of day it is (just go with it)!

I thought it would be fun to write about how to plan a DIY Easter party this week, so let’s jump in. Decorations are essential to any party, and lucky for us, I found this super cute, cheap, and easy idea to brighten up any Easter celebration. Modern Parents Messy Kids has come up with a creative way to use paint and pantone chips as colorful “DIY Egg Garland.” All you need for this easy activity is a hearty collection of paint chips (very easy to pick up at your local home improvement store!), scissor, hole punch, and string! Check out the blog for the DIY details, and enjoy this cute pic tutorial below: DIY easter party egg garland

Our Easter gift baskets make for festive and fun center pieces for your Easter party. Filled with lots of delicious chocolates and treats it will be hard not to touch, but you can incorporate them into the day’s activities as game prizes (see later in the post)! My top picks for the party: The Happy Easter Cuddle Plush Bunny Gift Basket, Flowers of Spring Gift Basket, and the Blooming Spring Sweets Basket. They’ll be extremely excited to win one of these great gift baskets!

Easter gift baskets

(left) Happy Easter Cuddle Plush Gift Basket; (center) Flowers of Spring Gift Basket; (right) Blooming Spring Sweets Basket

So, Easter is pretty much the one holiday I can get away with eating all the deviled eggs I want without (too much) regret. It’s a holiday staple, but Foodjimoto offers a cute and simple “Doh! Why didn’t I think of that?” way to make them festive. Use the eggs that you color the night before for your deviled eggs! It adds a great pop of color and interest to a regular dish. colored deviled eggs for easter

You’ll need some activities during the party to keep it fun, especially if there’s an abundance of young kids with short attention spans!

  • Easter Egg Hunt (Duh, Alex!)
  • DIY Bunny Ears: Pick up a bunch of $1 head bands, pastel color felt (make sure to pre-cut it in bunny ear shapes), colorful pipe cleaners, glitter and durable fabric glue. Kids can glue the felt to the pipe cleaners so that they can shape the ears, decorate with glitter, and attach to the headbands.
  • Pin the Ears on the Bunny: Just like pin the tail on the donkey, but you know…
  • Guessing for Prizes: Fill some baskets or jars with M&Ms or foil-wrapped chocolates, let everyone guess the amount of pieces in there and reward the top 3 closest guesses with Easter baskets!

Well, there is more than enough to do here! But if any of you are still looking for more ideas, let’s take it to the comments and help each other out. In the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) let us know what sort of fun Easter activities (for adults or children or both!) you can come up with! FIVE lucky and random winners will receive the Flowers of Spring Gift Basket.

Happy planning!

 

18B Easter blog

 

DIY Easter Party!

Welcome Back Basket Readers,

Thanks for bearing with my late post earlier this week and the kind messages. Aside from some annoying allergies, I and my car are doing a lot better (who knew cars were allergic to pollen)! Also, congratulations to any of you who were lucky to win one of the truffle cake pops in our Facebook Sweet Spring Sweepstakes! Personally, I can’t be trusted to be alone with the cake pops for fear of eating them all and putting myself in a sugar coma; just know that I am very jealous of all of you who won. One more thing before we get on with the show, we’ve had a slight change in our shipping process over here and I know a few of you have emailed about your winning gift baskets. If you’re a blog winner who still hasn’t received their prize, please email me at amariscal@1800flowers.com with your name, the blog date you won and the gift, so I can track and correct anything that needs to be fixed!

Easter! It’s a great family holiday with lots of delightful treats to it. I’m also convinced that everyone wised up to the incredible egg and decided that we needed a holiday to celebrate how insanely delicious it is no matter what time of day it is (just go with it)!

I thought it would be fun to write about how to plan a DIY Easter party this week, so let’s jump in. Decorations are essential to any party, and lucky for us, I found this super cute, cheap, and easy idea to brighten up any Easter celebration. Modern Parents Messy Kids has come up with a creative way to use paint and pantone chips as colorful “DIY Egg Garland.” All you need for this easy activity is a hearty collection of paint chips (very easy to pick up at your local home improvement store!), scissor, hole punch, and string! Check out the blog for the DIY details, and enjoy this cute pic tutorial below:

[Picture]

Our Easter gift baskets make for festive and fun center pieces for your Easter party. Filled with lots of delicious chocolates and treats it will be hard not to touch, but you can incorporate them into the day’s activities as game prizes (see later in the post)! My top picks for the party: The Happy Easter Cuddle Plush Bunny Gift Basket, Flowers of Spring Gift Basket, and the Blooming Spring Sweets Basket. They’ll be extremely excited to win one of these great gift baskets!

[Picture]

So, Easter is pretty much the one holiday I can get away with eating all the deviled eggs I want without (too much) regret. It’s a holiday staple, but Foodjimoto offers a cute and simple “Doh! Why didn’t I think of that?” way to make them festive. Use the eggs that you color the night before for your deviled eggs! It adds a great pop of color and interest to a regular dish.

[Picture]

You’ll need some activities during the party to keep it fun, especially if there’s an abundance of young kids with short attention spans!

· Easter Egg Hunt (Duh, Alex!)

· DIY Bunny Ears: Pick up a bunch of $1 head bands, pastel color felt (make sure to pre-cut it in bunny ear shapes), colorful pipe cleaners, glitter and durable fabric glue. Kids can glue the felt to the pipe cleaners so that they can shape the ears, decorate with glitter, and attach to the headbands.

· Pin the Ears on the Bunny: Just like pin the tail on the donkey, but you know…

· Guessing for Prizes: Fill some baskets or jars with M&Ms or foil-wrapped chocolates, let everyone guess the amount of pieces in there and reward the top 3 closest guesses with Easter baskets!

Well, there is more than enough to do here! But if any of you are still looking for more ideas, let’s take it to the comments and help each other out. In the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) let us know what sort of fun Easter activities (for adults or children or both!) you can come up with! FIVE lucky and random winners will receive the Flowers of Spring Gift Basket.

Happy planning!

Birthday Gift, Customer Appreciation, Feedback, Gift Baskets, Party!

Happy Birthday…to Someone!

March 8, 2012
Great Big Happy Birthday Sweets & Treats Box Gift Basket

Welcome back gift basket readers!

I LOVE all of your suggestions and ideas for St. Patrick’s Day! I’m wondering if I can do a whole day of eating nothing but green eggs and rice krispy treats without getting sick…(we all know I’m going to try anyway!) Of course, we have some gift baskets to get out that you won’t hesitate to eat all day! Congratulations to Bernadette Cirigliano (March 1, 2012 at 5:09 pm), Mrs Judy Nutaitis (March 2, 2012 at 8:41 am), Sangita (March 2, 2012 at 12:03 pm) Lori (March 5, 2012 at 3:06 pm), and Kathy (March 8, 2012 at 2:46 pm)! Send your shipping info to amariscal@1800flowers.com and I can send out your Best of Ghirardelli® Gift Baskets!

If there is anything about the all-encompassing, freakily aware internet stalking system known as Facebook that I actually really love, it’s that it keeps track of everyone’s birthdays so that I don’t have to. Not that I don’t make a conscious effort to remember birthdays, but everyone past a select few friends and family members, if I don’t have the date written somewhere in a place I know I’ll see every day, I’ll be sending a lot of belated-birthday grievances. Thankfully for me, I live in the great age of technology where I have the internet to do all my thinking for me (Just kidding! Well, kind of. Let me Google the answer…) In all seriousness, I really like the birthday feature on Facebook and I’m sure it makes everyone feel great to see their page filled with Happy Birthday wishes and birthday messages from friends new and old.

Great Big Happy Birthday Sweets & Treats Box Gift Basket

Great Big Happy Birthday Sweets & Treats Box $29.99; Product Code:93839

That being said, I also think that this handy tool has made everyone a little bit lazy with their birthday well wishes. I’m not saying that you need to go all out for that one kid you used to have Calculus with 8 years ago, but I’m sure that your closer friends would appreciate something a little more thoughtful than “happy birthday, you” on their wall (I am extremely guilty of this sometimes). Brighten up someone’s birthday and surprise them with a fun, colorful and delicious birthday gift! And don’t forget to add a nice card with it for personalization!

I was sold the minute I saw there was a mini birthday cake in the Great Big Happy Birthday Sweets & Treats Box. Not to mention, the two birthday hate and cupcake decorated cookies look adorable. It also comes with lots of sweets and popcorn balls. This would be a great birthday surprise for someone to find at their desk, on the table when they get home. There are about 12 young kids to think about in my family and I never have any idea what they like from week to week except for sweets and candy, and lots of it. This would be such a cute birthday surprise for your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins (you get the idea!)

Happy Birthday Chocolate Indulgence Gift Basket

Happy Birthday Chocolate Indulgence Gift Basket $34.99; Product Code:96479

I know you all will never get tired of chocolate gift baskets, so this Happy Birthday Chocolate Indulgence Gift Basket makes the perfect chocolate lover’s birthday gift. Filled with Happy Birthday greetings in the form of Cheryl’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, Fannie May® Cookies & Cream Bark, Fannie May® Bavarian Chocolate Pretzels, Fannie May® Mint Meltaway Cocoa, Harry London® Milk Chocolate Crispy Joys, Harry London® 70% Organic Dark Chocolate The Popcorn Factory® Butter Toffee Popcorn and more, they will definitely appreciate the birthday gift!

Now that we all have decided to ease up on the lazy happy birthday Facebook posts, tell me in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) a great birthday surprise you’ve had or have done for a friend! FIVE lucky and random winners will receive the Great Big Happy Birthday Sweets & Treats Box!

**Next week Thursday I’ll be on a series of planes, trains, and automobiles (okay, really just one plane and corresponding vehicles) so next week’s blog will be posted on Friday (3/16) and winners announced then!

Have a great weekend, and happy birthday to someone!

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!

Customer Appreciation, For the Love of Coffee

Warm Wishes

January 19, 2012
Starbucks® Blends Gourmet Coffee Gift Basket Product Code:96329

Welcome back readers!

Just a quick note, thank you guys again and again to continue coming back here to read and comment. You’re all very sweet with great stories, I’m going to try to respond more often while I have time 🙂 Hope everyone is feeling great and aren’t actually in desperate need for our Friend on the Mend get well gift basket! You should all be feeling fresh and healthy after we talked about eating more fruits and greens. We’ve still got about five people who can enjoy these gift baskets anyway 😉 Congratulations to Melissa (January 15, 2012 at 1:54 pm ), Ann Mathew (January 15, 2012 at 2:25 am ), Emily (January 12, 2012 at 3:47 pm ), Ed (January 19, 2012 at 11:20 am ), and Mitch (January 13, 2012 at 2:08 pm )! Send your info to amariscal@1800flowers.com and I’ll send out your Friend on the Mend gift baskets!

Now, I’m not really a big fan of winter…at all. I don’t like having to be stuck indoors all the time, and whenever I want to do something I have to take into account if it’s indoors, if it’s warm, will I be spending money that I don’t really have? Will I be seeing people? Do I need to put on real pants or can I just keep these comfy sweat pants on…? I think you all get my point.

Starbucks® Blends Gourmet Coffee Gift Basket Product Code:96329

Starbucks® Blends Gourmet Coffee Gift Basket $39.99; Product Code:96329

I’m a big coffee and tea drinker during winter. Well, more tea right now since I’ve tried to cut back on coffee for the month (which has honestly been really hard for me and my ability to get out of bed in the morning). Either way, warm beverages make for a cozy and happy Alex. I actually like sitting in Starbucks® to enjoy some coffee or tea with friends, but once it’s cold there are so many new factors to just wanting to enjoy a good cup of something warm to drink. First off, you have to drive. This is big inconvenience number one for me. If I had gone to school for differential equations, time theory, and Tesla, you bet I would be working on a teleportation device right now. Unfortunately for all of us, I saw the Jeff Goldblum version of The Fly when I was little and pledged myself to a life of words. Any Starbucks location will always be packed with other people who decided that since they drove there, they should probably just stay there to make up for even being out. And then there’s the pants thing (if we’re being honest, I would definitely go out in my sweats, I just don’t want to deal with the staring…this must be how celebrities feel!).

Starbucks Deluxe Coffee for Two $59.99; Product Code:94877 So, my big solution to enjoying hot beverages during a very cold and bitter season? Manifest Destiny your nearest Starbucks® location and just move in there! Just kidding! All you need to do is stock up on some incredibly awesome coffee and tea gifts. I’m sure I’ve posted enough about the Starbucks® Break Time Gift Basket so much that you all can draw it with your eyes closed, so I’ll just link to it  here. We have a new(ish) Starbucks® gift in that I think looks amazing. Our Starbucks® Deluxe Coffee for Two gift basket is for coffee-lovers everywhere. It includes a variety of coffee blends, ready brew, two chocolate colored mugs and more inside a fashionable tweed container. Pretty snazzy if I say so myself (yes, I just pulled out “snazzy”). We also have our loyal standby the Starbucks® Blends Gourmet Coffee gift basket with various blends of coffee and tea to last a few non-trips outdoors! There’s also our Starbucks® Warm Wishes Mug gift set that comes with smooth coffee, tea, two mugs, cocoa, cookies and more! All of these are great alternatives to help you stay warm, cozy, and make indoors a little more fun.

Are you stuck indoors for winter? How do you spend your winter season? Tell me in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) and TEN lucky and random winners will win Starbucks® Blends Gourmet Coffee gift baskets!

Stay Toasty!

Customer Appreciation, Gift Baskets, Gift Baskets Catalog, Uncategorized

Get Well Soon!

January 12, 2012
Friend on the Mend Doctor's House Call Kit

Welcome Back Readers,

You guys have a lot of great resolutions, I hope we all stick with them and make them a permanent thing! The following winners will definitely have a great head start. Congratulations to Will (January 9, 2012 at 5:07 am), Natalie J Vandenberghe ( January 8, 2012 at 12:41 am), Donna Joyce (January 6, 2012 at 10:12 am), Carol (January 6, 2012 at 5:37 am), and Jonathan Ammons (January 6, 2012 at 12:18 pm)! Send your info to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and we’ll get your Modesto Fruit Baskets out.

Friend on the Mend Doctor's House Call Kit

Friend on the Mend Doctor's House Call Kit $39.99; Product Code:94080

January, as we talked about last week, is the time for healthy resolutions, fresh starts, and eating right. Well, January also happens to be the worst time for flu-season and feeling like garbage no matter how many apples you eat. A few people in our office are already out with some sort of sickness, and I could do without a few weeks of coughing, sniffles, sneezing, and body aches. Last year during Chicago’s “Snowmageddon,” I was snowed into my apartment with a case of pneumonia. Literally every store was closed (mostly because it was covered in snow) and my contact with the outside world was limited to a few glances at the internet when I wasn’t dozing off from medication. At this point, I was pretty sure a dog sled team lead by Balto was going to be my only salvation. But luckily, I had a super awesome roommate who was there to take care of me and generally make sure I didn’t die. From my brief moments of consciousness, I know that she made me hot tea and cut up apples for me with a side of peanut butter so I could get some strength back and food in me. It was basically the best I could ask for.

It’s good to know that I have a really good friend who would take care of me and wish me well. I’m sure all of you have just as great of friends, and even are that friend who likes to help. So, if you’re looking for a nice Get Well gift to send, we’ve got you covered. Any fruit basket would obviously be a great choice because, well duh fruit. But let me highlight some of our specific gifts that I think will warm anyone’s heart (and mostly stomach!).

Soup’s On Gourmet Soup Collection Gift Basket

Soup’s On Gourmet Soup Collection Gift Basket $39.98; Product Code:96043

The Soup’s On Gourmet Soup gift basket looks absolutely delicious to me right now (especially after not being able to find a place that delivers soup to the office). It comes with several soups like chicken and rice, creamy potato, crackers, large soup mugs, and the actual basket looks great. This is gift basket is sure to brighten up any ill friend’s day.

Probably our cutest gift is the Friend on the Mend Doctor’s House Call gift basket (pictured at the top of the article with the super awesome red basket). Absolutely adorable gift made to look like a doctor’s bag, complete with chicken noodle soup, word search book, bandage and nurse cookies, tea, honey straw, crackers, and more! I know that anyone who receives this will be more than happy to call you their friend.

Hopefully all you lovely readers are in tip-top shape, getting lots of sleep, drinking tea, and getting all your vitamins. Either way, in the comments section below (1-2 paragraphs), tell me a “Get Well” related story! I’ll be giving away FIVE of the Friend on the Mend Doctor’s House Call gift baskets to some lucky and random winners.

Customer Appreciation, Uncategorized

Merry Christmas

December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays Basket Fans!

We have a short post for you today before the Holidays, so I’ll get right to business! Congratulations to Sidney Cook (December 16, 2011 at 2:55 am), Heather Garity (December 16, 2011 at 7:20 am), Emily (December 18, 2011 at 7:30 pm), Ben Gore (December 20, 2011 at 7:10 pm), Corazon (December 22, 2011 at 3:02 pm)!! Please email your information to amariscal@1800flowers.com and we can send over your Sweet Miss Givings bakery gift box!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays...I couldn't not post this...

We’re mere DAYS away from Christmas and I’m still not done with all of my shopping! I don’t know about all of you, but I feel like the week before Christmas just keeps getting busier and busier every year. I will be happy for the weekend to start so I can just relax, sleep in past noon guilt free, and hope that all of the presents I bought will be magically wrapped when I open my eyes! Of course until then, I will be flying through the local shops and retail stores like a mad woman and scouring the local resale shops for an ugly sweater to wear for an ugly sweater Christmas party.

I hope everyone has a happy, safe and wonderful Holiday weekend! Thank you so much for reading and commenting each week! I’ll leave a little present below in the form of my favorite (somewhat) Christmas song 😉

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Gift Baskets, Customer Appreciation, Gift Baskets, Holiday Gift Baskets

Sweet Treats for a Sweet Cause

December 15, 2011
Sweet Miss Givings Ultimate Bakery Gift Box $89.99; Product Code:96362

Welcome back gift baskets readers!

A really great post coming up (not bragging about me, just the topic!), so I’ll get to things right away! Congratulations to Howard Y. ( December 8, 2011 at 5:41 pm), Starlet Borzymowski ( December 9, 2011 at 8:02 am), Joy B. ( December 15, 2011 at 10:48 am), Swisspotluck ( December 10, 2011 at 6:21 pm), and Swisspotluck (December 10, 2011 at 6:21 pm)!! Email your information to amariscal@1800flowers.com and we’ll get your Comfort and Joy Sweet Treats Gift Basket to you right away!

Sweet Miss Givings Ultimate Bakery Gift Box $89.99; Product Code:96362

Sweet Miss Givings Ultimate Bakery Gift Box $89.99; Product Code:96362

I’m going to take a little break away from talking about gifts, décor, movies, and the inevitable snow storm that will make my morning commute 10x more hectic. Instead, I want to talk about an extremely cool project that the 1800baskets.com team participated in. We decided to partner up with local Chicago fund, Chicago House & Social Service Agency.

Chicago House has been a leader in housing and supportive services for people living with HIV and AIDS, with programs that expand beyond housing to encompass a variety of services designed to help people living with HIV and AIDS move towards independence and self-sufficiency, including prevention, medication adherence, and employment programs. The Chicago House organization is by far one of the best non-profit programs out there for helping those in need. Their residential and scattered-site housing programs create stable housing, a Family Support Program offers housing, case management and other support services to 18 families, including over 30 dependent children, and works intensively with both parents and children to stabilize their lives and help break the cycle of poverty. They work intensively on education and support for those living with HIV and AIDS; awareness and prevention initiatives, medication adherence programs, community case management and work support programs only scratch the surface of everything this organization has to offer.

A few of us on the team with all of the donations!

1800Baskets.com has even partnered with their employment initiative business, Sweet Miss Giving’s bakery, a for-profit bakery that provides transitional job training in addition to donating 100% of its profits back to Chicago House. You can find their bakery items (here) to order! A sweet treat supporting an even sweeter cause. And from personal tasting, the turtle brownies are the only brownies I ever want to eat for the rest of my life. If I could eat them every day without giving myself early on-set diabetes, I would.

This holiday season, we knew we wanted to help out even more. For the beginning half of the month, we ran a donation drive in our office to collect personal hygiene items, winter gear like coats, gloves, hats, scarves, and games for families to play together. We ended up with way over 1000 items! (And my arms ended up with some muscle definition from carrying…) As a gifting company, our main objective is to make our customers smiles, but this was a whole other level!

For the rest of the season (and really the year), think about ways that you can give back to your community or help those in need! Maybe find “two for one” deals while you’re out grocery or everyday shopping and just set things aside as you go along to make the donation process easy. Sort through your closets or attics for things you just don’t have a need for anymore. Get yourself a delicious treat at Sweet Miss Givings and put those calories to a worthy cause (if it’s for charity, I hear all brownies are 0 calories)!

In the comments section (1-2 paragraphs), tell me what your favorite charities, any charitable moments you recall, or any charitable programs that you always work with. We’ll be giving FIVE random winners a Sweet Miss Givings Bakery gift box!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Gift Baskets, Customer Appreciation, Feedback, Gift Baskets, Gift Baskets Catalog, Holiday Gift Baskets, Party!

Holiday Gifting

December 8, 2011
Comfort and Joy Sweet Treats Gift Basket

Welcome Back Basket Fans!

I loved reading about all of your favorite decorations and I’m sure that everyone’s house will be perfectly festive this month! The decoration process at my house has now spanned to over the week and usually when we’re all finally home and not too tired (also before any good TV shows start), so the one day it typically takes us to decorate the tree is now going on five. I won’t wait that long to announce the winners though! Congratulations to Dorinna (posted December 2, 2011 at 9:08 am), Kathy S. (posted December 8, 2011 at 12:23 pm), Barbara (posted December 1, 2011 at 4:22 pm), Edwina (posted December 8, 2011 at 1:57 pm), and Roger Simmons (posted December 1, 2011 at 10:29 pm)!! Email your information to amariscal@1800flowers.com and we’ll get your Regal Drum Gift Tower to you right away! Back to business! Continue Reading…

Christmas Gift Baskets, Customer Appreciation, Gift Baskets, Holiday Gift Baskets

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving is almost here!

This week we’re taking a break and will resume normal postings next week. I hope all of you will be having a great Thanksgiving holiday week and weekend with friends, family, and delicious food! And now without further wait:

Congratulations to Teresa Skinner (posted at November 17, 2011 at 5:51 pm), Jenny Sayre (posted at November 21, 2011 at 11:20 am), Lisa N (posted at November 20, 2011 at 7:11 pm), Pilar (posted at November 18, 2011 at 7:55 pm), and Carolyn (posted at November 17, 2011 at 5:08 pm)! Email your full names, address, and information to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I’ll send out your Sweet Treats and Mug gift basket!

As always, thanks for coming back every week to read and comment! I really do enjoy reading all of your stories and all the things that you’re excited for. Have fun, eat well and enjoy your holiday! I’ve got a weird town tradition and celebration to get ready for that involves eating deep fried pieces of a turkey that is best to just drown in hot sauce…Thanksgiving traditions! Enjoy this Peanuts clip while I’m out 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Christmas Gift Baskets, Customer Appreciation, For the Love of Coffee, Gift Baskets, Holiday Gift Baskets, Party!

Holiday Preview (Shh..don’t tell Thanksgiving)

November 17, 2011
Sweet Treats Mug & Cocoa Gift Basket

Hello Readers!

Lots to cover today, so I’ll just jump right in! Congratulations to Carolyn (posted at November 13, 2011 at 8:50 am), Beth (posted at November 10, 2011 at 6:11 pm), Terrance (posted at November 16, 2011 at 10:19 am), Frank N.F.L. (posted at November 16, 2011 at 10:20 am), and Ann (posted at November 17, 2011 at 8:42 am)! Email your full names, address, and information to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I’ll send out your festive cornucopia gift basket!

Sweet Treats Mug & Cocoa Gift Basket

Sweet Treats Mug & Cocoa Gift Basket $34.99; Product Code:94880

Now I know I’ve been on and on about not forgetting Thanksgiving (which I haven’t!) and I said I wasn’t even going to think about Christmas until December hits, but I’ve got a blog to write and I’m trying to not think about food too much before Thanksgiving so I can prepare myself for an early turkey-induced coma. So what I’m about to write about might be a big “huh?” But I do want to share some of our really great Holiday gift baskets with you all! (Plus, who could say no to the holidays? Sorry Thanksgiving, you’re cool and all, but I like listening to “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on repeat too many times).

On with the show! First up we have a 1800Baskets.com exclusive Holiday gift, the Sweet Treats Mug & Cocoa Gift Basket. Outside is getting alarmingly too crisp for me and I’ve already picked out a nice comfy pair of slippers to wear while I’m preparing myself a yummy mug of hot cocoa! In the Sweet Treats gift basket you’ll receive two solid, red ceramic mugs perfect for the holiday season, chocolate truffle cocoa, mini marshmallows (the kid in me is screaming with joy!), Fannie May® Dark Chocolate Squares, cookies, and more! Such a cute gift for a Secret Santa, office coworker, family member, friend, or (like I’ll be doing) a nice treat for yourself! Highly recommend this cold day companion since winter is coming (who do I think I am? Game of Thrones? I miss that show…)

Santa's Holiday Delivery Truck Gift Basket

Santa's Holiday Delivery Truck Gift Basket $79.99; Product Code:94842

If you’re in need of a cute holiday gift that could also double as adorable decorations, this next one is the perfect gift (and it comes with a video!) The Santa’s Holiday Delivery Truck Gift Basket is overflowing with tons of great snacks and dessert treats for everyone to enjoy and boasts a super cute container as well. Don’t take my word for it (though you really should by now), watch our video we made for it!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving celebrations and be safe, eat lots of food, have fun with your families and friends! And in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) let me know what you’re most excited for this Holiday season! I’ll choose FIVE winners on Wednesday November 23 to win our Sweet Treats Mug & Cocoa Gift Basket!

Comment on!