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Graduation Gift Ideas

May 17, 2012
chocolate covered oreos graduation gift idea

Welcome back readers,

I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day weekend! My weekend was spent digging holes, carrying mulch, planting and fulfilling my gift promises with additional cooking and cleaning. According to the comments section, the number one way to relax is definitely spa and bubble-bath related, so I’ll definitely be looking into some relaxation time soon! Anyway, we have some winners to announce. Congratulations to Donna Yost (May 10, 2012 at 4:24 pm), Jenny S (May 12, 2012 at 11:31 am), Cathy B*****y (May 12, 2012 at 3:11 pm), Marcie (May 15, 2012 at 4:31 pm), and Judy (May 15, 2012 at 8:48 am)! Also as a note to our lucky and random winners, it appears the Mira Luna Mother’s Day gift was a bigger hit than I thought it would be and we ended up selling out of it before the end of the weekend. So as a replacement prize (which I’m sure you’ll all love because it’s a lot cooler than the last one) I’ll be sending you the Wine Picnic Backpack Gift Basket! (Yes, it’s that one really cool picnic gift I keep rambling on about every week here & here). Be sure to email your shipping information to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I’ll send out your new gift!

For the last week or so, all I have been seeing on my Facebook dashboard are dozens and dozens of statuses of college or grad school graduation announcements, pictures of graduation ceremonies, caps and gowns, diploma pictures, and more. I know there are at least three graduation parties I have to go to and a few more I’ve been invited to. I only just graduated college last year, so of course I’m jealous of their newly free summers and lack of responsibilities, but I’ll say no thank you to being jobless and learning to make a spare $20 last a whole month. However, since I am now (supposedly) an “adult” with an income, that means I have to pick up a real graduation gift for all these parties I’m expected to go to. And something tells me that no one is going to accept my gift from last year, which was essentially a hand drawn card with “IOU” printed largely and some candy inside.

If you’re the proud parent of a new graduate or you’re in need of some quick and fun gift ideas, stick around for some great graduation gift suggestions! Obviously, money is everyone’s go-to gift and it’s a great idea for poor new grads, but money isn’t exactly the most thoughtful “hey we’re proud of you” gift. So these next few ideas can be a nice add-on or your own way of making your gift more meaningful.

Grad Gift #1

chocolate covered oreos graduation gift ideaNever underestimate the power of a great briefcase or laptop bag. If they’re going to start a job where they are commuting every day or if it’s just a 15 minute travel, they will thank you for a nice sturdy (and stylish) bag to help ease their journey. I definitely say this from personal experience; my back and I encourage this gift! Make it extra special with some gifting extras hidden in the different pockets and openings. Maybe hide a $10 i-Tunes card in one pocket, a tasty treat in the main compartment, and maybe a twenty hidden somewhere wouldn’t hurt. The messenger bag I have my eye on is Fred Perry from Asos.com, and I may be purchasing one like it soon. As for the tasty treat, I suggest these Congratulations Graduate decorated Chocolate Dipped Oreos®! So incredibly delicious and they’re made with real Belgium chocolate.

Grad Gift #2

starbucks coffee and tea gift basket graduation giftI know I post this gift basket a lot already, but it’s probably one of my favorites and goes perfect for any and all occasions. Of course I’m talking about the Starbucks Break Time Gift Basket. A new grad is going to be woefully unprepared for waking up and having to actually look presentable before 8 am, so a great gift of coffee, tea, scones, and two extra-large coffee mugs is going to be exactly what they need to start off their new life. I’ve talk about this gift so many times, if you want to read a full review go here, for now I’m going to suggest adjoining gifts to keep your grad happy! To keep with the theme, I would pair this with a nice coffee maker or Keurig if they happen to be moving out. You can add on a travel mug and a gift card to their favorite (or soon to be favorite because it’s open in the morning) breakfast place!

Grad Gift #3

wine picnic gift basket graduation giftOkay, I guess I am going to push that really sweet Picnic Backpack Gift Basket on you guys one more time because I love picnics and I’m just not done talking about them! You all already know what awesome things are in there, so let’s talk about some add-on gifts for your new graduate. I see this as being a kind of funny gift if they’re moving out or away seeing as this gift basket comes with some plates, utensils and cups. I would attach a grocery store gift card to help with their daily needs, and a nice cookbook like A Cookbook for a Knucklehead: Bachelor, New Graduate, Beginner, and Other Spoiled Brats. I think this book would be great for anyone going off on their own for the first time and doesn’t know how to get dinner without it being delivered by Mom or Grubhub.

As always with any gift, add some of your own personal touches to them like a nice card with a hand written message, maybe a keepsake, or something passed down. Your new graduates are going to need your guidance, support, and maybe $40 for gas.

In the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) tell me what you think is the best gift for a new high school or college graduate! FIVE lucky and random winners will also be receiving the Picnic Backpack Gift Basket!

Congratulations to all those Grads out there!

 

Customer Appreciation, Gift Baskets, Gift Baskets Catalog, Party!

How to relax on Mother’s Day

May 10, 2012
Mother's Day Mira Luna Wine Gift Basket

Mother's Day Mira Luna Wine Gift BasketWelcome back readers!

I hope you all enjoyed my Mother’s Day quiz last week! My mom would probably be an A. She’s tried to be more of a B, but let’s just say I feel safer being the one in the kitchen most times. There were a lot of great mom stories and memories in the comments section; sounds like you all grew up with some very special women in your lives. And for five of our commenters, they get even luckier with a delicious chocolate gift basket! Congratulations to Mary Cummings (May 4, 2012 at 5:06 pm), Janice Sloan (May 5, 2012 at 12:53 am), Janine White (May 6, 2012 at 1:19 pm), Jordan Robbins (May 8, 2012 at 3:06 pm), and Chris Hughart (May 10, 2012 at 4:42 am)! Please send your shipping information to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I can send out your Happy Mother’s Day Godiva Gift Basket.

Mother’s Day is this weekend! And if you remember from a couple of weeks ago, I promised my mom I would dedicate some labor time to her and help with gardening and some slight landscaping (yes, I’m already dreading waking up this weekend). Of course we all love our moms, they’re great and they do a lot of nice stuff for us. But no matter how much you like your mom, at some point this weekend you will be stressed out or go a little crazy (except for maybe all of you lucky spa-goers). It’s just the way that most holidays go, I didn’t write the rules!  This is a mom’s world and we’re just living in it.

So for all of you who will be just as exhausted as I will be this Mother’s Day, I found a few really fun drink recipes for you to enjoy (and I guess even share with your mom).

Tea Tini
A great drink for spring! You can use any sweet tea you prefer, but I think a nice fruity or floral tea would make this even better. I’m currently obsessed with Passion flavored Tazo Tea, which you can buy from any Starbucks.

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 oz vodka
  • 1 oz sweet iced tea
  • 1/4 oz fresh lemon juice
  • lemon wedge for garnish

Directions:

  • Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes
  • Shake well
  • Strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with sugar
  • Garnish with the lemon wedge

White Sangria
This is another great spring drink that will be refreshing and fun to drink. You can combine this with brunch or dinner. This recipe will serve 6 people.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup mixed colorful bite-size melon pieces
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 cup crisp white wine
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 3/4 cup sparkling water
  • Ice cubes
  • Lime for garnish

Directions:

  • Stir melon and sugar together in a large pitcher
  • Let stand for 15 to 30 minutes to draw out the juices.
  • Just before serving, stir wine, brandy, and sparkling water into the pitcher
  • Add ice cubes to glasses. Fill your glasses with the sangria, spooning some of the fruit into each glass. Garnish each drink with a slice of lime.

Mango Iced Tea
Here is our non-alcoholic spring drink that the whole family can enjoy. I love anything mango, so this may be a repeat drink for me for the rest of the warmer months. This recipe is for one glass, but you can just double, triple, etc. the ingredients to serve more!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brewed organic green tea, chilled
  • 1/4 cup fresh mango juice
  • 1 tsp honey (organic honey tends to be a lot thinner and more easy to mix)
  • Ice cubes as needed

Directions:

  • In a large glass, combine the green tea and juice
  • Add the honey and stir well
  • Add ice cubes and serve immediately
Mothers Day gift ideas

Moments of Relaxation Spa Gift Tower & Mom's Wine Picnic Backpack Gift Basket

If you’ve beat me in the category of procrastinating on picking up a Mother’s Day gift, don’t worry! Some of our select Mother’s Day gifts are up to 30% off when you order before 3PM EST tomorrow 5/11/12! My three picks are below:

Mother’s Day Mira Luna Wine Gift Basket: Fits perfectly with our plan to relax this weekend! A beautiful chocolate and wine gift basket, need I say more?

Moments of Relaxation Spa Gift Tower: Bring the spa home with this gift tower. The spa products are a relaxing cucumber melon scent and this gift also provides tea, cookies and spa accessories.

Mom’s Wine Picnic Backpack Gift Basket: You’ve all seen this previously for our picnic blog, but it includes tasty foods and wine so I have to put it back on the list! Plus, we all agreed that picnics are the best, so really this gift is a no-brainer.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend with a lot of great memories and some relaxing time with your loved ones. I’ll be getting ready to turn in my delicate writing hands for a pair of green thumbs. After you’re done enjoying the weekend, let me know in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) how you relax. FIVE lucky and random commenters will win the Mother’s Day Mira Luna Wine Gift Basket!

Happy Mother’s Day! 

Customer Appreciation, Feedback, Gift Baskets, Gift Baskets Catalog, Summer Time Gift

Happy Mother’s Day Deluxe Sweets Gift Tote

May 9, 2012

To me, spring means a lot of bright happy colors, fresh flavors and sweet treats. All of this and more can be found in the Happy Mother’s Day Deluxe Sweets Gift Tote.

mothers day Spring green gift basket tote

The very first thing you noticed about this original gift design is that it comes inside a bright and sturdy green tote bag and a bright yellow bow on top. The perfect spring tote is enough to make you fall for this delightful gift. Obviously this is going to be a very reusable gift to give. Looking at the gift basket gives me warm visions of beach trips, picnics and a cute new accessory for the upcoming warm months. I already have so many plans for ways to reuse this gift!

mothers day green gift basket toteOf course, the gourmet sweets inside just add the pleasure of this unique gift basket. Inside this delicious gift are Cheryl’s® Chocolate Chip Cookies (probably some of the best cookies anywhere!), DeBeukelaer® Pirouline® Wafer Rolls (I dare you to only eat two without devouring the rest), Jules Destrooper® Belgian Butter Crisps, a Daisy-shaped Iced Vanilla Sugar Cookie, a large bag of Spring Pastel Taffy, Eurostyle Biscuits (or a fancy word for more cookies), Robert Rothschild® Pomegranate & Tart Cherry Preserves, and Twinings® English Iced Tea.

I really enjoyed the Robert Rothschild® preserves, mostly because the only place I can seem to find this brand is usually at Fresh Market or Whole Foods. I thought it went best on the biscuits; a great mix of the buttery cookie and fresh fruit spread. I enjoyed this little combination with some of the iced tea. It made for a very relaxing Sunday afternoon and immediately felt like spring.

mothers day green tote gift basketThe daisy shaped frosted cookie is in a few other gift baskets that I’ve found here and I’m very happy about that. It’s not an ordinary, throw-away sugar cookie, but it actually had ingredients that you know! Wheat, eggs, milk, sugar, and flour all top the list of ingredients, and you’ll find other ingredients you can recognize as the list goes on. A very impressive cookie! I used this excuse to not feel bad when I demolished the cookie in less than a minute. The rest of the cookies have been added to my ever growing cookie jar where they are kept safe away from me. Thanks to the many gift baskets I’ve been receiving, I’ll never go cookie-less again.

I would highly recommend this gift basket for any kind of occasion, whether it’s a birthday gift, housewarming present, Mother’s Day, or a “Just Because” or “Thinking of You” gift. Whoever receives this beautiful spring gift basket will love the goodies inside and be very happy to use the tote bag afterwards!

mothers day green tote gift basket

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Deluxe Balsam Gift Basket

May 8, 2012

Another decadent chocolate and candy gift basket for all you chocolate lovers out there! This time we’re reviewing the Deluxe Balsam Gift Basket with more than enough sweets and treats inside to deliver a smile.

All the chocolate and snacks are delivered inside a real dark willow hand-woven basket and completed with a hand-tied burgundy ribbon bow. This gift basket has a very stunning presentation when it is first delivered; color-coordinated gifts inside with a quality basket that will definitely be used around the home once the candy is gone! You could reuse this willow basket as a table centerpiece with fruit or napkins inside. The basket would also be great for functional storage in your living room, office or bedroom! Use the basket to store pens, markers, utensils; a place to organize and store remotes; a collective key holder; or store lotions and nail polish.

Of course, before I get to other uses for the gift basket, I have to enjoy all the goodies inside (see what I did there? “Have to” like it will actually be a chore!). Inside this sweet gift basket you’ll find Armaretti Del Chiorsto® Cookies, (one of my personal favorites) Ferrero Rocher® Chocolates, very rich and chocolaty Godiva® Gems® Truffles, Walkers® Olde English Royal Toffees, World’s Finest® Mint Meltaways Chocolates (which make awesome after dinner treats…or maybe I’m just trained by Olive Garden!), Fannie May® Cookies & Cream Bark, and one of my new favorite sweets Brown & Haley® Almond Roca® Buttercrunch Toffee. I will eat anything from Ferrero Rocher® and Fannie May®, but I seriously love the Cookies & Cream Bark; Cookies & Cream everything for me if we’re being honest. I could see putting this in some ice cream during the summer for an extra sweet treat. And the Almond Roca® Buttercrunch Toffee was amazing; I just wish I had about 50 more pieces. It has the perfect combination of sweet and buttery with a great crunch to it. There was too much candy and chocolate inside the gift basket for me to eat all at once , so I made a cute little candy dish out of the sweets to leave in the living room for everyone to grab at when they needed a little sweet fix! 

This deluxe gift basket also has Fannie May® Pixies® Cocoa and Ghirardelli® Double Chocolate Cocoa. These will definitely be great to set aside for a cool night or a rainy day indoors. If you need your chocolate fix immediately no matter what the weather says, try them chilled! Make your cocoa as you normally would with hot water, but then add ice cubes or blend it with ice and milk for your own at home iced beverage.

For all the chocolate and sweets inside the Balsam gift basket, the Honey Wheat Pretzel Braids and Smoky Mozzarella Mini Baguettes will be a great savory snack. Break out your favorite dips, cheeses, or just eat them plain! Maybe you’re like me, but I always enjoy something salty or savory after I’ve had a lot of sweets or chocolate. I think these two snacks make a perfect addition to this very sugary gift basket.

The Deluxe Balsam gift basket makes a wonderful thank you present, a sweet graduation treat, or a cozy housewarming present. With so many great treats inside and a reusable gift basket it’s at the top of our best gift list!

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Mother’s Day Gift Guide & Quiz

May 3, 2012

Welcome Back!

Still stuck on what to get or do for dear ol’ Mom? Do our fun little quiz to help pick the perfect gift for your special Mom called: GUESS THAT MOM! Answer the questions below to figure out what kind of Mom you have and a special gift we’ve lined up for her. It’s simple and silly (and I was very close to just making this into a quiz about which Spice Girl we all were) but we’re almost at the end of the week, so it’s time for a little fun.

When you’re done taking our little Mother’s Day Gift Quiz, tell me in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs) which answer you got and come up with your own gift idea that would fit!

Q: What is the one object your Mom can’t live without?

A) Her gardening gloves
B) She’s named the oven
C) Her all new organic shower scrub and exfoliator kit
D) An always full chocolate dish in the kitchen

Q: It’s party time! Where is your Mom?

A) Setting up a beautiful floral centerpiece on the table
B) Cooking all the food and playing hostess to the guest
C) Sitting back and enjoying the party, grabbing treats as they come
D) Eagerly awaiting which desserts they bring out

Q: If your Mom had her own TV show, what would it be?

A) Redesigning yard spaces on HGTV
B) Move over, Giada! Mom has a new cooking special on Food Network!
C) Definitely a reality show
D) Think Anthony Bourdain, but with only desserts!

Q: What is Mom’s favorite holiday? (Besides Mother’s Day of course!)

A) Earth Day
B) Thanksgiving
C) Does Summer count as a holiday?
D) Halloween or Valentines Day

Q: What’s Mom’s favorite color?

A) Earthy Green
B) Fiery Red
C) Tranquil Blue
D) Warm Chestnut

Q: It’s Sunday afternoon, where is your Mom?

A) Out in the garden, of course!
B) Cooking up a gourmet brunch
C) At her spa appointment
D) Whipping up a sweet Sunday confection

Did you get…

Garden Tote with ToolsMostly A’s: She’s a nature woman! You can always find her out in her garden tending to the flowers or enjoying the greenery around her. We’re sure she’d love this Gourmet Garden Tote Gift with Tools.

 

 

 

Cucina Rustica BasketMostly B’s: A natural born chef, you really mean it when you say there is nothing like Mom’s home cooking! Get her a great gift that she’ll love to use like this Cucina Rustica Italian Gift Basket.

 

 

 

Apres Ski Spa Basket

Mostly C’s: No one knows how to be more relaxed than Mom. She takes “treat yourself” to a whole new level! We know that she’ll love this pampering Apres Rain Spa Gift Basket.

 

 

 

Spring Godiva Chocolates BasketMostly D’s: It’s no secret: Mom is an absolute chocolate lover! The best way to Mom’s heart this Mother’s Day is with her sweet tooth! (To be fair, all of her is pretty sweet). She’ll definitely love this Spring Elegance Godiva® Chocolates Gift Basket.

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Delightfully Decadent Tea Gift Basket

May 2, 2012

I couldn’t have come up with a more perfect name for this beautiful spring-time gift basket. The Delightfully Decadent Tea Gift Basket makes for the best tea-time gift set for anyone who enjoys the sweet spring season or a relaxing afternoon tea.

This tea gift basket is very striking at first sight, showing a softly woven lavender basket, with a gorgeous faux orchid floral decoration and pastel green ribbon bow holding everything together. It’s very feminine and embodies the spring season. Even better than its appearance are the many delicious and elegant surprises inside this gift basket holds inside. The most striking gift inside the basket is the 3-piece stoneware tea-for-one teapot, lid and cup set! I had no idea when I first saw the gift basket that it was an all-inclusive tea set; I thought it was only a decorated tea pot. This delicately decorated white and orchid tea set comes as a fitted set with the generously sized tea cup acting as base. I really enjoyed how the orchid decoration on the gift basket perfectly matched the detailed orchid decoration on the tea set. Also inside this lovely tea gift basket are Almond French Twists, which are small rolled cookies that go great with both tea and coffee. There is also a very helpful serving of DeBeukelaer® Pirouline® Wafer Rolls; a flaky and buttery outside with creamy chocolate centers. You’ll be happy they included so many wafer rolls if you’re sharing this tasty gift (like a certain nice product reviewer) or be glad there are so many cookies even if you’re keeping this all to yourself!

Inside the gift basket is a very large box of Eurostyle Biscuits, so buttery and delicious, and enough to fill up half of my cookie jar (after I ate about five of them)! Sticking with the theme of a delightful tea party in a gift basket, they’ve included Nikki’s® Teapot-shaped Sugar Cookies. So adorable and extremely delicious, these cookies make a perfect small sweet for your side of tea.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a tea gift basket without some delicious tea and honey! This gift basket includes a box of Twinings® Darjeeling Tea, which boasts a mild and relaxing flavor perfect for afternoon tea-time or a late night cup of tea. The Darjeeling tea is perfectly matched with the small Tiptree® Honey Jar that is also included, with a very sweet and organic taste.

The Delightfully Decadent Tea Gift Basket would be a really great gift for any tea lover or someone who is need of a relaxing afternoon. I could see this as being an excellent house warming present or better yet, an amazing gift for Mom! Add a nice bouquet of flowers, pastries, or extra boxes of tea to this tea gift set and make it an extra special bundle gift for Mother’s Day, Birthdays, or a “Thinking of You” present.

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Flowers of Spring Wine Gift Basket

May 2, 2012
wine gift basket spring

wine gift basket springAll I have to say about this wine gift basket is WOW! Okay, I have a lot more to say about this gift; otherwise the blog post would only be that sentence.

This is the Flowers of Spring Wine Gift Basket (and also one of the many reasons I love that my job is writing about gift baskets). It is a beautiful wine gift basket that comes with two bottles of Blair Family® Red Table Wine, Cheryl’s Dark Chocolate Chip cookies (yum!), Butter Crisps cookies, Chocolate Crème Filled cookies, Eurostyle Biscuits (aka more cookies), one big flower shaped, frosted cookie, and then some Lentil Chips and Cheese Spread for when you’re sugared out! All of these gift basket treats are nestled tightly inside a gorgeous white metal gift basket that has floral decorated cut-outs on the top of the container. Of course, I want to talk about some of the individual gift basket contents that I thought were really amazing.

Being the nice person that I am, I shared most of the gift basket with my family.  First we opened a bottle of the Blair Family® Red Table Wine. I’ll be honest; I have a limited knowledge of wine. I can look up pairing information and taste wines and determine which bottles I like and don’t like. So it’s always a relief for me when someone else does the pairing for me, which is exactly what this wine gift basket does. This red wine is a bit heavy and has a layered taste of warm vanilla and a hint of coffee. Lucky for me, it paired perfectly with the arrangement of cookies. My personal favorite pairing would be the Butter Crisps cookies. I could also see this as being good over a dinner involving beef or steak. It seems to be one of those very complementing wines to whatever you pair it with. A very tasty wine as well, which is definitely what you’re looking for in a wine gift basket. Once again, more than grateful that this wine gift basket already took care of the pairing suggestions for me!flowers of spring wine gift basket

Obviously, I’ll have to talk about the cookies and my restraint to not eat every crumb from the gift basket. I had a taste of each cookie and immediately put them all in a cookie jar so that I would not be tempted. Inside the gift basket is a box of Cheryl’s Dark Chocolate Chip cookies which are crunchy, buttery and absolutely divine with the mixture of dark chocolate chips. The Chocolate Crème Filled cookies were a great surprise with the chocolate inside chocolate more fudge like. The Eurostyle Biscuits make great butter cookies and I would suggest a nice glass of milk with them to take down the crunchiness of the cookie. The Butter Crisps cookies were delicious, a lot larger than I thought they would be, and I nearly finished them upon opening the gift basket. I was very surprised with the flower shaped frosted cookie that is featured in the front of the gift basket. I checked out the nutrition information on the back of the plastic and discovered that it was made with all materials that I knew by name! (So rare to find in a sugar cookie these days) Wheat, eggs, milk, sugar, and flour all top the list of ingredients, and you’ll find other ingredients you can recognize as the list goes on. A very impressive cookie!

I only tried a little bit of the lentil chips and cheese spread, but they too are a perfect pairing for the two lovely red bottles found in this wine gift basket. The lentil chips were light and airy and the cheese very creamy. It was a perfect combination and just the snack needed after a sugar overload!

If you have anyone with a birthday coming up, maybe a housewarming party on the horizon, this is a definitely go-to gift that I would highly recommend. And who knows, maybe they’ll be just as nice as I was and share with you!

Gift Baskets, Gift Baskets Catalog, Teacher Appreciation, Thank You Gifts

Spring Delight Godiva® Chocolates Gift Basket

April 30, 2012

Whoever said that diamonds were a girl’s best friend clearly never had a sweet surprise like this Spring Delight Godiva® Chocolates Gift Basket delivered to them!

Upon delivery, this beautiful gift basket is perfectly assembled (not a box out of place!) in an off white aluminum gift basket and protected by a tight seal and a glimmering green bow with a floral decoration to top it off. This chocolate gift basket has a very stunning presentation!

First things first, laying out all the chocolate that’s inside this gift basket. I slip off the hand-tied bow ever so carefully, so that I won’t ruin it and place it to the side. Tucked inside the gift basket is an array of chocolate bars, pieces, cocoa and more. As a proper product review, I know immediately that I have to taste every bit of chocolate in this basket (professional obligations of course!).

The Godiva® Dark Truffle Heart Biscuits are absolutely delicious. A sweet yet buttery cookie with a topping of smooth dark chocolate, this cookie is too good.

I set aside only one Godiva® Gems® Truffle, because I don’t have that strong of will power if I leave them all out. Another rich chocolate to eat, also more rich chocolate to hide from myself.

Inside this chocolate gift basket is Godiva® Caffe Chocolate Truffle Coffee and a packet of Godiva® Milk Chocolate Cocoa. It’s too late in the day for me to make either of these surely delicious beverages, but I know they will come in handy when the weather decides to randomly dip down about 20 degrees!

I’ve seen the Godiva® dessert bars and chocolates around a few stores or checkout lanes for a while but I’ve only bought one flavor as a special treat. The Godiva® gift basket contains one Godiva® Dark Chocolate Raspberry Bar that perfectly marries dark chocolate with sweet raspberry filling. I’ve read recently that dark chocolate is supposed to be good for you, so I’ll just count this as a healthy part of the gift basket (it has fruit; that counts right?).

There really is no health-conscious excuse for the Godiva® Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert Chocolate. It’s just amazing and tastes like they were able to fit a strawberry cheesecake inside a tiny chocolate casing. Maybe that could be my argument, this beautiful chocolate bar makes up for me not eating an entire strawberry cheesecake slice with chocolate drizzled over it. Sounds like a good excuse to me!

The last item in this bountiful chocolate gift basket is the small box of Godiva® Dark Chocolate Covered Raisins. I’m not a huge fan of chocolate covered raisins, but even I can’t resist eating a few because the chocolate enrobed over it is just too good to say no to.

The Spring Delight Godiva® Chocolate Gift Basket is basically the best chocolate gift to give for any and all chocolate lovers. There is more than enough chocolate inside this small gift basket to hold you over for a few chocolate cravings. They’ll love every content of this gift basket and can even use the container when they’re finished!

For the Love of Coffee, Gift Baskets, Gift Baskets Catalog

Starbucks Break Time Gift Basket

April 30, 2012

One of 1800baksets.com’s best-selling gift baskets and it’s clear to see why. Just about everyone loves coffee, and even better when it’s from Starbucks. This Starbucks Break Time Coffee Gift Basket comes with a whole lot more than just coffee though, it’s positively packed with all sorts of sweets, treats and extra gifts that will bring a smile to any coffee lover’s face!

The first thing you notice about this bountiful coffee gift basket is the beautiful green and gold bow that sits wrapped around the contents, Starbucks® official colors. A real dark willow basket with wooden handles holds a variety of coffees, tea, cookies, mix boxes and two very large white Starbucks® logo coffee mugs. This gift basket seriously has everything you could ever want in a coffee gift basket, and is even very well color coordinated with the dark basket, white and tan coffee and treat contents and the green and gold bow completing the gift.

So let’s examine what treats await us inside this supremely awesome coffee gift. Like I said, the two Starbucks® coffee mugs are huge! The coffee mugs are much larger than a normal cup and I can even fit my hand in them. This is a definite plus for when you need a large coffee or tea. These mugs will also come in handy when you want to add some marshmallows to your hot chocolate or dip biscotti in your morning coffee without spilling all over the place. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the coffee gift basket, and they’re just mugs.

For coffee, they’ve included Starbucks® Espresso Whole Bean Coffee and Starbucks® Sumatra Ground Coffee. For the whole bean coffee, this is for those of us who are lucky enough to have our own coffee grinder and enjoy having super fresh coffee in the morning. For the rest of us, just go into your local Starbucks® and they will gladly grind the coffee for you for free! They’ve also thought about those times when it’s either too late for coffee or you’re just in need of a warm drink and included a packet of Tazo® Tea (Calm and Awake Flavors), Starbucks® Classic Fair Trade Cocoa, and Starbucks® Marshmallow Cocoa! And yes, I’ve already gotten to the hot chocolates and they are very delicious and chocolaty and they go perfect with the other goodies inside the Starbucks® gift basket! I haven’t opened the tea yet…but that’s because I already have a box of the Calm flavor that I had previous bought from Starbucks®!

Now to the edible treats! Inside this Starbucks® coffee gift basket, they’ve graciously included Starbucks Selects® Vanilla Almond Biscotti, Starbucks Selects® Key Lime Cookies, Starbucks Selects® Honey Oat Biscuits, and my favorite part of all: Starbucks Selects® Scone Mix. I am just genuinely impressed that so many delicious treats are provided in this gift basket. The honey oat cookies are so flavorful and fresh tasting, I’ve already paired them with my own tea and they go perfectly together. I didn’t even hold back when it came to the key lime cookies, they lasted all of five minutes and I wish I had them back already! There are plenty of the vanilla almond biscotti to go around, and I’ve already incorporated one into my breakfast coffee each morning that was the other part of the gift basket, I will definitely need to run out and grab more soon. But let’s move on to what really impressed me, the scone mix. I decided to try my hand at making these and they came out perfectly (I’m attributing this more to the box mix than my ability to follow directions). I spread a little bit of butter and preserves, had them with some coffee…it was a delicious breakfast!

This Starbucks® coffee gift basket is the perfect gift for your coffee obsessed friends! Use it as a birthday gift, house warming present, a nice gift to celebrate a new job, when you get to the winter months it will be perfect for the holidays, no matter the occasion, this is the best gift basket to get!

Gift Baskets, Gift Baskets Catalog

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

April 26, 2012
mothers day gifts

Welcome back readers!

I’m so glad that a lot of you are already using some earth-friendly tactics in your home and everyday life, and that a lot of you go to farmer’s markets (aren’t they the best?!). Nothing beats fresh fruits and veggies for me, and farmer’s markets usually have really great gifts there as well. Anyway, on to the winners! Congratulations to Natalie J Vandenberghe (April 20, 2012 at 10:15 am), Elaine C (April 20, 2012 at 1:41 pm), Rajat (April 21, 2012 at 7:38 pm), Noel (April 22, 2012 at 7:19 pm), and Esther (April 25, 2012 at 3:32 pm)! Please email your shipping information to me at amariscal@1800flowers.com and I can send out your avocado spa kit.

I didn’t actually plan for this, but last week’s Earth Day blog post was a great lead in for my new post today on unique and thoughtful Mother’s Day gifts! (Okay, so it only makes sense to a certain blog writer…) Mother’s Day is just around the corner, yet I’m a little ahead of the game. I’ve been thinking and planning for the last month about what to do for my own mom this Mother’s Day and I finally settled on a great plan the other week: I’ll be helping her with some gardening and landscaping in the backyard! This has entailed measuring the yard, drawing out plans and finding out where certain lines or pumps are, while trying to design a nice back yard space that doesn’t block their view of the pond behind the house(I will be lucky if 2/3 of this all gets done). My search history has been filled with Lowes, Home Depot and driving directions to local greeneries. I have never been happier to have a comfy writing job. Either way, my mom will be happy to pick out all the flowers, plants, trees, stones and outdoor furniture she wants and obviously she’ll enjoy spending the weekend with me even if we’re doing some hard work. Also after this, I will have solidified my place as the favorite child (not to mention, this gets me out of SO many other tasks). And who knows, maybe I’ll gain one muscle in my arms!

Need some other ideas for a great Mother’s Day present? Look no further:

Afternoon Spa Day
Maybe your mom isn’t into all that getting into dirt and greenery, in which case we think a nice day at the spa together for you two would be a great gift to give! You can always find a great Mani/Pedi combination deal for around $30 per person. If you’re feeling extra crafty, you should try out these natural DIY spa treatment masks featuring oatmeal, avocado, banana and orange from She Knows! Finish the day with a light lunch or dinner.

Pampering Breakfast
If your mom has always been a very busy woman, take this Mother’s Day to pamper and take care of her for a change. What better way to do this than a nice relaxing breakfast in bed! If she doesn’t already have one, pick up a nice and sturdy breakfast tray here or here from Target. (I have a bed tray of my own that was originally just for decoration, and now I use it more than I probably should!) Get to your mom’s house early that morning and prepare their favorite breakfast dish, ready to be brought up to them (or you could bring their favorite breakfast over and arrange it on plates to make it look homemade…we won’t tell!). You could also grab a new book, magazine, or their favorite paper to read in the morning. Spend the rest of the morning taking care of mom and letting her veg out for a bit, we know she’ll love it.

Shopping Trip
Never underestimate the power of a good day walking around the mall or window shopping! Plus, you should keep in mind all those times your mother took drove you to the mall or took you out shopping for things you wanted when you were younger! Mother’s Day is the day to finally treat mom to the all the things she wants.

Event Tickets
This would be the perfect time to take her out to see one of her favorite plays, musicals, or even a movie out at the theater she has been wanting to see. Check out deals on Groupon, Living Social or your local theater to see what events are going on. Make a full day of it and couple the show with either a nice lunch or dinner outing.

Of course, we always have some gorgeous gourmet gift baskets ready for Mother’s Day when you’re in a rush or don’t know what to include! My Top Three Picks of the Week:

mothers day gifts

Tell me in the comments section (1-2 paragraphs), what’s the best Mother’s Day gift you’ve given or received? FIVE lucky and random winners will receive the Gourmet Garden Tote Gift with Tools!

Have a great day!