Thoughtful Presence Giveaway: Be Our Valentine Gift Set

I have the sweetest memory (literally and figuratively) of Valentine's Day as a child. My dad would come home every year on Valentine's Day with a large heart shaped box of Fannie May chocolates for my mom and 2 small heart shaped boxes for me and my brother. Of all the Valentines we'd receive at school, party treats, and such, that box of chocolates always meant so much. Of course, I loved the candy, but the heart shaped box from my dad really felt special. I knew he loved me by that little red box.

To help you create those special memories we're giving 15% off all Valentine gifts and a chance to win your own Valentine Gift Set. These are a few of our favorites:

 Be My Valentine Shaving Set for Men

 Elegant Candle and Chocolates Gift Set

 Pamper Me Pink Spa Gift Set

 A Treat for Valentine Gift Basket

What special memory will you create this Valentine's Day? Tell us in the comments and enter our latest giveaway:

Now it's your turn to win...

Be our Valentine with an entry into our Valentine Giveaway! One lucky winner will receive this beautiful Valentine gift set which includes Wisdom of the Heart, a heartwarming book about love; I am Peace glass jar candle and eau de parfum from the I am® fragrance collections. Your special Valentine’s gift comes packaged in this vibrant chevron gift bag.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spa Gift Baskets Feature All Natural Bath and Body Products

This week we're kicking off our Winter into Spring promotion with free shipping on all spa gift baskets!

I usually try not to sound like a gift basket commercial here in the blog, but just for today, I might! But that's only because we are so selective about the bath and body products that we choose.  Each of the products that we currently offer are worth a little bragging ;)

So here goes...

Good Fortune Soap - These natural skincare products are handcrafted in Tennessee, good for your skin, multi-purpose, as in good for adults or kids, men or women! They also come in Eco-friendly packaging and from a socially conscious company! What more is there to brag about! You can learn more about their story here. This is how we've turned their products into an awesome gift for guys!

Good Fortune Soap - Gift Set for Men

Homespun Naturals - All natural, made in America, paraben-free, no animal testing. Homespun Naturals has unique collections for men, women and babies. And we love them all! They're also quite affordable so we can mix them with loads of other awesome gift items! Check these out:

Baby Bath Spa - Baby Gift Basket

Indulge and Inspire Spa Gift Basket

Shower and Shave Gift Set for Men

European Soaps - We've also chosen a collection of soaps and lotions from Pre de Provence. Naturally made in France, these are beautifully designed, beautifully packaged, made from natural ingredients and aromatherapy concepts. These are a bit more expensive but well worth it! We include full size bottles and bar soaps for truly pampering designs.

Pamper Me Spa Gift Basket

All of these spa gift baskets and more make wonderful "Winter into Spring" gifts, so if you have spring birthdays, bridal showers, baby showers, or are planning ahead for Mother's Day, consider a beautiful spa gift basket with free shipping through March 21st!

So there, my commercial is done. Thanks for staying with it. 

Have a happy day!

Top 5 Puzzle Gifts...Happy National Puzzle Day!

January 29th is National Puzzle Day, and we're highlighting our top 5 picks for puzzle gifts!

If you know our store, you know we love Scramble Squares and use them frequently in our gift baskets. Scramble Squares are 9 piece squares that fit together to create a collage around a theme. There are hundreds of themes available, so they work perfectly in many of our gift basket designs.  They are great for get well gifts, travel gifts, and many more as they don't take up much space and yet provide the perfect challenge for all ages, 4-104!

Love Melissa and Doug puzzles for kids! For kids of all ages, they have wooden puzzles, cardboard puzzles, touch and feel puzzles, sound puzzles, and more!  If you visit their website, you can also shop by age. As we begin to add more gifts and gift baskets for kids, Melissa and Doug toys will be coming our way!

For a unique gift idea, create a jigsaw puzzle from any of your own photos at puzzleyou.com. You can create your own personal photo puzzle with anywhere from 200 to 2000 pieces!

Choose your own level of challenge with a Ravensburger puzzle. You'll find 2D puzzles, 3D puzzles, adult puzzles, and kid puzzles. All shapes, sizes, and subjects!  They even have the world's largest puzzle at 32,000 pieces! I think retirement could be a great occasion for one of these Ravensburger puzzles!  

Liberty puzzles are finely crafted wooden puzzles, with many styles and subjects including the ability to customize. Each puzzle includes a unique set of whimsy pieces, which are intricately designed, recognizable objects that fit together in the overall puzzle. Made in Boulder, Colorado, these artistic wooden puzzles are made in the tradition of the original jigsaw puzzle!  Meant to impress!

Have a happy day!

Gifts for the Caregiver

November was National Caregivers Month, and Christmas is an especially good time to show your gratitude to those who do so much in the form of caregiving. Rosalynn Carter believed pretty much everyone at some point in their lives is touched by a caregiver:

"There are four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers, those who currently are caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers."

 

My life has been touched by caregivers at various times.  In years past, we had wonderful caregivers for my parents, and now I am in the caregiver role for my mother-in-law. 

With caregiving prominent in my own life right now, I want to encourage everyone to remember any caregivers currently in your life.  Christmas is a wonderful time to honor them, and give them the most treasured gift of time and care for themselves.

If you are thinking of a gift for a caregiver, consider something that encourages them to refresh, renew and take care of themselves, even if just for a few hours on any given day.

These are some of my special gifts available for caregivers:



Our Christmas Spa Gift Basket features Do Not Disturb bath and body products, packaged in elegant holiday silver and purple.

For the male caregiver, this all natural spa collection also gives back, and comes packaged in a stylish toiletry bag.

This Pamper Me gift collection is also made with all natural bath and body products from France.  Both of the candles in the men's and women's spa gift are handmade soy from Green Daffodil in Michigan.  This women's version also comes packaged in a stylish cosmetic bag.

 

This deluxe spa gift basket, which we call Indulge and Inspire, is a lovely collection of spa and home products, including bath and body from Homespun Naturals, a relaxing instrumental CD, and an inspiring framed quote from Kindred Hearts.  There are other spa delights in this basket as well.  Read the complete description.

Have a happy day!

 

Custom Gift Baskets and Products We Love

It's been several months since I've done a feature on individual products we love. 

All of our gift baskets are custom made with products that we carefully select for each theme, occasion, or customer.  And we are very selective about quality, uniqueness, and how well each product applies to the overall theme of the gift.  You won't find our products at your local dollar store, big box store, or another gift basket company.  Each of our gift baskets is handmade and features products we would be proud to give our own family and friends!

Now I should add a little caveat that I love all of our products, or I wouldn't choose them for our gift baskets, but admittedly I do have some favorites.  So here you go:

Five Products We Love!

 

1) Do Not Disturb fortune cookie fizzie - Our Do Not Disturb gift basket contains a collection of bath and body products by Do Not Disturb.  Since these products are all lavender, we put them together in an elegant purple, white and silver design, with an all-occasion or a holiday flair.  Along with the all natural ingredients of Do Not Disturb products, I especially love the uniqueness of the fortune cookie fizzie.  This little bath time beauty fizzes away in your bath water, while leaving behind silkiness for your skin, and when all that silkiness has disbursed into the water, a little fortune comes floating to the top! Delightful!


2) Kindred Hearts framed quotes - Solid wood frames with elegant, fun, or modern designs surround expressions of faith, love and friendship.  We use several designs and quotes in our new home, wedding, men's and women's gift baskets, and these artful gifts stand just as well on their own.

 

3) Cast iron pot candle melter with cookie candles - This is one of our new Christmas gifts this year.  I love that these melters are perfect replicas of melting pots and are made of actual cast iron.  And along with the amazing fragrance, I love the packaging of the little cookie melts that go with the melters. So fun!

 



4) Owl tea light holder - I love that owls are so trendy right now, because I think owls are so cool! These particular ones are designed in warm autumn colors, and although they'd be great gifts year round, they've been especially popular in our fall gift baskets.

5) Retro TV musical Christmas village - This one was selected by Ken and I love it too! I love music boxes in general, but I especially love the miniature retro TV concept and the Christmas village scene it contains.  Continue watching my blog, and in a few weeks you'll see our life size Christmas Village, and then you'll really get why we love the idea of miniature villages.  We hope you love them too!



Have a happy day! 

Inspiring Gifts of Gratitude

This time of year brings many occasions to give thanks and show appreciation:

World Gratitude Day

World Teacher Day

Bosses Day

Sweetest Day

Veterans Day

Thanksgiving

 

With all of these inspiring occasions to say thanks to those who make life brighter, happier, and even a bit easier, we put together some favorite gift baskets that are a perfect way to show your gratitude.

Hope Springs

This colorful gift collection includes a large ceramic mug, daily planner, and mini wallet, all with inspiring, whimsical quotes for the modern woman!



 

 

Autumn Gift of Thanks

This taupe ceramic planter, which can also be used as decorative storage, contains our favorite shortbread cookies from Too Good Gourmet, Highland Select tea, and a trendy ceramic owl tea light holder in inspiring autumn colors.

 

 

 

Gift of Appreciation

I love this "Laugh" ceramic container, for home décor, with its collection of Highland Select tea, an elegant portfolio of useful stickable notes, crystal owl paperweight, and all natural liquid hand soap from European Soaps.  This gift is perfect for World Teacher Day or Bosses Day!

 

 

 

Abundant Thanksgiving

Perfect for the hostess or housewarming gift, this fall colored metal container includes "Home" wooden votive candle holder, bamboo wood salad servers, pumpkin chocolate malted milk balls, delectable potato soup mix from Country Home Creations, and Highland Select tea. 

A perfect fall gift!

 

Have a happy and inspiring day!

The World Travel Gift Basket - A Unique Gift for Any Occasion

One of the core concepts that make our gift baskets different than most others is the idea of using functional and decorative products rather than food.  That idea goes into the container as well.  Our World Travel gift basket is a unique collection of travel themed gifts in a uniquely designed decorative box that is fashioned like an old suitcase or travel trunk.  These boxes come from Punch Studio which offers a wonderful collection of elegant decorative boxes and stationery products.  I was crazy for them as soon as I discovered them!

The World Travel gift basket is a great gift for the frequent or occasional traveler for any occasion.  Retirement, graduation, congratulations, bon voyage, birthday...you name it!  It works!

The World Travel Gift Basket includes a photo album to hold 200 photos, 1000 Places to See Before You Die journal, a soy scented travel candle, travel room spray, luggage tags and a Jimeale travel wallet! 



 

Love the box! Use it later to hold and display all of those travel keepsakes!



Finished product all wrapped and ready for delivery! 

 

 

Have a happy day!

To Market To Market - In Search of the Best Gifts

Tomorrow starts the Chicago Gift Market, where we traipse twice a year (winter and summer) scouring the Merchandise Mart for the best new gifts to add to our gift basket collection.  I do love July and January for this reason:  I get to shop, shop, shop!

Every show I have 3 objectives: Plan, Browse, and Buy. 

Before the show (Plan), I make a list of what I need to replace, what I need to reinforce, and what I need to revise. 

At the show (Browse), I get to see what's new and trendy, discover new themes, and taste, test, and try.

After the show (Buy), and this is the hardest part since I always find so many wonderful products, I narrow down the list from Plan and Browse and place my orders for all of your wonderful new gift basket options!

Year round seasonal products for all of our holiday gift baskets:

Two of our favorite candle makers, Gabriel John and Green Daffodil, are always a joy to see!

 



 



And there is so much more, so follow us on Facebook or subscribe here to our blog and see what's coming! 

Have a happy day!



Unique Party Themes and Gift Baskets - In Celebration of the Hot Air Balloon

Yesterday, June 5, marked the first hot air balloon flight in 1783.  That got me thinking about hot air balloons and how I love their vast potential for design - colors, themes - the possibilities are endless.  And that got me thinking what a great idea for a summer party theme!

Whether it's a kids party, bridal shower, or milestone birthday bash, hot air balloons are a great theme for all ages.  For kids, they can be bright and colorful featuring just about any child's theme you choose.  For the bride, they can be elegantly designed in her wedding color choices.  For the milestone birthday, opulence, elegance, or the numbers theme will work! 

So consider these ideas and reply with a few of your own!

For the kids party, consider these well-loved themes:

• Up theme in primary colors
• Disney theme
• Circus or jungle theme

For the bridal shower:

• Vintage styled hot air balloons
• Modern day chic
• Nautical or Beach theme

Milestone birthday:

• Opulent black and white theme
• Traditional over-the-hill theme
• "Coming of age" 21 or 30 theme

Depending on your level of craftiness, you can make many of your own decorations, invitations, favors, or there are lots of great products on the web if you're looking to buy.  Consider making a gift basket with a bouquet of balloons attached for an Up movie look.

Here are some great resources I found for ideas and where to purchase:

Bridal shower theme in silver and gold - easily adaptable to your colors and flower picks: 

Kids Up theme in primary colors - this adorable banner can be found on Etsy:

These ideas from Disney are also easily adaptable to your theme of choice: 

2lovebirdsblog has great ideas and LOTs of printables.  Not specifically for hot air balloon theme, but can be adapted to your hot air balloon theme of choice.  I love the opulent engagement party ideas here. 

Lastly, Scramble Squares brain teaser puzzles can be a great favor for any theme and any age group.  We love them in our gift baskets with their many themes, and their hot air balloon theme is especially challenging!

Reply with your ideas and have a happy day!

Unique Gift Baskets and Products We Love

It's that time again...time for me to highlight some of our favorite products and why we love them!

Although I am actually a huge foodie, when I started my gift basket company, I wanted to focus on something a little different than food with my gift baskets.  I wanted to offer gift baskets filled with functional and decorative products that would be long-lasting and meaningful.  With that in mind, I scour the many gift trade shows looking for unique and special gifts that fit the themes of our gift baskets.  Here below are a few of our favorites:

Kindred Hearts picture frames and quotes - Quality, sentiment, and beauty - With designs for every occasion, and quotes that speak from the heart, these make wonderful gifts alone or included in a unique gift basket.  We currently include them in gift baskets for men, women, weddings and sympathy.  Not to miss!




A beautiful example of Kindred Hearts many designs.

Our Wedding Wishes gift basket with KH framed quote

Bags by Jimeale of New York - One of the basic fundamentals of my gift basket designs is high quality, functional and lasting products.  Rather than throw-away baskets or boxes, I use functional containers of all types to fit my designs.  I use Jimeale diaper bags for my premium baby gift baskets, and toiletry and cosmetic bags for my unique gifts for men and women.  Take a look at these one of a kind designs!

Jimeale diaper bag comes in chocolate brown with green, pink, or blue lining.

Women's cosmetic bag holds our Pamper Me spa gift.

8 Petals handmade fused glass jewelry - I love 8 Petals for their unique and colorful designs.  I also love that they are made in America!  With everything from belt buckles to bobby pins, there is much to choose from.  We currently include necklace and earring sets in our Especially for Her gift basket which is filled with whimsical, personal and fun gifts for women.

8 Petals jewelry set with our Especially for Her gift basket.

Have a happy day!