The Gift Exchange

Guest Blogger: Jenn G

The rush of the football season has all boiled down to ONE game. One last chance for 2 teams to prove who is the best, the Super Bowl Champion. As you sit there with your NFL emblazoned t-shirt in a room of friends divided between 2 teams, you eagerly await the final score. (And if you are me, you call your best friend once again as a reminder that THEIR favorite team didn’t make it there!) As a stereotype, the guys will gather around the biggest television that they can find while their significant others huddle in the kitchen, waiting for the grunt from the other room that usually signifies something along the lines of “We are out of food and cold beer.” Then fresh drinks and snacks are brought in before the females retreat back to the kitchen to laugh and talk, without interrupting the manly game going on in the other room.

Well, my house is not your typical Super Bowl experience. I enjoy watching football just as much as any guy that I know. So why should I be shunned or have to miss a crucial play to run to the kitchen simply because I was born a female? I think it is time to do away with this practice. Yes, guys, you read that right, women have come a long way… and now I want my own spot on the couch during the game! I’m sure that I am not the only one, so I have put together some suggestions so that everyone can enjoy the game together with a minimum of interruption.

By having snacks on hand, it saves me from having to prepare more mid-game. The Party Perfect Gift Tower is the perfect solution! A variety of treats for all and I don’t have miss a second! This makes me happy… very happy… and as I am sure we have all heard before, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” I am not much for girly drinks that turn pretty colors and taste like candy, so instead I reach in the cooler (which I plan to set out in the living room to save myself trips to the fridge) where I will have stocked the supplies from my International Beer Chest. Yes, BEER! How can you have football without it?! So now, I can spend my Super Bowl Sunday jumping off the couch, screaming in joy when the team I am rooting for is winning, (and throwing out choice words when they aren’t), doing a victory dance when they score a touchdown, and just having a good time!

Once the final score has been called and confetti is flying in the air (on the huge television screen, NOT in my living room), we are glad that we got to get together for something that we all enjoyed and I can almost see the light bulbs coming on over the heads of the men in the room as they think, “Hey, having a girl watch the game with us wasn’t so bad after all.” Okay, maybe it will take more than one Super Bowl for them to really get used to that. But hey, we didn’t give up on the right to vote, so why give up on this? One day, with a little persistence, guys everywhere will get used to the idea.

Guest Blogger: Rhonda

With February being a month that is filled with talk of love and romance, it is understandable that flowers such as roses, tulips and carnations are often associated with this month. However, a little known fact is that the birth flower for February is the iris, the violet being an alternative.

The iris flower conveys meanings of faith, wisdom and hope. To some, the dark blue or purple iris denotes royalty, whereas the yellow iris is said to symbolize passion. Irises can also be used to express courage and admiration. Violets, the alternative birth flower for February, stand for faithfulness, purity and modesty. To Victorians, purple colored violets said, I’ll always be true and white or cream colored varieties said, let’s take a chance.

Lucky for those with celebrations in February, irises and violets are included in many floral arrangements. For a new baby this month, Babies First Bouquet would be a wonderful selection as it includes irises as well as a nice array of pinks, yellows and purples. For that special someone celebrating a birthday this month, violets in the European Basket are brimming with color. And for the wedding anniversary with the love of your life, the Enchantment arrangement, is stunning.

If you need a new way to tell someone celebrating a birthday in February that they are special to you, irises and violets will most certainly do the trick.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I thought this would be a good time to find out why we celebrate the holiday. According to Wikipedia, the holiday was observed by the Catholic Church in order to honor Saint Valentine. There are several rumors about the identity of Saint Valentine. Some say there are more than one. It is believed one Saint Valentine was a priest in Rome, one a bishop of Interamna, and one possibly from the Roman province of Africa. It is rumored they all died on February 14 as martyrs. The feast day of Saint Valentine was removed from the Catholic calendar in 1969 because of the lack of information available on Saint Valentine, but is still celebrated world wide.

Saint Valentine wasn’t associated with any romantic elements until the fourteenth century. Some believe a poem written by Geoffrey Chaucer in 1382 first linked the day with romantic love. In the earlier Valentine’s Day celebrations, romantic notes were exchanged instead of greeting cards.

The popularity of mass produced greeting cards increased during the 19th century. Approximately one billion valentines are now sent every year and it is currently the second largest holiday for greeting cards. By now, Valentine’s Day isn’t really about Saint Valentine. It is a day where we are reminded we should take a moment to show those around us we care about them.

When I was a little girl I loved Valentine’s Day. Days before February 14^th came I would beg my mom to let me spend a good hour in the store picking out the perfect box of Valentine’s Day cards for my class at school. When I got home I would sprawl my treasure trove of Lion King cards out on the table and eyeball each and every one to match it with the perfect friend. Then, when the day came, school would be full of pink cupcakes and conversation hearts from teachers, the bus driver, and whoever my elementary-school boyfriend was at the time (I was pretty hot stuff when I was 9).

When I was a teenager I couldn’t stand Valentine’s Day. Every year from middle school-high school we had a designated “Send Your Sweetie a Gift” day.. where you could pay a dollar for either a can of Crush orange soda (for the person you had a “crush” on), or for a chocolate rose to be delivered to your sweetheart. People always made sure they brought enough money to send every guy and girl they knew at least one, and on Valentine’s Day the teachers would pass out to each person what everyone had bought them. I always felt sorry for myself and all of the kids that didn’t get anything. NOT that I didn’t ever get anything…. because I did… (yes, I sent things to myself).

When I became an adult I flat out despised Valentine’s Day. I would end up sitting at home on my couch with some girl friends and we would watch romance movies, which only added to our depression and self-pity, and we would stuff ourselves full of ice cream and comfort food. This, to us, was a way of saying, “We don’t need love anyway!” Which, in secret, was an excuse for us to sulk and talk for hours about how pathetic we were and how we wish we had someone to hold us. Girls.

Today, although I will forever have a Love to send gifts and treats to on February 14^th, I still keep in mind all of the times I never wanted to hear the word “Valentine” again. This is a holiday that can sometimes leave people feeling lonely and unloved, and it’s so important to think of every one around you. This doesn’t just have to be a day to tell your partner how much they mean to you, it can be a day that you tell your best friend, grandfather, or the old widow next door that you care about them more than they realize. Send a little something to each person that you care about this Valentine’s Day, and heal a few broken hearts.

Ahem, boyfriends and husbands of the world. Now is the right time to begin thinking and ordering Valentine’s Day gifts for your special someone. But it’s only January, you say? This is true, but please allow a gifting industry insider to tell you a few important benefits to ordering early for this very special holiday.

1) Ordering early will give you a tremendous feeling of self-satisfaction and accomplishment, so much so in fact, that you may reward yourself with a beer or three. You should know that ordering early does *not* mean ordering a gift and having it delivered today. Instead, you can order now and have the gift shipped at a a later date (yes, we offer this clever service).

2) The recipient will most likely receive better flowers. Valentine’s Day is by far the busiest holiday of the year for florists and they can become quite swamped with orders. When you order early, the florist is able to plan for your order, meaning that you will likely get better flowers as well as the flowers you wanted. If you wait until February 13th to order, well, you can just forget about giving your girlfriend her favorite orchid.

3) You will find a a better selection of good gifts and unique gifts – and often at a better price. All retailers, no matter how large, inevitably run out of the popular gifts as the Valentine’s Day nears. Ordering early means you will be able to give her something really special, something that she really wants.

4) Studies have shown that men who order early experience 94.6% less stress during the week of February 7th-14th. Because women have a keen sense for picking up on men’s panic during this week, women have been shown to be 98.99% more appreciative of the chivalrous, early-ordering man during Valentine’s Day week and several weeks to come based on thoughtfulness alone. Okay, I concede these figures are made up, but you know what I mean.

5) By ordering early, you avoid the dreaded “gift overcompensation syndrome.” Let’s say that you wait until the last minute or – gasp – wake up late on Sunday morning and forget the holiday all together. Now close your eyes and imagine yourself at a jewelry store in the mall handing over your debit card to purchase $3000 diamond earrings that aren’t even that big or of that great of quality all because you forgot to make a timely purchase for your gal. Now open your eyes, return to our website, and order her something beautiful. Easy!

New Year’s Eve simply wouldn’t be the same without the sound of Champagne corks popping and bubbly flowing freely as the clock strikes midnight. After all, Champagne is and always has been the wine of celebration, and now is the perfect time to send loved ones and colleagues Champagne gifts to celebrate the arrival of 2010.

We offer several Champagne options, starting off with the simple yet classic Champagne Gift Crate and ranging to our luxurious Cristal Champagne Gift Basket, which is packed full of gourmet delights and wines for everyone in the crowd. Of all of our gifts, our customers tell us that Champagne gifts are often the most fun to give and receive. Who wouldn’t love to receive a bottle of Dom Perignon from a prized year? GiftTree’s memorable and impressive Champagne gifts always bring a smile to the recipient’s face.

A great feature of sending a New Years gift is that it extends the happiness of the holidays and the joy of the gift giving season. The gift of Champagne is also a wonderful way to be present in spirit at New Year’s celebrations when you can’t be there in person. At the stroke of midnight when we are filled with optimism and hope, it’s lovely to ponder that your Champagne gift will be in the glasses of friends and loved ones across the miles. Happy New Year!

With the new year comes new adventures, new beginnings and celebrations with old friends. New Years is one of my absolute favorite holidays because it gives me a reason to see everyone I may not be able to see during the hectic year. I think that in order to have an awesome New Years celebration, the main ingredient is good friends, but there are a few other things that make a grand celebration. The perfect mixture of things, that in the end, make up a perfect night. My recipe for a perfect New Years -

1. About 2 weeks before New Year’s Eve, start calling everyone you want to bring in the new year with. (friends, family, people you haven’t seen in a while, etc.)

2. FOOD! Start making a list of everything you need to buy to keep your guests full and happy. Typically I would go with a veggie tray, cheese and meats, crackers, finger foods, maybe some junk food. This year I am going to get a Classic Snack Tower. The tower has a good mixture of snacks from popcorn to cranberry twist and an added bonus – I can reuse the cute boxes around the house. Also, the Tiramisu Dessert looks super tasty. It’s handmade and I know my guests will love it!

3. The last item of importance, but certainly not least, is champagne! When the clock strikes midnight, you don’t want to be left without something delicious to sip on and you won’t want to leave your guests without anything but the best! Personally, I love most champagnes, but one that especially gets my taste buds going is the esteemed Moet & Chandon White Star Champagne.

As long as you have these three main ingredients, your New Year’s celebration should be one to remember. Of course, be safe and have lots of fun!

Guest Blogger: Jordan

It seems to happen earlier and earlier every year. Last year I think it started in July. I’m talking about the season of Christmas shopping. Now if you’re a procrastinator like me, you could care less. You like to use the sales going on to buy awesome stuff for yourself rather than get your shopping done early. I think my mom has her Christmas shopping done at least two years in advance. Me? I’m lucky if I get it done two days in advance. So, if I’m that bad of a procrastinator, why am I writing this blog? Do I plan on changing my evil ways? Not in the slightest. The whole point of this is to share some ways procrastinators can do what they do best while still getting to check off their list of gifts to buy.

First tip: Learn to love overnight shipping and apologies. Overnight shipping is expensive. Everyone knows this. But so is your time. Paying the $30, $40, or $50 in shipping is nothing when comparing it to the hours of video games you got to play or nights at the bar with you friends instead of Christmas shopping and waiting in line at the post office to mail gifts and cards out. Your time is valuable, and you can’t be bothered with being the early bird, especially if you’re the night owl. So, overnight shipping = your best friend.

Now I also mentioned apologies. If you’re a well seasoned veteran of putting things off then you’re likely a master of the apology. For those that are not, or would like a refresher, the apology is most important. As you continue to cut it closer and closer each year, it’s likely at some point you’re not going to make it. This is where you need to know how to apologize correctly. I know from personal experience. One year my brother and I forgot to get our mother a Christmas present. I say forget, but in reality, we just cut it too close. There’s nothing worse that looking at your mother’s face when she looks at you and realizes you didn’t get her anything. It’s pretty bad.

So what do you do? For us, the first thing was sacrifice. If there’s a gift you received, such as cash, that you can give as a replacement, stick it in a card and hand it over. It’s not perfect, and it won’t make everything better immediately, but it’s a start. Second, vigorous apologies. Apologize often, and in multiple ways. Words, cards, flowers, chores, whatever you can do to show how sorry you are. Third, wait. As the saying goes, time heals all wounds. Well, it heals most wounds, and those wounds leave scars. Eventually our mom “forgot” about it, and all was right in the world again.

That will likely be the most serious I’ll get with this blog, but when it comes to apologies, you have to be serious. Anyway, if you have any tips for those procrastinators out there, I’d love to hear them! Stay tuned for the next installment of Procrastinator’s Corner.

Christmas is my absolute most favorite time of the year. I love everything about it… I play Christmas songs (starting the day after Thanksgiving), I shop, I decorate, I bake.. (ask the girls here, they remember last year ha ha). It just really is a magical time.

Growing up, I remember I was so excited on Christmas Eve, I couldn’t stand it, and I would literally wake my parents up every hour after 1:00am, asking if we could get up to open presents yet. They’d always say, a few more hours…. but I think Santa filled your stocking, you can open that! I tell you what, that was the smartest idea in the world… I got to open some presents, and they got to sleep for a few more hours!

When I had kids, my husband and I decided to go with the same Christmas Eve stocking tradition, it brought back memories from when I was a kid, and they always look forward to being able to run into the living room and see if their stocking had been filled yet. I usually wake up and hear them talking in excited voices, comparing their little gifts with each other.

Holiday traditions are such a great thing to implement in your family, and share with them something meaningful and special.

Do you have any holiday traditions?

Our holiday gifts are now available on the Web site and in our catalog. Although we have many impressive gifts, my new favorite gift basket is the Fruit & Gourmet Delight. This basket contains pears, apples, and oranges. It has Omega-3rich Fruit Filled Oatmeal Cookies, Pistachios, Jalapeno Jack Cheese, Herb Encrusted Crackers, and a canister of Tea Forte Green Tango Tea. It also includes a cheese knife. All of the fruit and gourmet items are carefully packed into a beautiful travel trunk. This basket really contains all my favorite things.

I am also very impressed with our Premier Selections Wine Basket. This gift contains three wines: Kendall Jackson Chardonay, Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Savignon, and Wolf Blass Yellow Label Brut Sparkling Wine. It also contains Auberge Camembert Cheese Spread, Aaron Bell Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Crackers, Dolcetto Tiramisu Wafers, Hathaway’s Toffee Peanuts, Guittard Chucuri Bittersweet Chocolate, Saraivanov Smoked Salmon, Moonstruck Chocolate, and much more. Some of these items have been featured in magazines and television programs like the Rachael Ray Show and O, The Oprah Magazine.

If you haven’t seen our catalog in awhile, it is definetly worth checking out. Visit www.gifttree.com/catalog to view a copy of our latest holiday catalog.