Be early and stand out with you employees!

Top two strategies for corporate savy gift giving at holiday seasonal time: give a gift with that is impressive and not gift cards and make yours the very first gift your patron or perspective clients or clientele will receive. Leading two goof ups for corporate gift giving at holiday time are: Not obtaining the gift soon enough and giving gift cards or gift certificates. Let's start with mistakes.... Not preparing/tardiness. By sending it late your gift gets mixed up with all the others in a mound or in the break room and individuals tend to overlook what they got from who. The cards get shuffled and in the haste and hustle and bustle in the days before Dec. 25 your gift is misplaced and you have lost money already. Administrative assistants are typically in the position of sending the holiday corporate gifts and bosses, you need to pay attention.! Don't come to your administrative assistant at the last second and expect her or him to work amazing things...lateness on your part should not be an emergency on their part. You are putting them in a really difficult situation to scavenge and find last minute products or gifts and to get them sent. Many times gift companies, especially holiday basket companies like Baskets by Rita in Aurora are swamped with last minute desperate requests. This year seems like a good one so don't be shocked if local and national basket and food companies run out of stock. Your secretary will be wasting time and spending way too much time on your late gift giving task and it not only will stress them out but take away from their regular duties. The remedy to last minute gift giving issues is to plan early. Give them a opportunity to make an order and get the gift at the price point you want to spend. Did you know that most individuals and companies who procrastinate end up spending a lot more than they had attended? The items they wanted are sold out and they have to take what is still left even if it costs more. So the two pitfalls or problems with sending it late or the hassle itself and the cost of over spending and more importantly the less constructive impact for your money. So what do you do? First of all in timeliness, give your administrative assistant a budget and time to make the order. Be sure it comes as soon after Thanksgiving as possible to have that highly positive effect at your clients and customers businesses. Secondly, fore go the gift card and gift certificate plan. Those have been famous in the past but in past years everyone gets and gives gift cards and they have lost their luster and affect. It also is the most effortless way to go..it shows they weren't really worth the time or effort or they were a last minute gift thought. Gift certificates to restaurants have worked in the past too except someone is now in charge to order the food and go get it. Choose a gift that comes with a joyous wow isn't that great or how nice or isn't that beautiful. These days people buy just about what they want, so send a gift that comes with bling and a bow and the gift basket is probably your very best. Check out local places where you can probably just go and pick them up to save shipping costs. In Denver or Colorado Baskets by Rita in Aurora is a good start.

This the season not to delay!

This year I will plan to send corporate holiday gifts early. Horror story. Last year I thought there was no hurry and that I would get real deals by waiting until mid December to buy gifts for my clients. Client gifts of thankfulness for their business is really important and if you fall short to send a holiday gift you have botched the common gift that has come to be expected yearly. Don't forget how important and necessary these appreciation tokens are. Three years ago I decided to skip the gifts because of a budget crunch. Thinking it made little or no difference I felt quite glib about the amount of money and time and trouble I would save for this extra meaningless expenditure. Was I ever wrong. In fact many of us were wrong. The other firm people I meet with weekly all talked it over and were in agreement that one year couldn't make that much difference and we were quite smug about our money saving strategy. In my business my primary competitor is someone who has tried to get my clients but I've always gained their allegiance. Unfortunately for me he made the decision to take the risk and send out gifts early. The next year I found I was losing some of my clients because they had decided to take a look at other organizations that could deliver the same or same service. As we approached new clients many of them had already signed up with the rival companies and my laid back and secure style that I would easily keep clients was slipping away. I had to work really hard to keep the clients I had and put in a lot of time and effort for the next few years to get some of my essential companies loyalties back. Maybe it wasn't just the holiday gift, but the next year I took note. Listening and asking questions of buddies and relatives about what made them devoted and things that made a difference I noted that follow up letters of thanks,cell phone calls, and gifts aren't just tokens they are are reminders and stamps of self confidence for the clients. So two years ago I made sure I had money for gifts at holiday time planned. I started looking for gift ideas and sent them out the first of December. What I found out was that I immediately got cards and calls from clients. They loved them plus mine were the first gifts to arrive at their business office. My secretary and I were talking and she pointed out the gift we got at Thanksgiving one year with the note that here's your first holiday gift to enjoy. Since it was the first and only gift at that time it did make a difference. Most gifts of food, gifts baskets, and cards come that last week before December 25 and although we appreciate them they sometimes get tossed in and mixed up and we can't remember exactly who gave what. Besides people are bringing in treats and food for each other all week. So my secretary and I started talking and analyzing that the first gifts that come in are the most noted and appreciated and you normally remember them. That brings me to our strategy for this year. We have already contacted a basket business to send out holiday gift baskets to be delivered no later than December l. Why? Because last year we thought we'd order them later and they were sold out of the one we really wanted. Since we have clients in 10 states we had failed to note that many would not arrive on time because of shipping days needed. We gave up after checking about sending flower arrangements or poinsettias which seemed useless for a few days in the office. As a last resort we scrambled to get gift cards for area restaurants or bakeries near each client. It took way too much time. We were able to find some gift cards in supermarket, but they were not the right denomination. We also felt uneasy that the exact amount we were spending was obvious, putting a dollar value on the client. But we got the cards sent out. It was fine and at least we sent a gift. However one of the more vocal and brazenly honest secretaries called to thank us and did say she preferred the gift baskets because she was the one who had to order and go to the eatery to bring back what was ordered with the gift card. She also made it clear that to feed everyone they had to add more money. Yikes, not a good approach. This year I called Baskets by Rita the first of October and placed my order for gourmet gift baskets and Colorado wine gift baskets to be mailed just before Thanksgiving so they will arrive that first week of December. They explained to me that they have to order all holiday products in August and September to have enough stock to not run out additionally suppliers run out early. We're feeling really glib. Our clients will know these are gifts of appreciation, there are food items to be shared by all, they come packaged stunningly giving that WOW factor and our card and gift will be the first one they get and will be hanging around the break room all holiday season. It won't get misplaced with all the other gifts. Since there is not a dollar amount attached you are not blatantly telling them what money amount they are worth. Plus my secretary is so happy because this is a slower time for us and she was able to make all plans in a more relaxed way. We came across another money-saving hint for giving holiday gifts. We will have baskets shipped to 9 other states, but the majority are in the Denver area. My secretary has arranged to save some of the shipping and delivery costs by going to pick up most of the baskets and deliver many herself. We've added a wine and cheese FAC the first Saturday in December in our office for clients and we'll give most of them out then. If not, it would be good for me to take them and give them myself and make the personal call. The moral of the story is do not underestimate the power of the holiday thankfulness gift and order early.

Key to a Successful Business

A head of a corporation in the Colorado area provided an meeting to a friend's son, a graduate business student, who was planning his thesis. The young man asked questions about marketing, budgeting, and the most beneficial market methods. The dialogue and questions also including corporate and business hurdles and challenges, protecting assets and the problems and practices in increasing sales. The CEO confessed that managing a firm's long-term reserves had always been at the heart of his energy and determining stakeholders was instrumental. Weighing possibilities in every aspect was his response to the question about best decision-making practice. The 60 minute interview was almost over when the graduate asked his last question about what was the biggest liability and what was the greatest asset in the company. After blundering through a list of financial jargon, the CEO stopped abruptly and thought carefully before saying that all of that was secondary because the employees could be the greatest asset or they could be the greatest liability. The men and women working for you can make or break the company. Simple as that. The CEO then took our friend's son out to lunch and they continued to dialogue. The conversation included examples from the CEO's working experience when he worked at a restaurant through college and when he managed various establishments. He had many examples of how good workers actually made the company money and the managers and owners did not always know it or recognize it. At the same time, a rude or incompetent or an employee with a bad attitude could ruin not only the sale at the time, but later. They chatted about the television show Undercover Bosses where CEOs make as if to be new employees on the ground level for a week to actually get some in field experience and insight. The CEO admitted that he had thought of doing that. The two of them throughout lunch talked about different episodes and came to the summation that employees do make or break a company. And usually what they want most even more than money or raises is to be treated respectfully and to have their efforts acknowledged. They want a thank you of some kind whether it be just a sincere thanks, a gift card, money, a promotion of a gift. The graduate revealed that his mom who had been an administrative assistant had just resign her job the week before saying she had just had enough. Her boss not only did not see what she had accomplished but did not seem to care about rewarding anyone. When she recommended he give gift cards he said that was fine but she would have to give them and write the note and he put her on a small budget. After a year she suggested they give time off to employees but he refused saying. She observed morale was extremely low and he did agree and she was to come up with something. She told him to come into the next morning meeting, which employees hated, with food. He told her to get some cheap donuts from the supermarket. She started just standing up to him and said no, he needed to spend some bucks and get quality pastries or food and quality coffee boxes from the Panera Bread down the street. He assigned her to do it and to be sure it was there on time. It did the trick and employees liked it. She needed a unique idea for the mid afternoon meetings. So when she saw the huge basket delivered next door with all kinds of treats for employees she was impressed and contacted the basket company, Baskets by Rita. For the same money they put together a big basket with goodies to put in the break room for everyone to enjoy. It was huge and they delivered it to her that day. The boss walked in with Ultimate Gourmet Gift Basket and there were cheers from the once tired employees. The student made an appointment the next day with his adviser to change his thesis topic to center on the importance of gratitude and recognition for employees contending that they are the most valuable long term investment.

Start off right, make a good impression!

Making a good first impression is at the heart of leadership and profession skill musts. Whether you are applying for a job or managing a assignment it is a strategy tool that ranks among the most valuable. You want to get off to a perfect start. One article suggests that within 3 seconds someone analyzes you by your appearance, your body language, you mannerisms, and the way you present yourself. We make impressions by our actions, what we say and by what others say about us. To make a great impression you must know what was said about you or how you are viewed. If it is beneficial you come with a good standing. If it was not you have a ability to change that impression. How you present yourself IS the impression. That first impression must be strong enough to show confidence to establish confidence. However over-confidence can destroy trust. It is a fine line. Polite, attentive, on-time, positive, appropriateness and sincerity go a long ways. Fortunately you do not have to sign up for a seminar or school, but simply google making a excellent impression to find numerous sites with free and priceless information. The difficulty lies in finding out what others have said about you and what information they already know. That means investigating. So that takes care of the first impression. The key is keeping a nice impression. Once that you have landed that deal or sold that house or secured that client your impression skills are not locked in. You must expand that impression that they made the appropriate choice and that you truly understand them. You do that in your text with a letter or note or a phone call. You do it in your conduct with making face to face timely visits when possible. And you are sure to spend a few bucks to maintain that impression. It might be with food or gifts, and not just holiday anticipated gifts. When you first land the sale follow up with something. My neighbor is a real estate broker and used to send a restaurant gift card to her clients after the closing. He now walks into the closing with an impressive and festive gift basket from Baskets by Rita. He already knows the client, so whether it's a beer tub, wine welcome gift basket, gourmet gift basket he pays the money for it to be a wow factor and make the significant impression as he walks through the door. He said the day he came into the room with a baby gift basket for the couple about to become parents they were so excited. Lasting impressions have benefits and he says that the wow factor and the oohs and aahhhs he gets from them carry through. As they thank him as they are leaving, he mentions he would appreciate any referrals they would send his way. When they refer, he has another gift basket sent to their house. He claims this impression has definitely increased his client list. So good impressions are crucial.

Football Beer Gift Tubs for my boyfriend!

So how is your favorite team doing this season? It is football season again and for those of us who love football we live for this time of year. Not only is it gorgeous weather to go to games but we covet the fact it has been a prolonged dry season in the sporting world since Superbowl time last year. Hopefully each of us is looking at the teams, playing fantasy football and making predictions. For guys it provides a piece of interaction for any place we find ourselves. There is also the unknown and best hopes for our popular football team to do well this season. Everybody seems to be talking about the replacement refs and how soon will normal football refs be back on the fields. It is way too effortless to get so annoyed about it that you find yourself ranting and raving. That is what has been happening at my house. I whine and moan and groan and am short tempered with my wife and she does not warrant that. She is such a smart football wife that to get mad is not the manner she handles things. She astonishingly uses good will and humor. I am so fortunate. After this weekend and my terrible mood I did not merit to get anything for my birthday yesterday. I was in Denver and she had a beer and nut gift from Baskets by Rita delivered to my hotel. Since one of my favorite teams was the Denver Broncos the tub she ordered was a Bronco one and she wrote a great message using her awesome humor to help get me level-headed. It was wonderful. I called her and made the decision to have flowers sent the next day. I often do that. So since I'm gone for a week, I called the lady at baskets by Rita and she's sending a gourmet wine basket to my wife. Good move on my part cuz my wife will not expect it. We guys are not very creative or good about gifts but I am quite darn happy and pleased with myself. My pop is a diehard Green Bay Packers fan so I sent him a sympathy basket. He will really like it and really get a kick out of it. My mother was raised and is loyal to the Giants, have been raised in NYC, so I'm having a Congratulations basket sent to her arriving the same day. Can hardly wait to speak to my parents. They are always coming up with gifts and ways to help my wife and me so this would be excellent. This ref strike has certainly got everyone talking. The good news is that it gives people something else to talk about besides politics. Our secretary really gets on all of us though and she says we should be feeling sorry for those poor replacement refs. Without them we couldn't watch any football at all.

Something unique for a birthday gift is what I am looking for.

 All my buddies know that they will get either beer, a bottle of wine or flowers I grabbed on the way to see them. It worked well for a while, but now it seems to be just too expected. Looking for a different birthday gifts can take a lot of time. Today I went looking for my best close friend which should be easy. I know exactly what he will like so it should have been very easy. I ended up just heading to a big box store and finding a gift card. They used to have small cool wooden crate type things to put the gift card in but not anymore. So that was fine but really mundane. Last Saturday my spouse was out of town and asked me to go out and get things to put in a basket for her cousin who was bringing her daughter to Colorado to start college. My wife emailed me a list of all the wares to buy for the basket so I went to find it. She puts in mostly Colorado products like sweets, potato chips, salsa, tortilla chips, peanuts, Colorado water, tea, espresso, beef jerky, cheeses, crackers, and honey sticks. First I could not find a basket in the food market and only a few of the goods. I finally threw in the towel because it was taking forever to look and be sure I had Colorado made foods. My neighbor was also shopping and I shared my irritation when she suggested just going to our business district and going into the large kitchen specialty shop and having them help me. I did that and it was helpful but I was shocked at how much it price, including the basket. They offered to help me put it all together in the basket and put on a nice big bow. It looked great and my wife was not shocked at the cost of buying the goods there. She goes to 7 or 8 different places to buy all the goods and helps save about twenty dollars. Now that is just too much effort. An simpler way is just to go online and find a gift basket shop that will do it and deliver it. My wife and I argued over the cost, so to demonstrate my point I found a number of baskets at Baskets by Rita which is a Colorado based company. They have a Colorado wooden crate that is cooler than typical baskets. Even after the delivery cost, it turned out it was less costly than us doing it ourselves. So getting back to the birthday gift idea I saw the crate and decided to order one and have it delivered to my house so I could see how it looked. It came and was wonderful. My wife and I agreed that they do a much more professional job of putting it together and it looks amazing. Plus it turned out to be less expensive than doing it ourselves. They have a great selection so that is my plan from now on when buying Beer Birthday Gift Basket. http://www.basketsbyrita.com

Baskets By Rita, a Colorado Gift Basket Company, Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

Ten years after being laid off from Agilent Technologies, Marge Van Woerkom and her business, Baskets By Rita, are still going strong. As a previous Reporter Herald article outlined, Van Woerkom was one of many Loveland residents who found themselves unemployed in 2002 when HP and Agilent downsized. After 19 years of working for HP and Agilent, Van Woerkom refused to be a victim of her situation. She pulled herself together after the lay off and bought an existing business in Aurora, Colorado. She chose not to change the company's existing name, Baskets By Rita, which already had a strong reputation in the Denver metro area and this choice has served her well. "We've built our business on the philosophy that the customer come first" says Van Woerkom.

Since Van Woerkom took ownership of the company, she has managed to grow sales despite the economic recession of the past few years. In addition, she has grown the company's clientele and web presence year over year with the help of her staff and dedicated members of her family. As a sign of its ongoing growth, Baskets By Rita began plans several months ago to create a sister company, Gift Agent. Gift Agent will offer customers a slightly more specialized product line packaged in specialty boxes which will allow the company to be more eco-friendly and create more of a recognized brand identity. The hope is that receiving a gift from Gift Agent will be comparable in recipients' minds to receiving a box of Godiva chocolates. While Gift Agent gives cause for much excitement at Baskets By Rita, that is not the only exciting news for the company.

This year, Baskets By Rita is celebrating it's 20th year of business. While many other gift basket companies have gone out of business, Van Woerkom and her staff have managed to maintain steady growth despite the public's growing need to economize. To show their gratitude for the continued support of their customers and celebrate their 20 years of success, Baskets By Rita has planned a series of sales promotions for each month of the year. These promotions include deals such as 15% off when you spend $50 or more and a gift of a free basket for the winner of a video commercial contest. For every dollar saved by their customers through these ongoing promotions, Baskets By Rita will donate a dollar to a local charity. Each month, the company will choose two local charities to support and they will match the savings of their customers to determine the donation amount. The best part of this campaign is that customers are encouraged to vote for their favorite charities so that everyone can be involved. As a local business, Baskets By Rita does its best to support local programs and Van Woerkom is excited to have an excuse to give back even more than her usual holiday charitable donations. Like us on Facebook and vote for your local charity. When doing so we will send you a coupon code for 20% off your next purchase.

Are you hosting a Conference in Denver?

Symposiums are not cheap. They can make a huge effect and intricate planning is instrumental. Not only are thecorporate meetings expensive for the presenter, but also for the participants. Participants and companies are not easily separated with their money and they want to be assured and reassured that they have expended their time and funds well. Post evaluations show that little details make a big difference. Throwing a conference or convention together without focus to the smallest details can spell disaster. So the steps to take as a promoter and host for the conference/convention are to find a great location. Knowing your prospective attendees is major whether you choose a location that is a short distance for them to drive or choosing a great getaway for companies to check out and experience a new city. Check out the cost of the building and ask for details. Do not pick busy times of the year for holidays, family vacations or a busy time for the businesses focused. For example, as retailers do their buying for summer sports equipment, late spring and early summer or not the time to entice them. They are busy and they have already bought their items for the year. Next you must look at the schedule to be sure the timing is good. If you overbook they may not have free time to enjoy themselves. If you do not offer enough workshops or variable schedules of interest, they will not feel they gained anything from the conference or convention. Try to get a key speaker or two to draw a crowd. Promote early to get them to lock into your event first on their calendars. It even works to offer a discount inducement for early signup. Do assign an expert to offer all information the convention goer will need from airport transportation to hotel registration and maps. Of course your major concern will be the conference content itself. So plan to keep it moving, keep it efficient, keep it stimulating. It is better to have more short sessions with question/answer free time to chat and connect than to have participants leaving long sessions because they are tired or feel they are hearing repetitive data. The first impact will make a huge difference. Efficiency and getting information to help airport/hotel/conference center logistics run smoothly will set off the tone of the convention. It is also important that when they arrive there are a number of welcome folks available to set that upbeat positive tone and answer questions. The registration table should include all the info they will need. And you always must be willing to put out the money for freebies. Our company attended a conference in a small city in a mid-western town. It was obvious they were trying to save money and got the conference center and food cheap. We paid a bundle for a rental car to drive the 2 hours to the locations and stay in a small 2 star hotel/motel conference center. The pretzels and vats of bad coffee set the tone for a long two days ahead. The next year we chose to go to the Denver Convention Center and what a difference. Flying into DIA was so impressive with those attractive mountains as a backdrop. Our hotel was attached to center and there were all kinds of restaurants, night life, shopping nearby. We found a cool Monet's Fruit Basket from a local basket company in Aurora. It was a box with all sorts of Colorado snacks. That convention rocked and we will go again next year.

Great baby gift

 Awesome idea for giving a unique, cute, adorable and unusual baby gift is to order a baby girl or baby boy welcome wagon. The cute small red wagons carry lots of baby gift goods that are pragmatic for newly born children. Knowing that it is always fun to send something unusual for the new baby is a difficult task. Usually people call the hospital gift shop for the same, boring gifts they have. They have the usual blue and pink floral arrangements which are nice but do not last and are tricky to carry home. That sort of baby gift is soon forgotten. They also have baby gift baskets but you may find that the parents have already received at least one or more from the hospital gift shop. Asking the gift shop worker does not ensure you that visitors have popped into the gift shop and picked up the same gift. I was embarrassed to stop in and buy a cute basket and went up to her room to see two matching baskets from other people. That meant I had to go back down and exchange it for something really common in the gift shop. The most horrible part was that it definitely took the enjoyment of my gift giving away. They were apologetic as was I apologetic and embarrassed. When the the gift shop person just rolled her eyes about wanting to exchange it, I had just had it and told her I wanted a refund. In the parking lot of the Denver hospital I met a gentleman and girl carrying in these adorable pink baby girl and blue baby boy gift red wagons. That is exactly what I had wanted to walk in with something that caused the couple to ooh and aah about. I just flat out stopped them and asked where they got them. They had ordered them from a basket store near the Denver hospital called Baskets by Rita. Cut little welcome baby wagon that were the best birth gift. They were definitely one of a kind baby gifts and practical and exciting. They told me Baskets by Rita also has a big brother/sister line of baskets that they gave one time. I got on my iphone and without delay called Baskets by Rita and ordered one of the little red wagon as a baby welcome gift for the newborn baby. It was painless to arrange to have it delivered to their house when they got home from the hospital. When they got home with the new baby and got the baby welcome wagon, they immediately called me and said I just had to come over to see the new baby and the adorable wagon. So from now on the hospital gift shop will not be my first choice for sending gifts or flowers.

How to Improve Employees' Attidutes

 Today's posting features tips acquired from various firms about how to raise morale and not lose good employees. Striving to keep the office positive should be of major concern to CEOs and bosses. Losing revenue and time is a huge concern. If workers are happy and like to come to work production grows. If they feel that they are integral team member and that they are valued they become engaged to the company. Factory generated thank yous and anticipated pats on the back even raises and the common bonuses or gifts or treats reduce their impact after awhile. In fact employees begin to bank on expected gratitudes and gifts and treats. If you furnish donuts every Friday it becomes the standard and just a natural part of the work schedule. If you provide a gift card for every 10 sales it becomes expected and if you miss one you will get frustration instead of thanks for the gift cards you have given. Remember the movie with Chevy Chase in the Christmas movie where he banks on the yearly bonus from work and when it is not given one year the supervisor becomes the bad guy in everyone's eyes. In the movie and in real life people just assume the bonus, money gift, turkey, whatever is the norm every year. Often they order merchandise or spend the money before it even comes in. For that reason corporations need to be cautious not to do the same thing week after week or month after month or year after year. Food treats should not be the same because they become predicted and actually become rather lackluster. Some would say that cash is always the best way to go because everyone can spend it however they want. True, but it also can get repetitive. If you throw out a dollar at the weekly meeting one week for something, the next week you bring in a gourmet coffee cart. If you give a grocery card for Christmas one year you need to deliver a gourmet gift basket the next year. If you provide lunch a day one month you need to do something different the next month. Most executives feel that this type of creativity is not a part of their positions and it is not important. Morale boosters are very important. corporate appreciation gifts are one of the best way to say thanks for a job well done and to encourage hard work in the future. Most of the time firms use secretaries to find ideas and put together the thank you. For women bouquets and spa packages and gift cards work. For men beer tubs, hardware/home improvement gift cards are great. Restaurant gift certificates are good too. You just have to get ingenious. Corporate Gifts or Company gifts can be difficult when you are including a lot of people in one office--it could be a gesture of encouragement or a thank you gift to a whole office or company. You either have food delivered or if you are worried about food spoilage send a huge corporate gift basket with various items. My company has put the burden on me, the administrative assistant, to come up with two new options each month to spend only $300 on the 20 employees. They said I need to find gifts of tokens to include everyone. I am looking for new creative ideas for next month but this month we have seen a big difference in good attitude around the office after my two appreciation gifts were done. The first was for each employee to find one dollar bills in various places during a week. This last week to thank them for their labors, we had an Ultimate Gourment Gift Basket arrive to overpower the snack table. After hearing workers talking about the Aurora movie theatre shooting victims, we chose an Aurora gift basket company, Baskets by Rita and we were not disappointed. So remember to thank your employees and show appreciation for a job well done and to encourage hard work.

Off to College

 Impossible to believe that school is almost starting since August has already came. Summer goes quick. Youngsters are back in classes and for me it is hardest to say goodbye to the kids who are my family members who are going back to college. It was so fun to see them all summer and now some are packing up getting ready to go to school. Most of the kids I know go to Colorado State University in Fort Collins or Colorado University in Boulder. Two are going to Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Actually there are two of my cousins kids who are coming to schools in Colorado. My best friend is making up little gift bags for each kid with cookies and goodies from the grocery store to help get them stocked up for dorm life. She has bought chips, dip, candy, nuts, and snacks and put them into a bucket. They turned out pretty cute. When I asked her how much it cost she said she had no idea. I had a tough time finding a bucket and filling it with stuff to look good. It just did not look like enough. Then I started adding up the cost because I knew I needed to go get more stuff to make it look good. I just that wow factor for college students when they get to school. I know they may be a little homesick and this is the nicest thing I can do for them and probably more for their parents. Shoving the stuff in the bucket is alright and it gets the work done. After making two of the buckets friend suggested I look at Ultimate Care Basket. She shared with me this after she was amazed at how much I had spent on each gift. Her corporation uses Baskets by Rita for all the gift baskets they send to visiting clients. There are trendy wooden crates with mountains and the word Colorado on them crammed with products from Colorado. After checking out the website of Baskets by Rita I do not dare tell my spouse that I actually could have sent a Colorado crate for the same price or even less expensive than I spent on my own. http://www.basketsbyrita.com

Don't Forget the people of Aurora!

 After the shooting tragedy in Aurora Colorado we are at a loss for what to do or how to help. Aurora is a suburb of Denver. We are all feeling such grief and send our sympathy and best wishes and best hope for healing to that whole community. The shooting drew national news and what a devastating tragedy. I am so sorry and want to do something to help. The Aurora police department must be amazing with what they are dealing with. They made it to the scene in 90 seconds. People and businesses in Aurora must be comforted to know the department responds so quickly. Plus what must those heroes from the police department and all the medical facilities in Aurora Colorado feel now as they work to save lives and keep people protected. You cannot put a price tag on that kind of support. A few of friends yesterday had a talk and we all decided to do something. Some are sending cards and others of us want to do something far more personal to assist our own sense of healing the emotional wounds. My cousin is going to send some kind of food coupons and my neighbor is sending flowers with a message. My brother is a small business owner and suggested we find neighborhood Aurora Colorado businesses to support since they must really feel the impact. So we are going online to find coffee shops, pizza places, florists, etc. I was going to place an online order to an Aurora company Baskets by Rita to send a Chocolate Gift Basket to be shared by everyone. http://www.basketsbyrita.com

Easter Origins and Gift Ideas

Have you ever pondered where the myth of the Easter Bunny came from? I mean do bunnies and eggs really represent Jesus' resurrection? The conclusion is "no". The tradition of the Easter Bunny started in the 13th century and comes from pre-Christian Germany. The pagan people of that era worshipped several gods and goddesses. The goddess of spring and rebirth was named Eostra, which is where the word Easter comes from. As is common knowledge, spring is the time for rebirth. As a result of this, Eostra's sign was the rabbit. The rabbit signified regeneration due to the fact that rabbits are well known for their high rate of reproduction. Eventually, this symbol of Eostra result in other legends and in the 1500s, the first legend of the Easter Bunny was written. Now since you have learned where the Easter Bunny came from you are probably wondering to know more about the eggs. Eggs have been a sign of fertility for centuries and were likely included in early pagan celebrations of spring. As Christianity gained popularity in Europe and in Germany, previous pagan practices began to combine with fresh Christian celebrations. Currently, we say that Easter eggs signify Jesus' resurrection. Over time the Easter Bunny fable developed yet further and turned into what we know it as today. Similar to the fable of Santa Clause, German families would say to their children that if they were well behaved the Easter Bunny would appear and bring eggs that they could trade for sweets and various other goodies. The tradition developed of making nests for the eggs which at some point morphed into the bright colorful Easter baskets which we have today. The legend of the Easter Bunny first found its way to the United States in the 1700s when German immigrants moved to Pennsylvania. Nowadays, this Easter belief is a common piece of our traditions as are plenty of other norms which come from the countries of origin of our immigrant forefathers. If you would like to play at the Easter Bunny this Easter, order a gift such as our Easter baskets for children boys for somebody you love. Baskets By Rita offers numerous Easter baskets to choose between and is giving 10% off all Easter gift baskets for the month of March. Our giant plush frog or ducky measuring over 3 feet high will make a great Easter gift and something with enjoy and remember. Made of oh so soft high quality plush too.  http://www.basketsbyrita.com/Giant-Plush-for-Easter-_p_285.html http://www.basketsbyrita.com