Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets Blog

Archive for June, 2007

Lovers Lifesavers – Prior to the party, buy a roll of lifesaver candies. Split into groups of 3 or more players per team (teams should have the same number of players). Have each team stand in a straight line and give each of the players a toothpick which they hold in their mouth. Give the first person in each group’s line a lifesaver candy that hangs on the toothpick in their mouth. When you say go, they must transfer the lifesaver to the toothpick of the player in line after them, without using their hands. The next player to the next player and so forth down the line. If the lifesaver falls to the ground or someone uses their hands, the team must start all over at the beginning. The team members that finish the lifesaver toothpick relay first win little Valentine's Day Gifts.  

Suck & Blow Valentine Card Game – Be sure to have a standard deck of cards on hand. This game will require 8 or more people who should sit in a circle so they are close to the people next to them. It is best if you have an even number of people with an equal number of boys and girls so that you can sit boy-girl-boy-girl-etc. No hands can be used in this game while passing the card. Start the game by having one person hold a card to their mouth by sucking on it like a vacuum. They then turn to the right and pass it to the next person by placing the card on their mouth so the neighbor will need to suck on the card while the previous person blows to release the suction pressure and let go. Don’t drop the card or you’ll be kissing the person sitting next to you! 

Romantic Love Scrabble – This is a great game for 2 players or 2 teams of players. Set a standard Scrabble game up as you usually would and follow the same rules, except in this version, all of the words formed must be romantic words or words used in a romantic sentence or with sexual innuendo. For example, you could use the word hood if you justified it with the sentence ‘I’d like to get a look under your hood’. 

 Mending A Broken Heart Game – Cut hearts out of red construction paper and then cut each heart in half in an unusual zigzag or other pattern. When guests arrive at the Valentine Party, hand them half a heart. Throughout the party, they should try to find the guest with the other half of their heart. It is a great game to get your guests to mingle. 

Valentine Cupid Bingo – Make up bingo cards either on your computer or by hand on construction paper. Each card should have a 5 square by 5 square grid with C-U-P-I-D written across the top of the columns instead of BINGO. Draw a heart on the center space and call it the Free Space. Assign the other squares numbers. Buy a large bag of Valentine conversation hearts for people to cover the spaces when a particular number is called.  Make up little squares of paper that have all the letter/number combinations (e.g. C1, U6, P9, etc) and put them in a bowl. The moderator chooses a paper from the bowl and calls out the numbers until someone gets bingo and yells out CUPID! Be sure to have lots of Valentine prize gifts on hand to give to the winners.

Originally known as National Secretaries Day, this holiday is now known as Administrative Professionals Day. Celebrated the last full week of April, Administrative Professionals Week also includes Administrative Professionals Day which is Wednesday of the same week. As the duties of administrative professionals evolved over the years, the name of the week was changed to more accurately describe the varying titles and range of duties performed by these critical individuals that keep businesses running efficiently. Show your appreciation using one of these fantastic gift ideas.

Flowers – No matter what the season or reason, flowers are always appreciated. Since this holiday is celebrated in April, the flower choices are plentiful as bulbs such as tulips and flowers such as roses are in full bloom throughout the U.S. and the world. Contact a local florist or buy flowers online for delivery to your favorite assistant.

Flower Shaped Cookies – If your secretary or assistant has a sweet tooth, think of these floral shaped delights as an edible alternative to a traditional floral arrangement. These gourmet flower cookies are available in floral boxes with long-stemmed chocolate chip cookies. Or consider an iced bouquet of sugar cookies that are shaped like roses, tulips, sunflowers or other flower. Personalized with your custom thank you message, your assistant will be showing it this impressive gift to all her compatriots.

Thank You Gift Basket – Say ‘Thanks for All You Do’ or ‘Happy Administrative Professionals Day’ with a unique gift basket, cookie or candy bouquet. Whether they are a gourmet connoisseur or a sweet tooth, you can easily find a great gourmet gift that is designed especially for them.

Out for Lunch – This is a great and very popular way to recognize and thank your assistant. Best of all, it doesn’t require any pre-planning for on-time gift delivery or shopping for the perfect gift. Just let your assistant choose his or her favorite restaurant and either take them out alone or invite along the entire group that they support.

A Free Vacation Day – An unexpected day off is a great way to say thanks for your support and help over the past year. You have several options here – give them Administrative Professionals Day off which would require you to tell them about their gift ahead of time or give them the great news that day in the form a thank you card along with a note telling them about their extra day off anytime that they choose to use it.

Favorite Store Gift Card – If you have a local mall nearby or your assistant loves to shop at a particular store, a gift card is a great option, especially for groups. Just have the group of people throw in a few dollars each and before you know it, you’ll have enough money to get him or her a gift card with enough money to buy themselves a great gift.

Spa Gift Certificate – What assistant or secretary couldn’t use a relaxing massage or a pampering pedicure? A gift certificate to the spa is an indulgent gift that will help distress and rejuvenate them.

Special Interest or Hobby Gift – Does your assistant have a hobby like golf or tennis or book reading? If so, show that you’ve really put some thought into the gift and give them something associated with that special interest. For instance, give a sleeve of golf balls or a golfing gift certificate to the golf enthusiast and you’ll score a birdie!

Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets offers a wide range of Administrative Professionals Day gifts. From gourmet gift baskets to cookie bouquets to flowers, we have a great gift for your secretary or assistant so shop today!

Having a little Valentine get-together with your relatives or entertaining the neighborhood kids this Valentine’s Day?  Here are some great games for children aged 5 to 10. Just buy some little Valentine themed gifts to give to the game winners.

1. Steal My Heart – Buy a few large bags of conversation heart candies and put them in a large bowl in the center of the kitchen table. Have all the kids take a spot around the table and give each one of them a set of chopsticks. In a timed 3 minute period, the children should try to ‘steal’ hearts from the big bowl and set them in front of themselves on the table. They can use ONLY their chopsticks – no hands. The child with the most hearts in front of them when time runs out wins.
2. Matchmaker Valentine Memory Game - Buy a bag of the conversation candy hearts with little Valentine sayings like ‘Be Mine’. Go through the bag and find pairs of hearts that are identical (same color and same text saying). When you want to start the game, lay all of the hearts face (text) down on the table. Then have the children take turns flipping over two hearts. The goal for the child is to match up the pairs during their turn. If they get a pair, they get to take another turn until they miss. The kid with the most pairs at the end wins.
3. Hugs & Kisses Candy Guessing Game - Fill a jar or glass bowl with a mixture of Hershey kisses and Hershey hug candies. Then have each child guess how many pieces of candy are in the container. The one closest to the actual number wins the jar of Valentine candy.
4. Valentine-Themed Pictionary – come up with a list of valentine related words like heart, candy, cupid, flowers, rose, diamond necklace, etc. Break the kids into two groups. Have one person in one of the groups draw out the clue (no talking or hand gestures) while their teammates try to guess the word. They have 1 minute to guess it. If they don’t guess the word in the allotted time,  the other team can steal the point if they can guess the word. Play several rounds and the team with the most points wins. Note – you can adjust the allotted time depending on the age of the kids and their ability to draw.
5. Valentine’s Day Make A Word Game – Write out the word Valentine’s Day on the board or have each child write the word out at the top of a sheet of paper. Then, call out go and have each child write down as many 3 or more letter words that they can make out of the letters in Valentine’s Day in 5 minutes. The child with the most words wins a fun Valentine Holiday Gift.

The history of Valentine’s Day and where Valentine Day traditions stem from is an enigma that has required some conjecture and speculation on the part of historians. So where did this romantic holiday where people declare their love for one another likely originate? The Catholic Church acknowledges the existence of up to 11 Saints named Valentine (such as Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni). And there are numerous Christian martyrs who were also named Valentine. The evolving legend stipulates that one of these Saint Valentines from the medieval ages was persecuted and jailed for his Christian beliefs or was a priest that was jailed for performing marriages that did not please the Roman Emperor.  Before being executed, one of these St. Valentines wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter whom he supposedly loved, healed or befriended and signed it ‘From your Valentine’.  Others have postulated, that Valentine traditions may be related to the Greco-Roman fertility and love festivals that they held in February. Of course, how these legends tie into the modern Valentine’s Day holiday is not clear.

Undisputed is the fact that during the 1840’s, the modern era of Valentine’s Day traditions began. It was during that decade that the first mass produced Valentine Day cards were first produced and distributed. The practice of giving gifts to your significant other on this holiday started in the late twentieth century when people starting exchanging Valentine chocolates and flowers in addition to the standard greeting card. Finally when the jewelry industry started promoting for Valentine’s Day in the 1980’s, diamonds took off to become one of the best-sellers during the Valentine holiday.

When Americans think about Easter, they think of decorated eggs and Easter baskets full of candy. The importance of the Easter egg is evidenced by the fact that the White House hosts an Easter egg roll for children on the lawn every year (on the Monday after Easter). Started by First Lady Dolly Madison in the early 1800s, the White House Easter Egg Roll is overseen by the First Lady. The traditional decorating of Easter eggs in the US has now evolved from the simple dipping of the eggs in colored vinegar dyes to stickers and complex coloring kits. The symbolic Easter egg we think of in the U.S. takes on different forms and décor across the world. Here are just a few of the decorating styles and Easter egg gift-giving traditions of other countries.

Russia – Likely the most famous eggs in the world, Faberge eggs were originally created for the Russian Imperial Court. These exquisite eggs are gold and precious stone jewelry that are designed in the shape of an egg. Named after the company that created them, the Faberge eggs can be worth big money. In fact, an American business man paid a reported $5.5 million dollars for the Faberge Winter Egg in 1994.  

Poland – The fragile Polish egg called the pisanka is created by dipping an eggshell in wax and then meticulously carving it to form a delicate pattern. After carving is complete, the egg is dyed. These gorgeous pisanka eggs are then exchanged on Easter Saturday as gifts between family members.

Ukraine – Like the Polish pisanka, Ukrainian Easter eggs are also dipped in wax and carved to form what they call a pysanky. Traditionally, these eggs have geometric designs such as diamonds or squares and are custom-colored especially for the intended gift recipient. The Ukrainian culture looks upon the receipt of a pysanky as a great honor and recipients often display their egg as a showpiece in their home.

Greece – The symbol of the redeeming blood of Jesus, red dye is used to color Greek Easter eggs completely red. Just take red dye and add it to a water and vinegar solution where the eggs will be boiled to obtain their red color.

British Isles – Looking at British Easter traditions will give you a clue as to where the White House Easter Egg Roll comes from. Like the U.S., the British decorate their eggs in many styles and colors. They then hold Easter egg roll contests to see who can roll their egg down a hill the quickest, without breaking the egg of course.

 Visit Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets for many great Easter gift ideas!