Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets Blog

Archive for February, 2010

If you're looking for a little St. Patrick's Day fun this year, here are some great shamrock craft ideas that will have you feeling lucky!  And with a little luck, you'll send or receive one of our yummy St. Patrick's Day gifts too!

My Favorite is the Pom Pom Shamrock.

Supplies Needed:

3 large green pom poms
scrap of green felt
scissors
white craft glue or hot glue
6" piece of gold ribbon

Instructions:

1. Glue all three pom poms together to form a shamrock.

2. Cut out a stem from a piece of green felt.

3. Glue to the back of your shamrock.Tie a piece of gold ribbon into a bow and glue to the front of your shamrock.

4. Optional: You can glue a magnet, pin back or a hanger made from ribbon to the back of your shamrock craft.

Other fun Saint Patrick's Day Crafts:

Printable St. Patty Day Coloring/Activity Pages

Felt Shamrock Leprachaun Hats

Shamrock Egg Carton Craft

Shamrock Wreath Crafts

A homemade gift is a great way to let someone know you are thinking of them. My favorite homemade gift is a jar mix - from cookies to soups - the possibilities are endless! Jar Mixes make great gifts for teachers, your child's bus driver, the postal worker who delivers your mail . . . anyone!

The most common jar to use is a canning jar (also called a Mason jar). Before filling your jars, wash them thoroughly and make sure they are completely dry before adding ingredients. Each jar will be filled with only the dry ingredients. Using a small funnel or a rolled up piece of paper can help with getting the layers to lay just right (don't tip the jar while filling). To pack down your layers, a great item to use is a tart tamper. Other things that may work is a small ladle, a spoon, mallet or spatula.

You may want to decorate your jar before filling. If the jar is filled to the top so that the contents don't move much, then decorating afterward is fine too. One of most important parts of your jar is the Mixing/Baking instructions. You can attach this with a ribbon to your lid or glue it to the jar itself. You can have fun with this too! Use stamps or stencils to create a one-of-a-kind personalized label. You can also use your computer to personalize your instruction labels and print them on sticker paper.

Here is one recipe to get you started!

Decadent Brownie Jar Mix Instructions

Jar Ingredients:

* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1-1/2 cups sugar
* 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
* 1 cup REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips or HERSHEY'S Premier White Chips
* 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Filling the Jar:
First stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Layer the ingredients in a 1-quart glass canister or jar in the following order (from bottom to top): sugar, cocoa, flour mixture, peanut butter chips and small chocolate chips. Tap jar gently on the counter to settle each layer before adding the next one.

Instructions to attach to jar:

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease and flour an 8x8x2-inch baking pan.
3. Combine 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted and cooled butter and 2 slightly beaten eggs in a large bowl.
4. Gently stir in jar contents.
5. Spread in prepared pan.
6. Bake for 35 minutes.
7. Cool in pan. Cut into bars.

Makes 16 Bars

Check out Squidoo for even more homemade jar mix recipes and tips!

So we've all seen the chubby-cheeked baby wielding a bow with heart-tipped arrows, but where did the legend of Cupid begin?

Here's a little mythology lesson for your Valentine's Day!

In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of  love and beauty.  He is the son of goddess Venus (goddess of love) and god Mercury (messenger god), thus making Cupid the messenger of love!

The story is, Cupid's mother Venus became jealous of a princess named Psyche.  Psyche was so beloved by her subjects that they forgot to worship Venus, so Venus ordered Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with the vilest thing in the world. When Cupid saw Psyche, however, he was so overwhelmed by her beauty that he fell in love with her himself.

Cupid began paying visits to Psyche, but he would never reveal himself. But Psyche, with some urging by her sisters, tried to see her lover. She tricked Cupid who became so irate that he left her. Psyche wandered the earth, searching for Cupid. Finally, the god Zeus united her with Cupid and gave them permission to marry. They lived happily ever after, giving birth to a daughter whose name was Voluptas, or Hedone (meaning pleasure). The history of romance has begun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So most of us know what happens during Valentine's Day in the United States - sending cards, Valentine chocolates and candlelit dinners.  But what does the rest of the world do during Valentine's Day?  Below are just a few examples of festivities going on around the world.

Wales - A long-held tradition of giving Welsh Love spoons to ones lover still occurs on Valentine's Day. The wooden spoons are intricately  carved with symbols representing a wide range of emotions intended to convey the givers feelings. Some of the symbol meanings are: Heart - Love, Horseshoe - Good Luck, Celtic Knot - Eternal Love, Twisted Stem - Two Lives Become One and
Birds - Love Birds or Let's Go Away Together.

Japan - The traditional gift given on Valentine's Day in Japan is chocolate, but great care is taken to make sure that the correct type of chocolate is given because there are two types - one suitable for friends and one for lovers.  Giri choco or obligatory chocolate is given by women to their male friends, co-workers and superiors. Honmei choco is chocolate given to the man that a girl is truly interested in or serious about.

Brazil - Brazil does not celebrate Valentine's Day on the 14th of February. Brazilians celebrate the Dia dos Namorados (Day of the Enamored) on June 12th.  The day is is celebrated in colorful style with festivals and dancing. It is also on this day that couples exchange gifts or give flowers and cards to one another.

Mexico - The most prevalent Valentine's Day tradition in Mexico is to exchange gifts in a secret way. The men of Mexico have another special way of showing their affection to the one they love. In the evening, they show up at the home of their girlfriend with a mariachi band or trio of singers who serenade the girl with 2 or 3 romantic songs while standing beneath her window.

10 Ways To Say I Love You

In common languages of the world!

Arabic - Ana behibak (to male)
Arabic - Ana behibek (to female)
Chinese Cantonese - Ngo oiy ney a
Chinese Mandarin - Wo ai ni
French - Je t'aime, Je t'adore
German - Ich liebe dich
Italian - Ti amo
Japanese - Aishiteru or Anata ga daisuki desu
Russian - Ya tebya liubliu
Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo

Need a gift for your sweetie?  Check out all of our Valentine's Day gifts!