Holiday Gifts

Ahhh, summer! The sun is shining well into the evening, the warm breezes are blowing through at night, laundry is drying on the line, and the cold days of winter couldn’t seem further away. With all that in mind, it might seem strange to be thinking about Christmas shopping, especially when there are amusement parks to visit, pools to swim in, and ice cream to eat. But – it’s all those things and more that make summer the ideal time to get a jump start on your holiday planning!

As we all know too well, for all the wonder and merriment the holiday season brings, it can also be an extremely hectic and stressful time. The days are shorter than ever, the weather can make getting around (or even out of the house!) next to impossible, and there are more things to do than most of us can get a grip on. We still have all our usual chores and work to tend to, but added to the list are cooking, baking, gift shopping, shoveling, and more. While you can’t exactly get ahead on some of those things, the shopping is an area where you most certainly can!

Take advantage of the relaxing days ahead by devoting a bit of time to Christmas planning now. Don’t give up a minute of lazily lounging poolside – just take your laptop, smartphone or tablet outside with you and browse around online to get started on your holiday shopping list. Of course, we think our selection of grand Christmas gift baskets is among the best places to start, with options for everyone from your boss to your favorite pet lover! And don’t be afraid to stop at planning your Christmas gifts. You can also start looking for cookie recipes, decorating ideas, party ideas and more. By the time everyone else is in a holiday panic, you’ll have your gifts wrapped or sent, decorations planned or up, and food pantry stocked with all the necessary dinner and baking essentials! Think of it as a gift to yourself.

Have you been fortunate enough to receive an invite to a Memorial Day get-together? We hope you have! For as magical as Christmas is, and as festively fun as Halloween, there’s something special about coming together on holidays that honor the many brave men and women who have made our country the uniquely wonderful and free place it is today.

While many observe Memorial Day’s meaning by visiting cemeteries and memorials, it has increasingly become a day to gather together with family and friends for a relaxing day of eating and simply enjoying each other’s company. Of course, there is always the option of observing Memorial Day both ways, dedicating time to those we have lost as well as those we are blessed to still have with us.

If you will be attending a cookout or indoor Memorial Day celebration this year and are stumped over what to bring along as a hostess gift, we have some affordable options in mind that can be saved for another day, or used right away! Here’s a few of our top selections…

Country Living Blue Ribbon Sweet BBQ Sauce – Richly sweet, smokey and spicy, this generously-sized bottle of barbeque sauce will be the best thing that ever happened to chicken, ribs and more!

Gourmet Popcorn Gift from Colorado Kernels – Gourmet popcorn has never been hotter than it is now, due in large part to the decadent variety of options available, like those found in this popcorn gift set! One of our favorite fellow Colorado businesses, this gift is packed with popped perfection from Colorado Kernels. Flavors include: Caramel, Aspen Gold Toffee and Mile High Pecan. In other words, Yum, Yum and Yum!

Vineyard Cookie Bouquet – Available with your choice of 3, 5, 7, 9 or 12 cookies, these hand-decorated indulgences are more than just pretty – they’re oh-so-delicious! Whipped up in flavors of Honey Vanilla Sugar, Vanilla Sugar, and Lemon Sugar, each is a memorable dessert unto itself. Your host or hostess is sure to hide these away from the kiddos so they can savor every last morsel!

In our last blog post – Building Beautiful Gift Baskets: More Than Meets The Eye! – we gave a tidy breakdown of everything that goes into creating an attractive, memorable gift basket. This includes not only time, skill, patience and passion, but the cost of all the necessary supplies as well.

With Easter on the near horizon, and Easter being possibly the most basket-centered of all holidays, we thought it only fitting to highlight a few Easter gift baskets you might want to consider instead of putting together your own from scratch. Not only will each ensure your loved ones know you’re thinking of them fondly on this special day, but they’ll also get to enjoy an abundance of tempting treats artfully arranged for a truly photo-worthy gift. Plus, you save the time, gas, and frustration of putting together a basket yourself. No worries that the store will be sold out of all the pretty baskets, or the most mouthwatering treats. We stocked up to be sure we have enough! Let’s take a peek at 3 popular Easter gift baskets and treats for every budget…

Gourmet Caramel Apples – $12.99 – These are almost too pretty to eat, but also too delicious not to! Bisket Baskets is proud to offer Amy’s Gourmet Apples, tempting treats from a company that has been serving up the sweetness for over 15 years. An affordable indulgence accented with a shiny, seasonal bow, this jumbo Granny Smith apple is smothered in buttery caramel and rolled in a heavenly sprinkle and peanut mix. Sweet and nutty, the texture and flavor are decadently delightful.

Easter Cookie Care Package – $36.99 – Is the sweet-lover on your list more of a ‘cookie person’ than a ‘candy person’? Make their day even more special with this adorable box of beauties! Each of the truly scrumptious cookies is artfully hand-decorated, making them as tasty as they are attractive. Also included is a snuggly soft plush Easter Bunny that will surely last longer than the cookies do! They can bring him out every year and remember your thoughtful gift.

Happy Easter Gift Basket – $62.99 – This eye-catching Easter gift basket offers up oodles of flavorful fun! Inside the gorgeous woven basket your lucky giftee will find a Bissinger’s Milk Chocolate Bunny, Gourmet Jelly Beans, Hand-decorated Easter cookies, Ghirardelli Squares and more! This Easter gift is also a great choice if you want to send something a whole family can enjoy. They’ll just have to fight over the bunny ears!

When most of us think of romantic gifts, the first things that come to mind include flowers, chocolates, jewelry and weekend getaways. These are all wonderful ideas on their own, but can really make an impact when they are tied together. By their very nature, gift baskets are a tied-together gift, packed with indulgent treats, sweets, eats and more! And whether you’ll be giving them on their own, or incorporating one of the gifts mentioned above, we have some ideas to make the occasion even more memorable and special. Let’s take a look at a few popular choices for events that center around romance…

Valentine’s Day Gift Baskets – Ahh, the holiday of love! Cupid is working overtime on arrow duty, and couples everywhere are enjoying some much-needed quality time together to focus on one another and how important their relationship is in their lives. Just as no two relationships are identical, neither are the Valentine’s Day gift baskets that would be perfect for your lovely lady or gentleman. Our selection includes awesome options for all tastes, whether your cutie loves cookies, candy, champagne or roses!

Bridesmaid Gift Baskets – While your friendship with your bridesmaids isn’t romantic unto itself, it’s likely these special ladies in your life are more familiar with your relationship than anyone else! The bond we share with our closest girlfriends in unlike any other in our lives. Many if not all of your bridesmaids have been with you through thick and thin – an eager ear on the other end of the phone to hear about every aspect of your relationship from the first date to the ring! Honor that priceless friendship with a beautiful bridesmaid gift basket you know she’ll love. Chances are different baskets will appeal to different friends, so it’s a good thing we have such a spectacular selection!

Grand Champagne Gift Basket – Perfect for popping the question! Whether you’re planning to propose at home, or while away together on vacation, our Grand Champagne Gift Basket helps you set the mood while providing all the necessary celebration essentials. If you will be surprising that special someone with a trip, consider gifting this beforehand and tucking the travel tickets or accommodations information inside for them to unveil. You can then suggest you bring the basket along to enjoy while you’re away, and either tuck the ring inside for them to find, or simply keep it close by when you do propose so champagne is at the ready!

Colorado is known for its beautiful mountains, falls, and lakes. And beyond all of those great things there is so much more to see and explore – just as there is in love! To prep yourself or a loved one for their trip to Colorado, treat them with one of our great Colorado gift baskets from BisketBaskets.com. This can also be a wonderful way of letting your special someone know you have a fun and exciting Valentine’s Day trip planned. Here are our top 5 favorite places to visit in Colorado:

– Denver, the state capital, is known as the mile high city. Filled with museums, shopping and outdoor activities, there is something for the entire family to enjoy if you’ll be bringing the kids along!

– Parker is a self-declared town, which makes it the 2nd most populous town in the United States. Parker is known as a commuter town at the southeastern most point of Denver. Also, Bisket Baskets stems from this great town. Our Colorado gift baskets are made and designed by true Coloradans!

– Aspen is a great place to visit for the avid skier, as it sits on the Rockies. Also a great place for shopping and other outdoor recreation. Overall, a well-known tourist attraction that deserves its popularity.

– Telluride is home to many film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival and other festivals held during the year. Also another tourist attraction for skiing and winter sports.

– Boulder is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains and also houses film festivals. Boulder is a great place to explore, shop, hike or bike. Also houses some beautiful views of the mountains!

Colorado gift baskets are great for people who live in Colorado, enjoy the state, or will be visiting it and falling in love with it soon!

If there are two resolutions that are heard most often throughout New Year’s eve, they are “I’m going to lose weight” or “I’m going to eat healthier.” This can sometimes be difficult, of course, due largely to the fact that we all have extremely busy lives and schedules. So why not get that person pursuing this new lifestyle a Healthy Family Meals Gift Basket from us?

This gift is perfect for someone trying to keep their resolution! With a fantastic selection of meals, including chili, veggie rainbow pasta, healthy chicken and dumplings, and roasted corn chowder, they’ll have tasty treats that are nutritious and delicious for the whole family!

In addition to the scrumptious meals included in this basket, there are delightful desserts included, too! Healthy sugar cookies, amaretto cheesecake cheeseball dessert mix, and a delectable chocolate pastry to eat after your healthy meal. Who wouldn’t want this delicious gift basket to kick off their new year the right way?

Want to shop our Healthy Family Meals Gift Basket or other family-oriented baskets? Visit us today at BisketBaskets.com!

Celebrate New Year’s with some new traditions!

We all enjoy celebrating the New Year in our own way. With all the traditions out there that people incorporate into their celebrations, we wonder: what are the most popular? Bisket Baskets and more have compiled a list of the most popular New Year traditions, as well as perhaps incorporating one of our holiday gift baskets, so you can practice them the way you want!

• A fireworks display
• Throwing a quarter into the middle of the floor for good luck
• Resolutions
• Champagne
• Kissing at midnight
• Singing the traditional New Year’s song, “Auld Lang Syne”
• Many different types of food
• Not leaving the house on New Year’s Day
• Stocking your cupboards
• Carrying someone through the threshold (also known as “First Footer”)
• Not breaking anything in your house; this includes glasses, plates, any electronics, etc.
• Not washing your clothes on New Year’s Day, for fear of “washing” a family member out of your life
• Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, you must clean the stables of your barn for fear of witches putting a spell on your livestock.
• Eating black eyed peas will bring you luck

Have more New Year’s traditions/superstitions? Leave us a comment below!

We all have the friends who treat their pets as their children – you know, where Baxter has an actual seat at the dinner table and a whole other twin bed just for him. If you are pondering what to get them for this holiday season, we are here to the gifting rescue to give you our top 5 gifts for the dog lover in your life. Perhaps you’d even like to treat the pup with one of our dog gift baskets?  Of course! Check out our top 5 gift picks that make great matches with your dog gift basket:

We hope this helps when deciding what to get for the pooch lover on your holiday gift list. We know both dog and owner will be putting two paws (er, thumbs) up for dog gift baskets from BisketBaskets.com!

As I relax here on Thanksgiving night in my favorite chair with a tummy full of terrific food, I find myself browsing online to see which stores will be offering Black Friday specials on their sites. I am not one to spend hours in line to score some savings, though I know many people who are! But – as long as I’ll be awake anyway, watching holiday movies and just generally soaking up the goodness of the day, I thought it could be fun to get some great online buys. Much to my surprise, I found that I’m late to the game!

While some stores are sticking to their 12am, Friday schedule, many began their Black Friday sales days ago. And while it looks as though I’ve missed out on some sales I would have been happy to take advantage of, I must admit I’m even happier that I didn’t know about them. The past few days for me have been full of food shopping, slow cooking, catching up with family and friends, and lazy cups of coffee. In short, I wish more days were like them. Surrounded by good people, good eats, and some much-appreciated time to relax, life has been…well…good! And I’m grateful that goodness wasn’t compromised by taking time out to track every early Black Friday sale, inevitably taking the focus off this most special holiday. Because let’s face it – once you start, it’s hard to stop!

If you enjoy the thrill of the Black Friday hunt, I hope you’ve been having a great time this week and are primed for even more awesomeness later tonight! And if you’re like me, and are trying your best not to let the temptation of limited time prices and limited quantity items rob you of sleep and sanity, I hope you’ll consider our Christmas gift baskets when you do decide to shop. In fact, I think one of the things I love best about gift baskets is that they allow you to gift something wonderful without all the rush. You can shop on your own time, browse at your own pace, and send something to someone special that is slightly indulgent, impressive in appearance, and importantly, fun to receive! After all, in the Christmas season especially, more mail than we’d like turns out to be bills. And a gorgeous Christmas gift basket beats bills any day of the week – not just Black Friday.

If you’re among the many people who will be trekking across many miles to spend Thanksgiving with your family, you’re keenly aware of how stressful many elements of this journey can be. There’s time away from work to schedule, clothing to pack, plane or train tickets or gas to purchase, and pets to prepare for the trip or prepare for a sitter. And that doesn’t even touch on the time involved in getting from Point A to Point B when it seems everyone else in the country is taking the exact same route you are! It’s no wonder most of us end up picking out little presents in the airport or shops along the way instead of shopping ahead of time.

The trouble with these last-minute gifts is that it’s usually not too tricky to determine that last-minute is exactly what they are. As we’re already struggling with luggage and a small amount of space, we’re restricted to tiny items we can easily fit in our bag. In addition to this, there is a limited selection and limited time – a dangerous combination that can lead to pocket-sized flashlights, key chains and gum! We have a better idea that is not only a much more desirable gift, but also saves you from the added frustration during an already impossibly busy time – Thanksgiving gift baskets.

Within our extensive selection of Fall and Thanksgiving gift baskets you’re sure to find the perfect something special for your friends or family. And – you can order it to arrive a day or two ahead of you! Imagine your loved ones’ surprise when they receive a gorgeous fall gift basket days before the turkey hits the oven, rather than a hurriedly-wrapped ballpoint pen set with the price tag still stuck to the bottom. Not only will they enjoy a fantastic gift, but they might finally believe you when you say you’re growing up! That said, we can’t guarantee you won’t still be at the ‘kid table’ this year, no matter how old you may be.