Occasions

We can’t help but chuckle a bit over the anonymous quote, “Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.” We know you love your family and your friends-who-feel-like-family, and you’re glad you’re inviting them to your wedding. If they live out of town, you want to welcome them in and show how excited you are. Thoughtful gifts, like Wedding Gift Baskets For Out Of Town Guests, welcome them in with style and get your guests even more excited for your wedding and glad they could make the trip! Here’s some great ways to welcome those special out of town guests to your wedding:

Personalized welcome card – Doesn’t it always feel special to receive a hand-written letter or card? Ask the hotel to place a personalized “welcome” card in each of the hotel rooms for your wedding. Simply choose a blank greeting card and fill it with a message welcoming your guests to the wedding, thanking them for making the trip, and showing your excitement for the wedding festivities ahead.

Photo Memories – We love that warm, sentimental feeling we get when we just so happen to come across a photo of the friends and family we love. Look for photos of your out of town guests, and once you find a photo for each guest room, simply tape it to a blank piece of paper and write a thoughtful message, such as “We love you, thank you for sharing in our day!” on each. Then, place in each guest room.

Delicious bottle of wine – Visit a local winery or liquor store and look for small, affordable bottles of wine – perhaps 750 ml bottles at around $10 each, and include one bottle in each of your own of town guest rooms. Tie a ribbon around the stem in your wedding colors to add a personalized touch to your gift of wine.

Wedding Gift Baskets – Wedding gift baskets for out of town guests are another beautiful way to thank your guests for spending hours in the car or plane to be a part of your magical day. Select a wedding gift basket for each out of town guest room, such as our Ghirardelli Chocolate & Cookie Tower, to give them some so scrumptious sweets and treats to nosh on before your wedding and after all that dancing at your reception!

You’re on the verge of having a spectacular wedding surrounded by the friends and family who mean the world to you. Show your out of town wedding guests just how excited you are for them to be at your wedding with meaningful accents, such as welcome cards and a bottle of wine, as well as wedding gift baskets, in their room. They will be so touched that you thought of them, only adding to the warmth and splendor of your wedding day.

Love ‘em or loath ‘em, bridal shower games are an absolute tradition at bridal showers, along with bridesmaids creating bridesmaid gift baskets for the guests to win! Could you really envision a bridal shower without playing bridal shower bingo or competing for the best toilet paper wedding dress designs? We didn’t think so. Here’s a few of our favorite bridal shower games – sure, we’ve played them time and time again, but a bridal shower wouldn’t be complete without them!

• The Clothespin Game – Each guest receives a clothespin when she walks in, with instructions that if she crosses her legs, her clothespin can be “stealed” by another guest. The guest with the most “stolen” clothespins wins a bridal shower gift basket!

• Bridal Shower Bingo – Just like regular bingo, but instead of numbers, think “wedding” lingo – “rings”, “vows”, “bouquet”, “honeymoon”, and etc.

• Wedding Trivia – The bride asks the guests about ten or so questions about herself and the groom-to-be. The guest with the most correct answers wins a bridesmaid gift basket!

• Toilet Paper Wedding Dress – Separate your guests into teams, and give each team a roll of toilet paper. Each team will designate its own “bride” and create her wedding dress out of toilet paper! The real bride-to-be will judge the winner.

• Changing Gifts – Create two sets of the same group of numbers. Give each guest a number, and pour the other set of numbers into a basket. Have the bride randomly select numbers, and when that guest’s number comes up, she can choose a fun prize. When the next person’s number is called, they can either choose a new gift, or “steal” the gift from the previous winner. “Stealing” should be encouraged to build up some playful banter and keep this game going!

Now onto the gifts! Bridesmaid gift baskets have become so popular as bridal shower game prizes. You’re already busy enough planning the shower and getting ready for the wedding, so simply order from us! They’re jam packed with chocolates, tea, cosmopolitan drink mixes, cookies, and more, and we’ve kept our prices low so you can choose a few bridesmaid gift baskets for your guests.

If you’ve created a bridal shower gift basket on your own before, you know it isn’t cheap to buy the basket, cellophane, ribbons, and gourmet goodies. Our business pricing allows us to purchase the best of the best at lower prices, and coupled with our thirteen years in the gift baskets business, let us create the most beautiful bridesmaid gift baskets for you! Here’s to a fun bridal shower – share your favorite bridal shower games and prizes by leaving a comment!

Thanksgiving is less than a month away! It’s time to start planning your Thanksgiving dinner, but before you get overwhelmed, we have a checklist of the items you can prepare a week ahead of time so that you’re not in a mad rush once the big day comes.

Must Do’s A Week or Two Before the Big Day

• -Write out the menu and a shopping list, so you don’t miss an ingredient.
• -Also, while you’re at it, write out a cooking schedule and time table so you know what you can make ahead, what can be frozen, and what can be made at the last minute.
• -Set the table! Use the time you have to get those dishes ready before you have to worry about making your dining room table look its best. Just add a centerpiece on the day of.
• -Get all of the right serving dishes. Don’t get caught without enough serving ware!
• -Decide how you’ll cook the turkey and make a timetable for defrosting and cooking so that your guests aren’t kept waiting for the delicious feast on Thanksgiving Day!

Once you’re feeling more prepared, you can start tackling the must’s on a Thanksgiving grocery store shopping list. At BisketBaskets.com, we make sure that the following are always on our list:

• 12 to 14 pound turkey
• garlic
• yellow onions
• carrots
• Yukon gold potatoes
• sweet potatoes
• celery
• green beans
• chicken broth
• fresh cranberries
• Cortland apples
• Granny Smith apples
• lemons
• butter
• heavy cream
• Fresh bread (for stuffing)
• Plenty of spices, including parsley, thyme, rosemary, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

With these ingredients on hand (and the rest of your pantry), you should be able to tackle just about any Thanksgiving recipe, including a few of these make ahead dishes that are sure to save you time. But don’t worry – they don’t sacrifice on taste!

Cranberry Relish
1 pound of fresh cranberries, sorted, rinsed, and drained
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 oranges, peeled and sliced

Hey Dad, do you need some help with Mother’s Day?

If you’re looking to help your child select the perfect Mother’s Day present for that special woman in your life, BisketBaskets.com has a few tips. Our selection of beautiful Mother’s Day Gift Baskets is perfect for shopping when you need to find the right gift for Mom, plus, there are tons of great ways you can personalize your Mother’s Day Gift Basket so that Mom knows just how much you both care. Shop the selection of Mother’s Day Gift Baskets to get started and once you have your gift, it’s time to make a special, personalized Mother’s Day card with your child.

So what do you need for a homemade Mother’s Day card? Well, for starters, you’re going to have to be creative.

You’ll need:

• Paper
• Glue
• Markers or crayons
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Felt
• Glitter

First, take a sheet of paper and fold it in half so that it makes a card shape. Then, using other colored papers, cut out letters to spell out Happy Mother’s Day. Or, if you’d prefer, you can use your favorite markers and crayons to write it out. Then, accent the letters with glitter and glue to add just the right amount of sparkle. Let dry.

On the inside of your card, feel free to write a note to Mom letting her know just how much you care and appreciate all of the things she does for you. Or, you can always include a special Mother’s Day poem or saying, like:  “Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn, Hundreds of bees in the purple clover, Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn, But only one mother the wide world over.” – George Cooper. Use your crayons and markers to write out your note or to decorate the interior. Also play with felt shapes, ribbon, and glitter to complete the interior and make the card look even better.

Finally, on the back, write your child’s name and the date so that the card will always be remembered for many Mother’s Days to come!

Now is the time of school spring breaks and many of us are traveling the country and some even the world looking for that special relaxing location that lets us get away from it all.  White sandy beaches in the Caribbean with temperatures in the upper 80’s are just what the doctor ordered after a long cold winter; while for others it’s that last trip to the Rockies to get in some final skiing of the season.  With BisketBaskets.com being located just outside of Denver Colorado, we know all about the latter!  We are always bathed in bright warm sunshine here but the snow seems to not want to let go in April either so among beautiful 70’s and 80’s we get that gentle reminder that it’s not summer yet with a fresh coating of white snow every now and then.  

Many of us hit the condos and hotels directly on the ocean or tucked away in the mountains while still others are fortunate to have family and friends in all the right locations!  Be sure you let them know just how much you appreciate their hospitality by sending them a very delicious thank you gift basket.  We send a lot of thank you gifts during the spring break season to thank people for sharing their home and putting up with them for the week’s break but we send even more to the family dog and cat that have shared their backyard or litter box!  So if you’re wondering what would be a great thank you for your hospitality gift; look no further as we have a vast assortment of thank you gifts that would be perfect for recipients of any age.  We offer sweet candy bouquets made with only the most awesome candy like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or M&M’s and even Skittles or how about a festive cookie bouquet or pet gift baskets along with the traditional gourmet food gift baskets that everyone just loves!  You can select from chocolate gifts, tea baskets, soup baskets, wine themed gift baskets and so much more.  Drop on by and take a look at what we can send to that great bunch of people you just shared their place with. 

We ship throughout the USA and Canada so there is no need to leave anyone out and our ground shipping delivers to about 75% of the USA in just 3 business days!  Say THANK YOU today and let us know your favorite spring travel destination!

Where is your favorite spring break location?

Mother’s Day is coming up fast. In fact, it’s only a month away now!

Instead of waiting until there’s less than a week left before the holiday, now is the time to start thinking about what to get that special woman in your life. You can’t just get her another cookie-cutter card and gift certificate. It’s important to actually find a gift that that reflects her personality.

To help you find the perfect gift for your Mom, grandma, or another special woman in your life, BisketBaskets.com has these top Mother’s Day Gift Baskets for every personality type:

The Super Mom

She’s picking kids up, running to meetings, tackling the mess in the living room, and always ready with dinner by six. This multi-tasking superwoman needs some rest and relaxation. Make her Mother’s Day by hiring a babysitter, sending her to a delicious dinner, and then welcoming her back home with a Mother’s Day Gift Basket that’s full of spa products to help her rejuvenate and eliminate all of the stress.

The Explorer

This daring woman loves to take on challenges. She loves to travel the world, but when she can’t be in another country, you’ll always find her out in the yard gardening or out on a hike. Keep this active lady satisfied by sending her a bouquet of exotic fresh flowers, or this great Gardening Gift Basket from BisketBaskets.com.

The Foodie
She’s a domestic diva who loves to entertain, cook, and tune into all of the best culinary competition shows. She loves crafts, fine wine, and a taste of something exciting. This Mother’s Day, give her some gourmet foods and treats that she’ll absolutely adore by choosing a Gourmet Mother’s Day Gift Basket from BisketBaskets.com. Filled with decadent foods that we’ve taste tested and approved, these gifts are sure to be a hit on the special day!

In our previous posts, we talked a lot about Irish folklore, the origins of St. Patrick’s Day, and how we love to celebrate here in the United States with green beer. But how about the real differences between the celebrations both in the United States in in Ireland? Let’s take a closer look on how both countries celebrate this special day.
In Ireland
St. Patrick’s Day is considered to be the National Holiday of the country and is widely celebrated throughout the nation. Parades, feasts, and festivals are all part of the St. Patrick’s Day celebration and in many cases, festivals go on all week long celebrating Irish culture and history. Many Irish speakers are brought in to educate others on traditional Irish culture through participation in events throughout the country. Also, like in other parts of the world, parades as well as the wearing of shamrocks and green clothing are widely practiced. For the church in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is regarded as an official church holiday by both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Church, honored through religious masses, rituals, and feasts.

In the United States
For the US, St. Patrick’s Day is a time of celebration and of course, parades. Some of the nation’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parades include the ones in Savannah, Georgia, New York City, New York, and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Wearing green, dyeing public fountains and bodies of water green, decorating with shamrocks, and drinking green beer are often part of the celebrations that occur throughout the nation. However, unlike Irish celebrations of the holiday, St. Patrick’s Day in the US is not as heavily regarded as a religious. Both Irish and non-Irish peoples tend to celebrate this occasion through the nation.

We can all feel the excitement growing as Halloween is over and the pumpkins have faded away into cooking pots everywhere.  Making homemade pumpkin pies is tradition in our household because they are so easy to make for Thanksgiving dinner.  Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be complete so if you still have a pumpkin or two hanging around here is an awesome Homemade Fresh Pumpkin Pie recipe that is easy to make and bake from scratch!

Thanksgiving at our home is always filled with friends, family and a lot of laughter.  Getting the whole family together begins the time of sharing of stories and of times past.  We seem to always start out by reflecting on those carefree days and times of stress and struggle.  Before too long, the conversation inevitably changes to “remember when we did…”  (I know right now your chuckling)!  It is amazing how many times as siblings we share experiences at Thanksgiving that our parents just never knew about and many times it comes with the gasp and the sigh of “Ohhhhhh” as the final piece of the puzzle falls into place after many years of wondering!  At the end of the day our bellies are full, our laughter is hardy, our smiles are radiant and our friends are plentiful. 

Each year our invited guests always seem to bring a gift to thank us for our hospitality.  Be it a bottle of fine wine to enjoy with dinner or a basket of fresh fruit or even a festive gift basket.  BisketBaskets.com can help you with your hospitality gifts as well.  We offer great gift baskets filled with delicious sweets and treats and even an adorable cookie bouquet with pumpkin, oak leaves and Indian corn shaped cookies suitable for a table centerpiece.  Let us know how we can help you make this Thanksgiving special. 

With Thanksgiving being a time to be thankful for all that we have it is only fitting that we say thank you to you our customers and to wish you all very safe travel as you go to and from your family and friends homes this holiday season.

Thanksgiving will be here before you know it and families just like yours will be gathering around their tables to celebrate. This year, as you plan your menu, remember that your family traditions aren’t the only ones being celebrated on that special day. In fact, the foods on your table may be totally different than those on your neighbor’s table or a family member’s across the country. Let’s take a closer look at favorite Thanksgiving foods and how they’re different around the nation.

First of all, at the first Thanksgiving Dinner, there probably wasn’t stuffing or pumpkin pie. While no one knows what was on the menu on that special day, we do think that people probably ate simple foods like goose, duck, fish, green salad, grapes, plums, or corn. Today however, that menu has changed to foods that range from candied yams to tofurkey, but here are a few foods that have stayed classic:

Turkey

Most of the time, this Thanksgiving headliner is served up roasted, grilled, deep fried, or smoked, but sometimes, that’s not the only thing on the menu. Some families even opt for roast beef, ham, crab or lobster, or even a tofu turkey or stuffed pumpkin in lieu of this poultry favorite.

Stuffing

Depending on the area you live in, you’ll find stuffing recipes that are infused with local flavor and favorite ingredients. Traditional turkey stuffing is usually kept simple with sage, thyme, celery, and onions, however, other families around the nation will use sausage, bacon, apples, pancetta, dried fruit, nuts, pumpkin, or even oysters!

The Sides

Mashed potatoes, corn, butternut squash, macaroni and cheese, candied yams or sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, carrots, salad, rolls, and broccoli can be found on tons of tables this season, however, down south, you may find that black eye peas, okra, greens, dumplings, and hominy are on the menu!

Desserts

Depending on the region you live in, you’ll probably find pies filled with delicious local ingredients like New England cranberries, Southern pecans, apples, sweet potatoes, pears or other yummy fruits and nuts. Remember, when it comes to dessert, the sky is the limit!

Back to school season is here and as you prepare to treat your kids to one last outing, consider taking them on a fun family picnic! August is National Picnic Month and this week is the perfect time to get in one last family trip before the school year starts, but don’t worry, you won’t have to go far to enjoy the fun!

Family picnics can be a great way to enjoy some quality time with your kids before they start to worry about soccer practice, homework, and class schedules. All it takes is just a few hours of free time, a comfy blanket, and the perfect picnic basket filled with tons of delicious treats. Whether it’s Mom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies, some fresh apples, or Dad’s famous ham sandwich, your picnic basket has to be filled with yummy goodness to enjoy.

Ready to take to your local park for a day out? Try packing up the car with some blankets, a board game or two, and a tasty Caramel Apples Basket from BisketBaskets.com. While it may not have all the fixings for a great picnic, it can be the perfect way to end your perfect day. Filled with apples, caramel dip, honey toasted peanuts, and a fruit medley, this picnic basket from BisketBaskets.com is sure to delight your family on the last picnic of the summer. So get out already and enjoy it before it’s too late!