Impossible to imagine that school is almost starting since August has already came. Summer goes quick. Kids are back in college and for me it is hardest to say goodbye to the young adults who are my neighbors who are going back to college. It was so enjoyable 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 neighbor is making up little gift bags for each kid with cookies and goodies from the supermarket to assist 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 appear to be enough. Then I started adding up the cost because I knew I needed to go buy 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 bit homesick and this is the nicest thing I can do for them and probably more for their parents. Shoving the things in the bucket is alright and it gets the job done. After making two of the buckets best friend suggested I look at Snack Attack Gift Basket. She shared with me this after she was surprised 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 stuffed with products from Colorado. After checking out the website of Baskets by Rita I do not dare tell my spouse that I actually might have sent a Colorado crate for the same price or even less expensive than I spent on my own. http://www.basketsbyrita.com
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Care Package
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Beer Birthday Baskets
Guys are SO tough to buy gift items for. Last year I totally felt like a ditz and was fearful when I went into a hardware store. It seemed like a terrific birthday gift idea for him, but I ended up spending lots more than I'd planned. Most of the stuff is on the garage worktable unopened. Don't know why I didn't think of a beer basket sooner--it will be used, that's for sure. Plus having it delivered to his office will let everybody know it's his birthday. When I found this website that had Hats Off Appreciation Gift Basket Our unique appreciation gift has a black top hat filled with an assortment of sweet and savory goodies. This thank you gift is a perfect way to tell staff, customers and friends how much you appreciate them. The black, white and gold theme gives this gift a very classy look. Perfect for Congratulations, Thank you, Graduation, or a celebration gift. it had a great assortment of gifts that really targeted my guy. Solved all my problems--why didn't I think of this before? http://www.basketsbyrita.com
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
A great way to Tell Your Staff Thank You
It appears as though the art of giving thanks has been lost over the years. Posting a hand written thank you note used to be conventional for both professional and personal occasions, but now the majority of people believe it's enough to quickly type up an email with a short "thanks" before getting back to their busy day to day lives. Now don't take this the wrong way. I understand that the world is quite a bit faster paced than it used to be and many people barely have a second to sit and catch a break, but if you think about it, that merely gives you all the more reason to send a sincere thank you. Given that we've become less accustomed to getting a suitable thank you, it makes a much greater impact when we do receive one. It genuinely is a lovely surprise to see that someone went out of their way to say "thanks." I haven't even mentioned the influence it can leave on your business. By simply taking a moment to write a personalized thank you, you are able to express to your customer how valuable their business is to you. By developing personal friendships with your customers, you are ensuring their confidence and giving them a reason to do business with you as opposed to your competition. If I still haven't convinced you that delivering a thank you gift or note is worth the effort, why don't you consider sending something that takes virtually no time at all? Sending flowers or a gift basket from an online store takes about as long as sending an email, but sends a much more significant message. Gift like Godiva Treats Basket Do you want to say thank you? This mini purse thank you gift comes in assorted colors and is wrapped in cello then tied with a bow and topped with a small metallic thank you balloon. A perfect way to say thank you to all the woman in your life. Great for Administrative Professional's Day and Mother's day! Filled with both a milk and dark Godiva chocolate bar, honey cinnamon almonds, Jelly Belly candy, Cookies, a box of Boulder berry tea, caramel corn, pecan chocolate turtles, pretzels and two chocolate truffles. Forget all objections and practice some good old fashioned courtesy the next time you have the opportunity to say thank you. Baskets By Rita is one internet site that offers a good array of gift baskets for any occasion. (Insert database). Thanks for listening! To give someone the hint or pass on this excellent advice, repost this blog on Facebook or Twitter!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
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.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Great Ways To Say Thanks To Mom
Mother's Day as we know it is a more or less recent holiday, though it is not really a Hallmark holiday designed to sell more cards. There are a number of Mothering day or Mother-focused holidays in history which includes Mothering Day in the UK, Cybele in ancient Greece, or Mothering Sunday in much of Europe. Mother's Day was invented by Anna Jarvis in 1912. Mother's day was especially chosen to be a singular possessive meaning it was intended for each family to remember their mother, not plural possessive that would be used to honor all the mothers of the world. Following congressional passage, It was officially identified on May 9, 1914 when president Woodrow Wilson made the official report proclaiming Mother's day as a national holiday to be celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May. Mother's Day has eventually celebrated in many other countries and cultures. In many cases, the date was changed to fit existing celebrations or to assort with with a significant date in which the majority are based on religion. Consequently, Mothers Day is celebrated in February in Norway and on December 22nd in Indonesia, with other dates in between celebrated by other countries and cultures. One of the traditions of Mother's Day is to give your mom a gift along with good wishes as a way to honor her. If you live close by (and are seeing your mom regularly!) you no doubt have a fine idea what to get her. On the flip side, those of us that don't live close by can be at a complete loss. Consider the interests Mom enjoys a perhaps send her a gift with that theme. Gift baskets are outstanding when it comes to gifts with a theme. If your mom plays golf there are golf themed gift baskets. Perhaps she is into tea and relaxation then look for a nice tea baskets or a relaxing spa basket. Maybe she likes fine wine and you know she favors red wine or white wine or even champagne. There are lots of great wine gift baskets to select from that feature wine so that would make a appropriate Mother's day basket. The possibilities are many and what a gift baskets does, is give you a nice variety of goodies that she will delight in with the theme she will appreciate. Rather than sending kitchen gadgets yet again this year, you could consider a The Thank-Full Gift Basket. 1 We feel a gift basket should be a masterpiece for the art of appreciation. You'll give a fun message of gratitude in every delectable way imaginable with:Starbucks house blend ground coffee, Starbucks bottled cappuccino, roasted salted nuts, natural hickory smoked beef summer sausage, Shortbread thank you cookies, caramel popcorn, wine flavored cheddar cheese, crackers, chocolate bar, gourmet snack mix and candies. Another thing to think about here is the useful factor. What I mean by this is lots of of the gifts that you give your mom are either unessential or something she will never us. So, consider something green, useful and best of all reusable. The green and reusable is the container which could be a reusable basket or perhaps a 100% recycled reusable shopping bag. The useful is the great gourmet foods or the high quality lotions and soaps in the basket. Why not send her something unique and amazing this Mother's day! Even if you live far away or right down the street these gifts can be delivered. Happy Mother's Day! If you like what you have read here please follow us on Facebook and Twitter. http://www.basketsbyrita.com http://www.basketsbyrita.com/The-Thank-Full-Gift-Basket_p_23.html
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Fruit and Cheese Gift For Easter
Bunny Tales Have you ever wondered where the story of the Easter Bunny comes from? I mean really, do the Easter Bunny and eggs really say anything about Jesus's resurrection? The answer is no. The history of the Easter Bunny started in the 13th century and originates from pre-Christian Germany. The pagan people of the time period worshipped numerous gods and goddesses. The goddess of spring and fertility was named Eostra, which is where the name Easter comes from. As most people know, spring is the season of new birth. Because of this, Eostra's representation was the rabbit. The rabbit indicated fertility due to the fact that rabbits are well renowned for their large rate of breeding. In time, this image of Eostra brought about other myths and in the 1500s, the first tale of the Easter Bunny was published. Now since you know where the Easter Bunny originates from you are almost certainly thinking about the origin of the eggs. Eggs have been a sign of fertility for hundreds of years and were likely included in early pagan festivals of spring. As Christianity became more widespread in Europe and in Germany, ancient pagan ceremonies began to mesh with new Christian holidays. Currently, we say that Easter eggs represent Jesus's resurrection. Over time the Easter Bunny myth developed yet further and grew to become what we know it as today. Comparable to the fable of Santa Clause, German families would convince their children that if they were well behaved the Easter Bunny would come and lay eggs that that could be traded for sweets and other treats. People began the tradition of creating nests for the eggs and these nests gradually transformed into the bright colored Easter baskets which we have these days. The legend of the Easter Bunny first reached the USA in the 1700s when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania. Nowadays, this Easter custom is a significant piece of our traditions along with plenty of other traditions which come from the countries of origin of our immigrant forefathers. If you'd like to take the role of the Bunny this year, purchase a gift such as our Monet's Fruit and Cheese Basket for people you love. Baskets By Rita has numerous Easter baskets to choose between and is providing 10% off all Easter gift baskets for the month of March. Imagine sunshine bathing a meadow near a seaside town in the old country…a beautiful bounty — available this time of year — and any time of year… This fruit and cheese basket has pleased palettes since the days of early impressionist painting. Our split willow and rope weave basket is a treasure trove of fruit, cheeses, crackers, and world-class chocolates and nuts. Picked at the peak of perfection, our fruits are the very best of the season with hand-picked and delectable cheeses selected from dedicated cheese makers— a perfect symphony of the healthiest foods that celebrate life, friendship, wellness, and express the timeless desire to share the best life has to offer. http://www.basketsbyrita.com