Grenville Station Gifts, Gift baskets and Fresh Flowers Blog

The Perfect Halloween Office Party

Fall is that time of year when everyone, at home and at work, are planning the holiday season. Many companies plan a holiday office party. Usually this is in late November or early December. Often a company will overlook Halloween, except to allow employees the opportunity to dress up on Oct 31st. They miss out on the perfect opportunity to create extra excitement in their employee’s often boring work life.  A Halloween office party is the perfect opportunity to spice up the otherwise dull Autumn. The fall foliage may be beautiful, but the cold and rainy weather can be a tad depressing. If your company needs an excuse to party, Halloween may do the trick!

Halloween Gift Baskets Now Online!

Autumn officially began yesterday but it’s been hiding around the corner for weeks. The sun is going down in the night sky earlier each day, and there is a definite chill in the morning air. If you visit Wal-Mart or other major retailers, their halloween stock is already on the shelves. Halloween began back in July here at Grenville Station when our suppliers presented us with the Fall ’08 inventory. We think that this year is our best Halloween designs ever! The mummy and witch standing over my shoulder are making me say that…get help! If you have someone special to send a Halloween gift to – whether it be a long distance friend or relative, or employees or best customers – GrenvilleStation.com will make you look so good it’s spooky!

Corporate Halloween Gifting

It is very common in corporations today to send holiday gift baskets. Although generically referred to as holiday gifts, what is really meant is Christmas gift baskets. It is natural for gift giving to spill over from the personal to the business side of relationships. Businesses start gearing down in anticipation of the extended time off. Everyone is in ‘holiday mode’ the 2nd and 3rd weeks of December.

A small yet substantial segment of the business community takes advantage of opportunities in the business cycle to exploit heighten marketing sensitivities. The smart marketer knows that people start preparing for the holidays immediately after labour day. Corporations start brainstorming on what they will be doing ‘in the new year’. They’ve forgotten to focus on the remainder of the current year.

A major part of business gifting is to reward employees for hard work, remind suppliers of your appreciation for their support throughout the year and thank/encourage past customers that you value their past purchases of your products or services and sincerely value their future consideration. While December is a great time to send a holiday gift, October is the perfect opportunity to leap frog ahead of your competition and get in front of your customers by sending them a Halloween gift basket.

Back to School at GrenvilleStation.com

This morning the kids were skipping off to school past our offices, the first day of the year. Many were excited while many disappointed. It was hot and sunny, like the middle of July. I think the weather wasn’t informed that it’s time to cool down and starting turning the leaves. The first day of school is the unofficial start of our holiday prepping. It actually begins in late June, but we never *feel* like it’s the start of holiday prep time until now.  Even though many tasks are accomplished beforehand, it’s hard to think of Halloween and Christmas until school is back in session.

And now the real fun begins…stay tuned!

Get well my friends, winter flu season is coming…

Most people (in North America at least) are enjoying the beautiful weather. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the days are longer and kids are playing ball hockey in the streets. Flu season is as far away as possible. I pity those who catch colds and the flu in the middle of summer. It’s bad enough to get it when it’s cold and dreary out but when everyone is at the beach enjoying the sand and surf, these people are sick in bed trying to get better…before winter! If you have a special friend or family member like this, check out our get well gift baskets category page for great gifting ideas. There are great ideas for any type of recipient – the kind who thinks it’s the end of the world and needs a bit of cheering up and the kind who are enjoying the time off from a difficult job that they don’t like to think still exists. Few individuals will ever expect to receive a gift basket in the middle of the summer. Unique get well gifts can have a much bigger impact during the recipient’s weak moments than a gift at Christmas time or even their birthday!

Christmas in July?

It’s Christmas in July! Okay it’s not… but it should be! In fact it’s a tradition that I think I’ll start in my household. I’ll get one of those blow-up palm trees and decorate it with leis and other flowers. The gifts will be much different than Christmas. There will be bathing suits, pool toys and water guns. There will be no poinsettias or mistletoe. In their place will be bouquets of vibrant coloured flowers. Dinner will be glazed ham and pineapples. Instead of setting out milk and cookies for Santa before the kids head to bed, we’ll set out fresh fruit and a pitcher (or two!) of margaritas! Hmm…I’m going to have to think of a way to keep the kids occupied while Mommy and Daddy sleep in!

Halloween…just around the corner?

Here it is, the 6^th of July, and it’s a beautiful sunny 29 degree day (that’s 84 degrees for our American friends). I’m trying desperately to focus on business but the sound of my young daughter playing with one of her friends is providing a major distraction. One might be tempted to give up trying to work on such a fine day and simply join the kids for a popsicle, but I can’t. Halloween is a mere three months away and I’ve got plenty of planning to do!

For those Dads who have heavy feet…

“You don’t truly understand something unless you can explain it to your ‘grandmother’”.  Einstein alledgedly said this.  I believe it holds true for most topics, including NASCAR racing.  I’ve asked several friends who claim to understand it but could not explain it to me.  At least not very well.  I think they just like to see cars driving fast.  Moving billboards, er, I mean race cars, driving at tops speeds until one guy (or girl) gets to waste a bottle of champagne getting their friends and family wet.  If your Dad loves NASCAR, make him your Crew Chief this Father’s Day!

Know When to Hold’Em, Know When to Fold’em…

Hold’em Poker has gone from an unpopular game played only by professional gamblers to one of the most popular casino ‘games’ available.  The attraction of the game is the amateur’s ability to outwit a professional. Bluffing is universal.  In sports, you generally can’t fake your way to the big leagues.  You have to hit homers, or thrown touchdowns or serve aces.  There are no amateurs winning superbowls or world series or grand slams. But in Hold’Em Poker’s ‘World Series of Poker’, there are rarely repeat winners and the final table is usually filled with no-name players. The top ‘recognized’ pros are usually absent from the final table, often knocked out in earlier rounds.

That’s the allure of Hold’Em Poker.  For the amateur with a dream to make it to the final table and announce, with a grin, that he or she is ALL-IN!  Help Dad enjoy his weekly poker game with our Royal Flush gift basket, enough snacks for even the biggest of appetites.  If Poker isn’t “Dad’s thing”, check out our other gifts for men.

Sports Fans

Most Dad’s love to watch sports! With the pastime of watching sports comes the need for munching on snacks. The kind of snacks are not that important as most Dad’s will eat anything that is sweet or salty, as long as there is an abundance of them. What a way to show your Dad how much you appreciate him on Father’s Day than with one of our Armchair Athlete gift baskets.
Along with the snacks, this gift also comes with a Mug, picture frame and keychain. He’ll enjoy the big game that much more, and maybe even invite you to share. You can never go wrong with a sports-themed gift basket for Dad.