When you sit down to your Thanksgiving dinner and look at your plate heaped high with turkey, potatoes and gravy, before you pick up your fork make sure you haven’t forgotten to give yourself a hefty serving of gratitude. After all, what is a Thanksgiving feast without gratitude? Isn’t that what the holiday is all about?

It is, yet many of us forget that fact. Too often, we don’t remember to be grateful for what we have or receive on Thanksgiving or on any other day. We become so involved in the negative dramas of our lives that we see only the stress-filled job, the uncaring spouse, the stack of bills we can’t pay, the doctor’s prognosis, the misbehaved children, the lack of time. If we take another look at our lives, we can always find something for which to be grateful  the sun in the sky, a friend, the weekend, a warm place to sleep, the five dollars in our pocket, the dog who licks our hand in passing. It matters not how much we have or how little. We still can be grateful for what we do have.

Thanksgiving offers a wonderful opportunity to remember the things for which we are grateful and to practice having what some have called “an attitude of gratitude.” Some say a prayer of gratitude represents the strongest prayer of all, and I agree. I was taught to include gratitude in my prayers and thoughts every day  gratitude for what I have as well as for what I will receive. And what better time to start such a practice or to deepen an existing one than on a holiday created solely for giving thanks.

This Thanksgiving, I suggest taking the following four steps to help get into the spirit of Thanksgiving. First, before the meal even begins, go around the table and give each person a chance to offer gratitude for at least one thing. Begin simply by saying, “Something I’m grateful for is….” and fill in the blank. Let people share as many specific things for which they are grateful as they can think of. They can continue after their first sharing by saying, “And something else I’m grateful for is…” If someone’s turn has passed and they suddenly think of something else they want to add, let them do so between other people’s turns or at the end. This practice will set the whole tone of your meal. And don’t let anyone off the hook. Everyone must share at least one thing for which they feel grateful.

The second step to creating a gratitude-filled Thanksgiving involves prayer. Joining hands and offering a blessing on the food and the company at the table, along with thanksgiving of some sort, always sheds a warm, spiritual light on any meal. And it puts God into the picture, reminds us that the Divine might have something to do with our good fortune. Religious context doesn’t matter for this prayer. In fact, offer a heartfelt prayer that doesn’t associate itself with any one religion. If you prefer to stick with religiously oriented prayers and the company at your table has different religious beliefs, let each person from a different religion offer a prayer of gratitude from their own tradition.

Third, ask people to bring to the table their favorite quotes or stories about being grateful or about Thanksgiving itself. During the meal, take turns reading these aloud. It’s nice to hear the words of others or to share touching memories about a holiday. It gives depth to the holiday and a positive overall feeling to the celebration. In addition, such stories remind us of other things for which we can be grateful.

Fourth, before everyone gets up from the table  maybe over coffee and pie, focus some attention on the things you expect to receive over the next year. Vocalizing our intentions to manifest things in the future provides a wonderful vehicle for actually having them manifest in our lives. And the best way to allow these wonderful gifts into our experiences lies in affirming that they already are coming to us. In fact, it’s a most powerful exercise to offer gratitude for them as if you were experiencing them right in the moment, right at the Thanksgiving table. For example, you might say, “I am so grateful for the five percent raise I received at work,” “I am so grateful for the wonderful health I am now experiencing,” or “I am so enjoying my sleek, trim, body which weighs just 150 pounds.” The more specific you get about these goals and desires, the better. Not only do these invocations make you feel better, because they affirm that what you need or want is coming your way, but they have a way of actually attracting these things into your life.

With just a little effort, you’ll find you can fill your Thanksgiving experience with a heaping portion of gratitude. By so doing, the food on your plate will taste that much sweeter this year.



By: Nina Amir

About the Author:

The 4th Thursday in November each year is the Thanksgiving Day in the United States. This year on November 20, U.S. president George W. Bush, in accordance with tradition, pardon two turkeys in the Rose Garden of White House, and to lead the people to express their sincere gratitude to those heroic fighters who are go through fire and water on the front line to safeguard the American peoples’ lives and houses.



Each year, the Thanksgiving holiday begins with the president pardoning 2 turkeys from becoming someone’s Thanksgiving dinner. President Henry Truman started this tradition in 1947. “So now I have a task and that is to grant a full presidential pardon to May and flower, they will shortly be flown to Disney World where they will serve as Honorary Grand Marshals for the Thanksgiving Day parade. Hope that honor doesn’t go to their head. “

Turkey is the food that could not absent in Thanksgiving Days’ dinner table, just as the moon cake in the Mid-Autumn Festival of China, every household in the United States will eat turkeys in the Thanksgiving Day. They usually stuffed the turkey belly with a variety of spices and mixed foods, then baked the whole turkey and sliced it with a knife when the turkey cooked. Other traditional Thanksgiving foods there are sweet potatoes, corns, pumpkin pies, jam and so on.



Last year’s turkeys were May and Flower, a reference to the ship that sailed nearly 400 years ago from Plymouth, England to America. And in the fall of 1621, these Plymouth pilgrims celebrated a bountiful harvest with local American Indians.

Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving) is one of the most important holidays in American, each year in the day, no matter how busy, tens of thousands of American peoples will together with their families to enjoy this holiday.Since the 1600s, Thanksgiving has morphed into a holiday in the United States, marked by extravagant parades, feasts, and the opening of the Christmas shopping season. The Macy’s Day parade in New York is one of the major ceremonies to mark Thanksgiving each year. Approximately 2.5 million people are expected to attend the parade this year while 44 million will watch it on television at home. The parade serves as a reminder that the holiday season is in full swing.

This Friday, many Americans will rise early the day after Thanksgiving to take advantage of discounts at retail shops around the country. Last year, the National Retail Federation estimated more than 60 million people shopped that day.

Today is the annual Thanksgiving Day, and conceives a thanksgiving heart oftentimes will make everyone in the world become more happy and more lucky (is that true? Yes!), so let thanksgiving for all we have owned!



By: Krista QQ(www.123giftfactory.com)

About the Author:

Thanksgiving is usually a wonderful time of the year. It kicks off the holiday season and offers a time for family and friends to gather together to eat and enjoy each other’s company. But if you are hosting the get-together, the holiday can be much more stressful. Not only do you have to cook and serve the food, you also have to clean up your house before company arrives and make sure that it is decorated for the season. Although this can appear stressful, it doesn’t have to be if you plan carefully. Here are some tips to enhance your home with fun, festive and appropriate decorations through the use of stuffed animals. These delightful plush toys can do wonders in creating the right look for the Thanksgiving holiday and their cuteness can cut your stress in other ways.

Thanksgiving is associated with fall colors like orange, brown, dark red, and gold, so these colors should be your first priority in decorating. Your décor should reflect the beautiful colors of fall foliage. To use stuffed animals to their best advantage for Thanksgiving decoration, you should select some animals that fall naturally into this color range and get some plush toys in authentic shades. Some good ones include the rusty red fox, the brown bunny, chipmunks, the majestic moose, and cute squirrels. Soon you will have some excellent home decorating accessories.

Overall Home Decorations

Let’s start with your home in general. Try putting a rustic red fox or a brown moose on your sofa. It will be both cute and seasonal. You could add some acorns on the coffee table around the lamp and have a plush chipmunk or squirrel holding a couple. Anywhere you need an extra decoration you can make your own “salad bowl” filled with leaves, pinecones, or a some of each with a stuffed animal as the centerpiece. This can be charming and you are sure to have good results as long as you choose toys that are natural in color and appearance.

Dinner Table Decorations

You may already have some of the standard dinner table decorations of the season, such as turkeys and pumpkins. A few stuffed animals can add some fun and cheer to these arrangements. For instance, you could place a small pumpkin in the hands of a cute stuffed beaver. Some pretty fall flowers and a stuffed animal could make a unique and festive centerpiece. The natural colors of these animals should already match your tablecloth. If you wish to decorate your chairs, you could acquire some fall leaf vines and wrap them around your guest chairs with a few brown teddy bears hanging off them.

Extra Tips

If you need to decorate the entrance to your home so that your guests can find the right house more easily, you can used animals here as well. Take a run of the mill fall wreath and add a stuffed bunny, or other animal of your choice, and place your toy on a swing from the wreath. You could also create a custom welcome sign and have your animal hold it. You could add your family’s name to the sign if you like. Weather permitting, a stuffed moose at the end of the driveway with the welcome sign would be charming.

As you can see, stuffed animals can be a versatile accessory for Thanksgiving. If you have children visiting for the holiday, they can play with them after dinner. If you are feeling generous or just don’t wish to store the plush toys for next year, you can let the children have a cool gift to take home with them. Even if you are planning to be a house guest, you could bring a stuffed animal arrangement for the host family and leave the toy as a gift. Remember, use autumn colors and natural appearing plush animals, and you can save on stress and decorate your home for Thanksgiving beautifully!



By: Iveta Volegna

About the Author:

Have you been wondering what you are going to do for the holidays this year and how you are going to do it?  With arrangements, guest lists, cleaning and cooking, you are going to have your hands full. At Portland Fruit Arrangements, we take a little stress out of the Holidays by helping you to make your occasion a memorable one.

Every Thanksgiving get together needs to have something unique this year and at Portland Fruit Arrangements, we have the perfect solution to making every table display special this year. With Thanksgiving just a few days away – we are encouraging people to visit our web site and make your orders now for that perfect fruit basket at www.portlandfruitarrangements.com.  These fruit flowers will dazzle your guests and the kids will “Gobble” up the fruit before you know it.

Our new fruit arrangements include the popular Stuffed Turkey which consists of apples, bananas and strawberries dipped in chocolate (optional) along with red and green grapes, honey dew melon and cantaloupe.  This arrangement is great for parties of 30 or more people. If you are having the traditional smaller family get together, the Delicious Thanksgiving (good for 15 people) may be the better choice or you can purchase the perfect corporate gift or for a neighbor with the Gift of Thanks bouquet.

Christmas is just around the corner and we certainly encourage early orders and have a variety of Xmas bouquets available: http://www.portlandfruitarrangements.com/Prices.html. Be on the look out for more variety of Holiday bouquets and if you are looking for that perfect corporate gift, now is the time to be thinking about it.

Make sure you say thanks this year with a beautiful edible fruit arrangement from Portland Fruit Arrangements.



By: Ken Mofford

About the Author:

Imagine the countryside canvass of red, yellow and brown that entertains our senses during the Fall season. This cool breeze and changing leaves time of year is precious for many of us and will soon be in full glory. Know someone who revels in this type of setting? There are gift baskets that will speak in their language now available for you to send out today!

Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of the hot and sticky Summer weather. It has always drained me of energy and forced me outdoors to do work around the yard as needed. The air-conditioning bills also drained the checking account as well. But right around the corner I knew that there was a more peaceful time that would spark a renewal of sorts within me. That’s why Fall Gift Baskets might be the perfect way to spread the joy of the season to someone that you know who shares this sentiment.

There are seven new Fall Gift Baskets that you may wish to consider. The first option is “Fall Festival” that arrives in a 9 inch Harvest tin filled to overflowing with bread, coffee, dip, pretzels, cookies, salami and more! All your favorite Fall treats abound in this celebration of Autumn! Send that special someone a gift of great taste this season with the Fall Festival Gift Basket!

The next gift basket choice is “Fall Snacks”. There’s everything here to chase away the chill of Autumn and will warm the heart of the receiver when this lovely Autumn pattern gift box arrives overflowing with sweet and savory snacks. Your good wishes will arrive in beautiful style with this special gift basket.

Get ready for the “Grateful Harvest” Gift Basket. It’s a 12 inch hand painted Harvest bowl that carries a harvest of snacks including mixed fruit, cheeses, Focaccia crisps, caramel corn and fudge topped off with Alaska Smoked Salmon fillets to make a feast of Fall treats! Give the “Grateful Harvest” Gift Basket to friends and family this harvest season. They won’t forget it!

The “Thanksgiving Gourmet” option is next. This honey willow basket brings sparkling apple cider, cheese, summer sausage, rye bread and sweets treats to satisfy the most discriminating palate. This gift will please your friends and family this Thanksgiving season without a doubt.

There’s also a precious choice known as “Fall Harvest” that’s filled to overflowing with all the delicious tastes of Autumn season. This whimsical Fall basket will spread joy and fun wherever it is delivered. The festive Fall Scarecrow included is happy to send your heartfelt sentiments along with a delicious assortment of tasty treats.

Want another idea? “Fall Splendor” is created with an upscale Fall presentation. This delicious gift will leave them remembering how thoughtful you were. All the splendor of the season along with a scrumptious assortment of delectable treats are encompassed by a hunter green basket.

Finally, there’s “Harvest Blessings” to show them how much you care with this exclusive gourmet Fall Gift Basket. The unique “Thankful” Fall candy corn mix says it all with its festive little pilgrims and decorative “Thankful” message. Encompassed in a Fall market basket the delicious treats will delight and please all whom receive it.

Give your best to someone today in the style that makes them whole after the hot and muggy Summer months are finally over. Have aGiftBasketParadise.com deliver it to their doorstep and save yourself a lot of aggravation at the same time!



By: Brian Connors

About the Author:

Every year, just as Halloween passes, and the reality of the impending Christmas shopping season takes residence, the question arises of when is Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving holiday has been celebrated in the United States since 1789, when President George Washington proclaimed that the annual date for Thanksgiving was to be on the last Thursday of November. As the unofficial kickoff of the Christmas holiday season for retailers traditionally begins the day after Thanksgiving, the designation of Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday, rather than the last, provides for a longer holiday shopping season.

The question of when is Thanksgiving has not always had a consistent answer. In 1676, 55 years after the Pilgrims’ first feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, had issued the first annual United States Thanksgiving Proclamation. On this date, the council declared that June 29, 1676 was to be a day of Thanksgiving to God for the good fortune they had secured in their new land. While Thanksgiving is traditionally depicted as the feast commemorating the bonds of friendship forged between the English settlers in Massachusetts and the Native Americans celebrated by a three day harvest celebration in 1621. Oddly enough, the language of the original proclamation of 1676 declares a day for praise to God for his blessings and protection against “the Heathen Natives of this land”.

On October 3, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln stated that the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”. After Lincoln, the following presidents continued to issue a proclamation on an annual basis, declaring when is Thanksgiving, although it always continued to be celebrated and enjoyed on the very last Thursday in the month of November all the way until 1939.

In 1939, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in an attempt to increase merchant spending during the Christmas holiday season, declared Thanksgiving to be on the 4th Thursday of November, as the month of November has 5 Thursdays that year, thereby extending the holiday shopping season. At that time in history, which was also during The Great Depression, it was considered inappropriate to advertise goods as Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving. The following year, 1940, November had 4 Thursdays, and Roosevelt proclaimed that Thanksgiving would fall on the third Thursday of November. At this time, the annual presidential declaration of the Thanksgiving Day holiday was not legally binding so it was up to the individual states to decide when is Thanksgiving, which of course was considered a government holiday.



By: Lillian Wills

About the Author:

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday full of fun, feasting, family and football.  But it can also be a time to start new traditions meant to increase your family’s thanks and encourage giving.  You can use Thanksgiving as a springboard to cultivate a deeper sense of gratitude and awareness of the needs of others.  Here’s some simple and even fun ideas to get you started.

More Thanks

1. Make a blessings box.  Pass out lots of slips of brightly colored paper to your family and guests at the beginning of the day.  Ask them to write one thing they are thankful for on each slip of paper, and then write something else on the next one, etc.  It can be silly, like “I’m thankful for SpongeBob cartoons” or it can be serious, as in “I’m grateful Aunt Betty is feeling better”.  But it should be specific.  Then place all the pieces of paper in a gift box, mix them up and read them after turkey dinner.  If you need incentive to get the kids thinking, you could offer a small prize like a candy bar to whoever comes up with the most items.  The object, of course, is to inspire your family to count their blessings.

2. Create certificates of appreciation. Use your computer software to set up official looking certificates and print them.  The certificate should say something like,  “Every Thanksgiving our family tradition is for each of us to choose one special person to whom we would like to express our appreciation.  This year, I have chosen you to thank because…. There should be blanks on the certificate to fill in the person’s name, date, and why they have been chosen.  For example, your daughter might decide to thank an old teacher for inspiring her love of reading.  Or your son might want to show gratitude to his best friend’s father for taking him along with them to the baseball game.  It should be someone outside the immediate family.  After Thanksgiving, they can mail the certificates or present them in person.

3. Thank the troops. There are websites that will tell you how to send holiday cards and letters to the troops stationed overseas.   Take the time to let a stranger in the military know that you support and appreciate their sacrifice.

4. Report a job well done. Have you received consistently good service from someone throughout the year?  It could be your hair stylist, a waiter, a patient store employee who seemed eager to answer all your questions?  Every Thanksgiving, make a list of those people.  Jot down a quick note that outlines the attentive care you received from that person, and then send it to their supervisor and also a copy to them. 

5. Start a family gratitude journal.  Beginning at Thanksgiving dinner and continuing on to mealtimes throughout the year, ask each family member what they are grateful for that day.  Write down all the comments.  It’s a great way to collectively focus on the positive.

Extra Giving

6. Invite someone to Thanksgiving dinner.  Is your elderly neighbor unable to make the big 200 mile trip to her family’s gathering, but would be able to travel across the street to your house?  How about your single friend who just lost her mother?  Don’t assume that people have Thanksgiving plans.  Instead, ask “what are you doing for Thanksgiving?”  The holidays are a rough time to be alone, so make sure that no one that you care about spends Thanksgiving that way.

7. Make a video with highlights of the day for someone who couldn’t make it.  If there are circumstances preventing a family member from joining you on Thanksgiving, document it for them.  Whether you use a camcorder or the movie mode on your digital camera, take footage of the festivities.  Include special messages from each person there.  You can edit it in Windows Movie Maker, burn it onto a DVD and mail it to them, so they don’t feel left out.  If you have a teenager, this could be a project they would enjoy.

8. Love thy neighbor.  Ask each family member to think of one specific thing they could do for a particular neighbor.  For example, I could mow their lawn, rake the leaves, shovel snow, give a ride, babysit, run an errand, bring over cookies or just spend some time visiting with them.  Then encourage them to put that into practice.  Just imagine how nice your neighborhood would be to live in, if everyone on the block adopted this tradition!

9. Issue the not so random acts of kindness challenge.  While you’re eating pumpkin pie, call upon those around the table to come up with ideas for nice little things they can do for others.  Here are some suggestions.  You could donate books you’ve already read to the library or toys you’ve outgrown to the homeless shelter.  If you see litter, you could pick it up and put it in the trash can.  You could let someone cut in front of you in line or put a quarter in an expired parking meter.  You could pick a flower from your garden and give it to a friend.  Make a list of those ideas and in the coming months, see how many little acts of kindness your family can accomplish.

10. Sponsor a child from a third world country.  Thanksgiving is a great time to begin.  As your family is giving thanks, why not reach out to someone less fortunate? 

So, go ahead and dig into those candied sweet potatoes, watch the parade on TV and listen to grandpa reminisce about the good old days.  Then go beyond the turkey and make this holiday the most memorable Thanksgiving of all.  By adopting some of these new family traditions for counting blessings and reaching out to others, you’ll be putting the thanks and the giving back into the holiday.



By: Linda Kling

About the Author:

Holiday shopping can indeed be a daunting task if one were to consider the infinite choices of gift items available. Your long list of relatives and friends doesn’t help the fact that the rising prices of common gift items such as electronic devices and clothes seemingly won’t come to a halt.

Most of us fail to realize that a memorable gift doesn’t necessarily have to be pricey. When shopping during the holidays, try searching for an item that captures the spirit of the occasion. Gifts that are best remembered are those that touch the heart. While finding the perfect gift for your loved ones hardly ever comes easy, we’ve come up with a few holiday gift ideas that may just want to consider.

• engraved pens

• decorative picture frames

• personalized mugs

• decorative money banks

• pocket knives

• stationeries

• wall hangings

Shopping for gifts on a tight budget might sound a bit ironic, if not unrealistic. Do keep in mind however, that items such as mugs and stationeries shouldn’t cost more than $10 each in local department stores and hobby shops. At just under $20 you can purchase decorative items such wooden vases, plant holders, and candle holders. Since most homeowners spend a great deal of time redecorating or renovating during the holidays, it would be wise to shop for simple, inexpensive home accents during this time of the year.

If stretching your budget is not an option, don’t be discouraged. There are limitless choices of holiday gift items that are just waiting to be discovered. Sometimes all it takes is just a little imagination. For more gift ideas, visit www.HomeDecorCenter.com

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By: Robert Najafinia

About the Author:

Ever since the traditional “first Thanksgiving”" celebration in 1621, there have been many subsequent celebrations. I have read that the first recorded Thanksgiving observance was held on June 29, 1671 at Charlestown, Massachusetts by proclamation of the town’s governing council.

During the 1700s, it was common practice for individual colonies to observe days of thanksgiving throughout each year. Those observances were to be a day set aside for prayer and fasting.

Later in the 18th century it was common for each of the states to periodically designate a day of thanksgiving in honor of a military victory, an adoption of a state constitution, or an abundant crop. There was a Thanksgiving Day celebration in December of 1777 by the colonies nationwide, commemorating the surrender of the British at Saratoga.

But it was President Abraham Lincoln, on October 3, 1863, who issued a proclamation calling for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving. Here is that proclamation:

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.”

“No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”

“In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.”

“Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth, by the President, Abraham Lincoln.”

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. But Franklin Roosevelt made it one week earlier, on the 2nd-to-last Thursday in order to make a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, the Congress finally sanctioned Thanksgiving as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.

Perhaps in these days we are living in, it is a good idea to stop and be thankful for what we have. We still have a lot to be thankful for.



By: Michael A. Verdicchio

About the Author:

Fall is off to a sensational start and the word for this season is style! For the floral fan, our bestseller is back with attitude! Fields of Europe for Fall is a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers, rover mums, miniature carnations and more, artistically designed in a glass vase with river rocks. It’s a great gift for birthdays and considering the most popular birthday in the world just happens to be celebrated on October 5th, this is a win-win surprise that brings a touch of autumn to the home or office! Another big floral winner of the season that fits for any occasion is 1-800-FLOWERS Autumn Inspiration, designed in a stunning lavender glass that resembles the shape of a heart and displays an eye-catching harvest bouquet of fresh roses, lilies, lisianthus and more!

Know someone who loves to explore? Columbus Day is October 13th and they can discover a new world of snacking with our Fall Feasting Favorite! This keepsake box is filled with treats galore, including delicious varieties of summer sausage, smoked cheddar and sharp cheddar cheese from the cheese maker of Tillamook Oregon, hickory smoked almonds and more!

Who’s bossing you around these days? Boss’s Day is on October 16th and we have fall favorites to celebrate everyone from that special CEO to your magnificent manager! Give great gifts of the season that impress like our Basket of Apple Delights that includes orchard-fresh apple cider, apple butter, and more! Our Bounty of the Fall Tower is a 3-tier tower that always gets a favorable review! Each tier is filled with a special delight including fresh orchard fruit, Harry London chocolate pecan stars, shortbread cookies and more.

Who are you sweet on? Let them know on Sweetest Day, October 18th! This fun fall occasion is a great time to tell your girlfriend, boyfriend, a secret crush or your true love that “you’re sweet on them!” A striking bouquet of Sweetheart Roses in stunning colors or an impressive gift of 3 lbs of Harry London premium milk chocolate smothered over creamy caramel pecan patties, savory gourmet pretzels and sweet graham crackers will give them a dozen ideas of why you must be sweet on them!

Speaking of sweet occasions, Mother-in-Law Day is October 26th! Celebrate that special lady with a gift by Julie Mulligan that says, “thanks for raising the one I love!”-Country Harvest. This gorgeous gathering of bronze mums, brown and yellow roses, yarrow and hypericum berries is gathered and displayed in a vintage-inspired green ceramic pitcher that is food-safe and can be used over and over again at family gatherings once the flowers have faded.

Ghouls and boys alike will scream with delight with the wonderful treats we have in store for Halloween! Even if your tricksters are college age or older, no one ever outgrows our Halloween Treat Bags. These adorable candy bags come in three different styles, a bat, a pumpkin or a spider and each come filled with fun candy that no one will be able to resist! Just imagine that surprise coming to their dorm room!

Don’t forget to vote! Remember, Election Day is November 4th and this year is a presidential vote which means there will be a lot more people heading out to the polls! Send a special surprise to a first-time voter, a local candidate who has worked hard in your community or one of those tireless workers behind the ballots and thank them for surviving the election with a great gift like The Popcorn Factory Survival Treat Pail. This colorful pail is filled with gourmet cheese and almond popcorn, Jelly Belly® jelly beans, Tootsie Rolls and more!

Don’t forget Veteran’s Day is November 11th! Along with giving a special Veteran a reason to smile, send thanks to the scores of caregivers, nurses and doctors who work for the many programs and hospitals helping our Veterans every day. Remember them with a gift that clearly shows your appreciation and gratitude like our Red, White and Beautiful Wreath that features navy blue caspia and silk daisies in red, white and blue on a twig base with a charming flag banner ribbon hanger.

Reminder of Fall Occasions:

Here are the occasion dates:

[October]

World’s Most Popular Birthday, Oct 5th

Columbus Day, Oct 13th

Boss’s Day, Oct 16th Sweetest Day, Oct 18th

Mother-In-Law Day, Oct 26th Halloween, Oct 31st

[November]

Election Day, Nov 4th

Veterans Day, Nov 11th

Thanksgiving Nov 22nd



By: Thea Reid

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