christmas gifts

Harry & David Launches Pop-Up "Orchards"

Harry & David is a gift-giving tradition around the holidays. This year the company famous for its fruit and other mail-order delectables is opening up "pop-up orchards" in neighborhoods around the country. The stores were inspired by Harry & David's home in Oregon's Rogue River Valley and feature Harry & David's new customizable options, such as the "Create Your Own" Bento Box, in addition to Harry & David favorites including new flavors of Moose Munch snacks. The holiday collections will feature exclusive wines, artisanal cheeses, baked goods and of course, fresh fruit. Harry & David is also offering special pricing at the rate of $19.34 on select holiday items to commemorate their anniversary year.

"We're absolutely thrilled to launch our Pop-Up Orchard concept just in time for the holiday season," says Steve Heyer, who has the title of Chief Happiness Officer. "It's a unique platform for us to share our rich brand heritage and showcase our farm-to-table expertise while engaging with consumers across the country's most bustling cities for the first time."

The stores will be open through January 2011. A store locator is available on the Harry & David website. Locations include the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia; at the Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, Georgia; at Beachwood Place in Cleveland, Ohio; at Cherry Creek Mall in Denver, Colorado and on Greenwich Ave in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Tags: christmas gifts, harry and david, harry david, holidash, holiday gifts, holidays

Fluid Forms Custom Made Streets Clock

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Holiday Guides

This custom clock would certainly make a good gift. Why? Well for one anything that is "custom" implies that you inserted that appreciated degree of personal touch. Which instantly makes a gift emotional and unique. At the same time it is functional. I mean who doesn't have space for just one more wall clock. Then, you can make the clock sentimental to the recipient, by choosing a city streets map that means something to them. Whether it is of a city live in, a city they miss, or where they were from. All good choices.

Fluid Forms is a site where you can get all sorts of custom made things, and this clock is one of them. I am not totally sure how it works, but you choose not only the city, but the proper segment of the map that you want to have as the backdrop to the clock. You then choose the material (wood or acrylic), one of many colors available. About $181 later (plus shipping) you can get the clock. It is made in Austria, and the quartz movement is apparently German. Designer John Briscella will go over the final design in detail with you before it gets made.

Learn more or get one at Fluid Forms here.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: christmas gifts, ChristmasGifts, city, clock, custom, Fuild Forms, FuildForms, gift ideas, GiftIdeas, holiday gifts, HolidayGifts, map, streets, wall

Van's Gifts Cadeau Collection Gift Basket

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

They call it the ultimate gift basket and for $75,000 it certainly makes a dramatic impression. The Cadeau Collection Basket from Van's Gifts is far more than just a gift basket. It also includes two first-class tickets to Paris, France with a visit to the House of Dom Perignon for an exclusive three-day tour, as well as first-class accommodations, private tours, champagne tastings, and a special banquet. The basket also includes a three-day stay in Napa to tour several wineries including Caymus vineyards.

The bottles in the basket include a magnum of the 1996 Dom Perignon Rose, the 1996 Krug Clos de Mesnil, the gold-plated Armand de Brignac Brut Champagne, 2001 Chateau d'Yquem Sauternes, 2001 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, 2004 Opus One and 2005 Caymus, Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon. The gift basket is also stacked with a year-long supply of Godiva chocolates and Illy Café gourmet coffee, a Francis! Francis! X1 Trio Espresso Machine, a Meiserstuck pen, pencil, and notebook set from Montblanc. Plus, you get an additional monthly gift basket filled with chocolates, cookies, coffee, teas, sweets, and nuts.

[via Wine Enthusiast]

Source

Tags: christmas gifts, gfits, gift basket, holidash, wine gifts

The Cost of the 12 Days of Christmas Up 4.1%

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Holiday Guides

Every year since 1984, the clever folks at PNC Wealth Management figure out just how much it would cost to present one's true love with the items mentioned in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. While the list is intended to be humorous, PNC claims the tally does mirror actual economic trends.

This year's grand total, from a partridge in a pear tree to 12 drummers drumming, purchased repeatedly as indicated in the song, is $78,100. The total for those 364 items is up 4% from last year. If you choose to shop online, the price is quite a bit more - $128,886.

The hike in minimum wage is to blame for some of the increase over last year. Those eight maids a milking now fetch $47 compared to $41 last year. That only seems fair since the ladies haven't had a wage increase since 1997. Higher food and gold costs are also reflected in the increased total. But not every item has gone up over last year. The cost for partridges, turtle doves and French hens has remained steady over the past year as have swans and ladies dancing.

Our own version of the 12 Days of Christmas can be had for far less money and requires absolutely no care and feeding.

Gallery: Twelve Days of Christmas