Excellent Birthday Gift Idea

 All good friends know that they will get either beer, a bottle of wine or flowers I grabbed on the way to see them. It was successful for a while, but now it seems to be just too predictable. Looking for a varied birthday gifts can take a lot of time. Today I went looking for my best buddy which should be easy. I know exactly what he will like so it should have been very easy. I ended up just going to a big box store and getting a gift card. They used to have small cool wooden crate type things to put the gift card in but not anymore. So that was alright but really mundane. Last Sunday my spouse was out of town and asked me to go out and get products to put in a basket for her cousin who was bringing her daughter to Colorado to start college. My wife emailed me a list of all the wares to buy for the basket so I went to find it. She puts in mostly Colorado products like sweets, potato chips, salsa, tortilla chips, nut products, Colorado water, tea drink, coffee, beef jerky, cheeses, crackers, and honey sticks. First I could not find a basket in the food market and only a few of the goods. I finally quit because it was taking forever to look and be sure I had Colorado made foods. My neighbor was also shopping and I revealed my irritation when she recommended just going to our business district and going into the major home specialty shop and having them help me. I did that and it was helpful but I was shocked at how much it expense, including the basket. They offered to help me put it all together in the basket and put on a nice big bow. It looked great and my wife was not surprised at the cost of buying the items there. She goes to 7 or 8 different places to buy all the merchandise and helps save about twenty dollars. Now that is just far too much effort. An simpler way is just to go online and find a gift basket shop that will do it and deliver it. My wife and I argued over the cost, so to prove my point I found a number of baskets at Baskets by Rita which is a Colorado based company. They have a Colorado wooden crate that is cooler than typical baskets. Even after the delivery cost, it turned out it was less costly than us doing it ourselves. So getting back to the birthday gift idea I saw the crate and decided to order one and have it delivered to my house so I could see how it looked. It came and was excellent. My wife and I agreed that they do a much more professional job of putting it together and it looks amazing. Plus it turned out to be less expensive than doing it ourselves. They have a great selection so that is my plan from now on when buying Birthday Gift Baskets. http://www.basketsbyrita.com

Off to College

Can't believe that school is almost beginning since August has already arrived. Summer goes quick. Kids are back in school and for me it is hardest to say goodbye to the young adults who are my family members 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 friend is making up little gift bags for each kid with cookies and goodies from the grocery store to help 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 purchase 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 touch homesick and this is the best thing I can do for them and probably more for their parents. Shoving the stuff in the bucket is alright and it gets the job done. After making two of the buckets my next door neighbor suggested I check out Places to Go Gift Basket. She told me this after she was amazed at how much I had spent on each gift. Her business 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 crammed with products from Colorado. After checking out the website of Baskets by Rita I do not dare tell my husband 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