gifts.ie Blog

Hi All,

Our Christmas Gift Collection is growing!

Here’s a great collection of personalised christmas gifts for the up and coming Christmas season. From Ornaments to Christmas Stockings to Santa’s Gift Sack all are exquisitely personalised with your recipient’s name. They take a few days to deliver due to the custom work involved so now is the perfect time to get them in before the Christmas madness. Oh, forgot to mention… free shipping on all of the above mentioned items!

Talk soon,

The gifts.ie Team

Hi All,

Based on many requests over the past couple of weeks out Christmas Shipping option is now available. This let’s you order Christmas gift and hampers now for delivery in mid-December. Great for getting ahead this Christmas!

Simple select “Christmas 2009 Shipping” during checkout and we’ll reserve your gift and ship in December.

Historians claim that the holiday of Mother’s Day emerged from ancient festivals dedicated to mother earth. However different countries celebrate Mother’s Day on various days of the year because the day has a number of different origins

In Rome, Cybele, a mother Goddesses, was worshipped, as early as 250 BC. It was England that first observed “Mothering Sunday” in honour of all mothers.

In the United States, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) is credited with bringing in the celebration of Mother’s day by campaigning to the US government to establish a Mother’s Day.

In 2009, Mother’s Day falls on March 22nd in Ireland and the UK, whereas in the USA, Australia and other countries it falls on May 10th.

Some more info cam be found here:

• Mother’s Day- Wikipedia
• Mother’s Day Proclamation, Franklin D. Roosevelt, May 3, 1934
• Mothering Sunday Religion & Ethics (bbc.co.uk)

Our new hampers for the up and coming season are now available for preview!

Click here and you’ll find some of our exciting new hamper designs and gift baskets for the up-and-coming 2008 Christmas period. All hampers will be available on the website for purchase from 1st November 2008, however you can now reserve your requirements. For corporate orders, enquiries and samples, please contact our corporate sales team on 01-4000365 or email info@gifts.ie.

Why buy a Hamper?
Hampers make great gifts for all business associates, friends and family. Imagine the delight as your recipient opens the basket an uncovers each delicious item one by one. Larger hampers also make great family gifts with many products to ensure suitable treats for all family members to share. Finally, hampers can be enjoyed over a prolonged period, such as the holiday season.

Why buy a Birchall’s Hamper?

Simply put, we’re the best in the business – read why our hampers make the ultimate gift…

PRODUCE:
We insist on the use of only the highest quality products and taste test everything to ensure our high standard is maintained. Many gourmet products are sourced from Irish indigenous suppliers. Using strict QC procedures, all expiry dates are carefully monitored and dispatched well in advance of these dates to ensure the recipient can enjoy the goods at their leisure. Our hamper contents are modified each year, should you wish to give a similarly priced hamper to the same recipient.

PRESENTATION:
When gift-giving, presentation is paramount and our hampers arrive exquisitely presented. Following our production designs, each product has a special place in that particular basket with decorative sizzlepak and biodegradable loose fill added where necessary. We then shrink-wrap all open baskets to secure the products. Finally each hamper is placed into individually ‘fragile’ labelled shipping boxes for secure transport.

BASKET:
We use high quality hand-made wicker baskets manufactured to our specifications. They are not only attractive, but also provide a very practical means of storage, be it in the kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom or playroom. These make a great gift in themselves.

SHIPPING:
We use reliable nationwide carriers, each parcel is fully insured and can be tracked and traced. If there are any delays, we can contact the couriers directly for fast resolution. All individual orders received before 2pm are dispatched that same day and delivered within 1 to 2 days anywhere in Ireland. Shipping costs a flat fee of €9.95 for up to 5 hampers/gifts!

GREETINGS:
All hampers can include your own corporate literature / complimentary slips. Alternatively, we can include individual greetings in each hamper on standard gift cards.

ALL YEAR ROUND SERVICE:
Although Christmas is our busiest period, gifts.ie provides a professional hamper and gift service all year round. We’re here to assist you with all your corporate and personal gift requirements whenever you need us.

Whether for your partner, family, friends buying birthday gifts can be a challenging and even daunting task for some. No matter what the circumstances, you’ll want the gift to have a pleasing impact on the recipient; other factors such as their expectations can also come in to play!

Below are a few hints on buying birthday gifts:

Use a Gift Reminder List
We’ve all been in a situation when we are reminded of an impending birthday and can’t decide what to buy at such short notice. I recommend that you keep a gift reminder list in your diary, email calendar or using an automatic gift reminder service. That way, you’ll be reminded of the birthday with plenty of time to decide which suitable gift to buy.

Take Gift Notes Of Their Interests
In conjunction with your gift reminder list, take notes when you think of a really good gift to buy your recipient. Pay attention to items people mention they want or are interested in. Whether out shopping with your partner or discussing your interests with your friends and family we are often reminded of what types of gifts they like (sometimes on purpose!). Make a note of this as soon as possible. When their birthday comes around, deciding will be easy as you simply refer to your list crossing off each gift as you give it.

For special occasions such as mile-stone birthdays, try exceed their expectations – knock them off their feet with your understanding of what they like and the quality of your purchase.

Gift Wrapping
Remember often the surprise and excitement alone of getting and opening a gift can add a great deal to the impact on your recipient. Presentation is key as this generally adds to their excitement when opening the gift. Carefully wrap each gift when possible.

Presentation
Think of a suitable time to give the gift – this can also increase the wow factor. For example, having a gift delivered to your recipient’s work place or hiding it in a place they will find it can often add to the surprise.

In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity.

The Christian celebration of Easter embodies a number of converging traditions with emphasis on the relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover. Passover is an important feast in the Jewish calendar which is celebrated for 8 days and commemorates the flight and freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival.

Who Decides When East Occurs?

Easter is observed by the churches of the West on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox (March 21). So Easter is a “movable” feast which can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25.

Why Easter Eggs?

Of all the symbols associated with Easter, the egg, the symbol of fertility and new life, is one of the most identifiable. The customs and traditions of using eggs have been associated with Easter for centuries.

Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colours to represent the sunlight of spring and were used in Easter egg rolling contests or given as gifts. After they were coloured and etched with various designs the eggs were exchanged by lovers and romantic admirers, much the same as at Valentine’s Day. In medieval time eggs were traditionally given at Easter to the servants. In Germany eggs were given to children along with other Easter gifts.

Different cultures have developed their own ways of decorating Easter eggs. Crimson eggs, to honour the blood of Christ, are exchanged in Greece. In parts of Germany and Austria green eggs are used on Holy Thursday. Slavic peoples decorate their eggs in special patterns of gold and silver

Austrian artists design patterns by fastening ferns and tiny plants around the eggs, which are then boiled. The plants are then removed revealing a striking white pattern. The Poles and Ukrainians decorate eggs with simple designs and colours.

In Germany and other countries eggs used for cooking where not broken, but the contents were removed by piercing the end of each egg with a needle and blowing the contents into a bowl. The hollow eggs were dyed and hung from shrubs and trees during the Easter Week. The Armenians would decorate hollow eggs with pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other religious designs.

Did Your Know?

• Easter covers a forty-six-day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. The Lenten season itself comprises forty days, as the six Sundays in Lent are not actually a part of Lent.
• Sundays are considered a commemoration of Easter Sunday and have always been excluded from the Lenten fast.

The history of Saint Patrick’s Day revolves around the life of St. Patrick who at the age of 16 was taken captive by a group of Irish raiders who transported him to Ireland where he was enslaved for six years. Due to his dire circumstance, the man who would become St. Patrick turned to religion as a way to comfort himself from the fact that he was a slave. Eventually, St. Patrick would be freed where he moved to Gaul and studied in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre, for twelve years. Once ordained as a priest, St. Patrick was sent to Ireland with the mission of ministering to the few Christians in Ireland and to convert the predominantly pagan Irish residents.

In Ireland, St. Patrick found success in converting many Irish people to Christianity. By incorporating traditional Irish ritual into his lessons of Christianity, he was able to have great success in converting Irish pagans into Christians. Considering that most Irish people at the time practiced a nature-based pagan religion, St. Patrick was able to successfully incorporate natural symbols to explain Christian concepts. This is best exemplified by the symbol of the shamrock, a major St. Patrick’s Day symbol that St. Patrick used to explain the Holy Trinity. By showing the three-leafed shamrock, St. Patrick was able to detail how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were able to exist as separate elements of the same entity.

After thirty years of exemplary service, St. Patrick left Ireland to retire to County Down. He would later die in AD 461 on March 17, which has been commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day ever since. For thousands of years, the Irish celebrated this day as a religious holiday. Families would attend church in the morning and have a celebration in the afternoon. Typical traditions would include eating the traditional Irish meal of Irish bacon and cabbage following by festive dancing and drinking. St. Patrick’s Day would make its first appearance in America where the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world took place in New York City on March 17, 1762. The parade was made up of Irish soldiers serving in the English military who wanted to celebrate their roots. Eventually, St. Patrick’s Day would become a major part of American culture. A formerly despised immigration group, the Irish would celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the early to mid twentieth century in America, as a show of strength and solidarity to their Irish roots. As the Irish became more accepted in American culture, St. Patrick’s Day became a general celebration of Irish culture and the Irish people. Irish symbols like leprechauns, shamrocks, and the rap band House of Pain would become major St. Patrick’s Day symbols in America throughout the years.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!

Stuck for words on your greeting card? We’ve comprised a number of suitable greetings for get well soon cards…

• Hoping you feel better.
• Hang in there, you’ll feel better in no time.
• Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
• Sending you healing thoughts and a little sunshine to brighten your day.
• Wishing you a speedy recovery.
• Thinking of you lots and hoping for your speedy recovery.
• Hurry back we all miss you.
• We hope you feel better because we miss you so much.
• Thinking of you during your recovery.

The history of Valentine’s Day is shrouded in mystery. But the legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When the Emperor decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine defied the Emperor and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, the Emperor ordered that he be put to death.

Did You Know?

• In 1835, the remains (or what are believed to be the remains) of St. Valentine were bestowed to an Irish priest named Father John Spratt by Pope Gregory XVI. A Shrine can still be viewed each Valentine’s day at Whitefrair Street Church in Dublin.
• An estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.
• Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day around 498 A.D.
• St. Valentines is also the patron saint of beekeepers and as being of help against fainting!
• 61 percent of all men surveyed say they would like to receive flowers for Valentine’s Day from a woman.