Great Valentine Gift Baskets For Him

Looking for a unique Valentine's Day gift for your guy? A gift basket filled with great not so gourmet "guy" food is the perfect solution. Does he love fishing? Fill a tackle box with jars of salsa, chips, mixed nuts, some cheese and crackers, and watch him smile.
Does he love golf or his new truck, fixing things around the house or doing yard work? Custom design a gift basket using a golf ball bucket filled with his favorite treats and a box of his favorite golf balls. Fill a gallon bucket with car wash soap, wax, a sponge and drying cloth. Make sure you leave plenty of room for the "not so gourmet" treats he'll enjoy while washing and waxing the day away.
Creating a gift basket for your special guy is fun and easy. Don't have time? Check out the great selection of gift baskets for him at Laurel Mountain Basket Company including our "Hot Stuff" Gift Basket pictured above. This custom designed gift basket includes salsa and hot bar-b-que sauce, cheese, crackers, and other guy lovin' foods, more than lives up to it's name

All The Treats That Are Fit To Eat!

This morning I read a blog that got me thinking about all of the different kinds of items that go into gift baskets. The author wrote about how much she loved the office breakroom after the holidays because coworkers will bring in items from gift baskets they received.
I think it's great to share. I received a big box of chocolates from my mother in law this Christmas. I love chocolates, and I know I would eat the whole box in short order and regret it soon after. So, I had a couple or three or four and brought the rest in to the Studio to share with customers and the crew.
But, as I said, the blog got me thinking about gift baskets that I have seen and that my family has received, that contained foods we had no interest in ! There were "weird" foods I couldn't imagine who would want to eat.
I include some "interesting" food products in my gift baskets. A couple of examples are Cape Cod's Caviar by Appalachian Naturals and Bog Frogs by Cape Cod Provisions, LLC. Cape Cod's Caviar is a delicious organic cranberry sauce and Bog Frogs are a yummy cranberry, cashew, and caramel chocolate covered candy. The names just happen to be unusual.
When I was forming my business plan for Laurel Mountain Basket Company I vowed not to include items in my gift baskets that I personally wouldn't enjoy receiving. Because I am not a big fan of spicy foods, I make my husband taste test the salsa, salad dressings, mustards and such while I concentrate on the chocolates and cookies. Our dogs even test the dog treats and toys we use in our pet gift baskets! Taste testing new product is one activity that I don't have trouble recruiting help for.
My husband likes to sample the inventory so much that I am afraid to leave him in the Studio for very long unsupervised. He really loved it when I was operating the business out of the house because there was always a great supply of great snack food within walking distance of his recliner and remote. He especially likes the Ghiraradelli and Guylian chocolates, and Brent & Sam's and Nonni's cookies.
In addition to using these fine gourmet foods, we've searched out many excellent locally made products from companies like The Tea Guys, Terra Americana, and The Little House of Thyme to give our gift baskets that New England flavor.
At Laurel Mountain Basket Company our gift baskets are designed in good taste and designed to taste good.

Laurel Mountain Cupboard

I'm often asked where I get all of the wonderful products we use in our gift baskets. Although we design gift baskets for all occasions and themes, we are known through out the US for our New England style gift baskets. I believe one of the reasons they are so popular is that we work with a number of small local vendors. Having access to so many sources means that we always have a wide variety of items to choose from. I am always looking for new vendors from our local area or from around New England to add to our list.

I found my local honey supplier when a man approached me in the parking lot of a grocery store. (I have signs with the Laurel Mountain Basket Company logo and contact information on the front doors and tailgate). He is involved with a local apiary association and recommended a really fine apiary not two miles from my home. It is a small operation so I wasn't surprised I had not heard of them but their honey is fantastic!

I was recently asked by a client to custom design a breakfast gift basket . He had seen the one on our site but he needed one for a group of 20 to 30 people and he wanted us to use products from all six New England states. The challenge was to find product that was ready to eat since the gift basket would be presented at a morning breakfast meeting of corporate executives. We contacted a local bakery (one of my personal favorites) to provide fresh breads and muffins then set out to find several different jams, jellies and honeys, as well as fresh roasted coffee, blended tea (check out our friends at www.teaguys.com if you want some really excellent tea!)and other items like cheeses and salsas. It goes without saying that all of the products we use at Laurel Mountain Basket Company have to be delicious, but we require that they have a nice presentation too. Our gift baskets are a reflection on our clients and our job is to help our clients make a great impression.

I found so many wonderful new products while designing that gift basket that I decided to add an new element to Laurel Mountain Basket Company . We will be stocking our Studio with many of the locally made products that we use in our gift baskets and make them available to our clients. A couple of jars of jelly or a small jar of honey and a canister of tea make a great little gift. So, stop by and check out the cupboard!

Happy New Year,
Marie

Ready, Set,Shop!

Shopping during the Holiday Season can be quite stressful. Crowded stores, limited time, and limited money, are all factors contributing to a stressful shopping experience. Here are a couple of tips to make Holiday shopping more enjoyable.

Plan ahead. Planning ahead is one way to limit the amount of stress brought on by shopping during the Holidays. Start by making lists. Make a list of people who you want to buy gifts for and determine how much money you are going to spend on each gift. Next, write down one or two gift ideas that fall within the pre determined price range next to each name.
Start your Holiday shopping early and plan to shop on more than one occasion if at all possible. By starting early and knowing you don't have to buy everything on your list that day, you will have a better chance of finding the gift you want at the price you can afford. If you wait until the last minute, you may find yourself spending more for a particular item or spending money on a gift simply to have "something" to give because you have run out of time. Spending more than your budget allows will certainly add stress to the Holiday Season and beyond.

Finding the "perfect" gift for that "hard to buy for" individual can create a lot of stress. The way to avoid this type of stress is to realize that you can't please everyone. Simply select a "nice" gift that is within your budget and be done with it.

Gift baskets are wonderful gifts for "hard to shop for" people. At Laurel Mountain Basket Company, we have a large selection of gift baskets designed for every occasion and we work with our clients to help them select ones that are appropriate to their needs.

A Little Taste of New England

I love New England. To me it's not a place so much as a state of mind. So when I started Laurel Mountain Gift Basket Company almost 10 years ago, I created gift baskets that reflected the tastes and the people of New England. I sought out local artisans, farmers, chocolatiers, herb growers and sugar house operators, and developed a line of gift baskets made up almost entirely of locally produced goods.

Our line of New England Gift Baskets has been very successful, and as we discovered new products, we were able to increase the number of designs we could offer. So I was really excited when I discovered Appalachian Naturals a producer of all natural, certified organic foods made from ingredients grown on small New England farms. Now we will be able to add a line of all natural and organic products like their Veracruz Salsas and Cape Cod Caviar to our own New England gift baskets!

From Cape Cod to the Berkshires, from Maine to Rhode Island, we bring the taste of New England to where ever you are!

Food For Thought

The month of October is Adopt A Shelter Dog Month. Laurel Mountain Basket Company is dog friendly and we donate a portion from the sale of all of our pet gifts to several local animal rescue services. I also donate items I know the shelters need to continue to operate. Items like gently used toys, office supplies and laundry supplies. This year I decided to send an e-mail to our clients and let them know, that during the month of October, I was collecting items for the local shelter. I know that our clients are great people but I was amazed at the response we got.

We collected several cases of canned dog and cat food, a big box of office supplies, another box of paper products and laundry supplies. Blankets, towels, pet dishes, collars, and leashes, Hundreds, yes hundreds, of dog and cat toys, all of them in perfect condition, many of them new. Dog beds and three cat condos!

Well, it's November and Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. To me, Thanksgiving means food and lots of it. We celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister and her family in Connecticut and every year she serves up a wonderfully traditional Thanksgiving meal. Everything from turkey to pumpkin pie with plenty left over for sandwiches for the next day. It was touch and go with the stuffing the first couple of years after she got married since she and her husband wanted to use their family recipe. They've been married now for over 25 years, so I guess it worked out okay.

We are very fortunate but we know there are many who are not. That's why I've decided, since collecting for the shelters was such a success, we are going to collect food for our local food pantry. From now until Thanksgiving day, Laurel Mountain Basket Company will be collecting non perishable food for the Easthampton Food Pantry.

Help share our good fortune, bring your food contributions to the Laurel Mountain Basket Company studio at the Eastworks building at 116 Pleasant Street in Easthampton any time. We filled our Toyota 4 Runner with supplies for the animals, I' m hoping to do the same for the people of Easthampton.

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

Breast Cancer Awareness

Those of you who follow my blog know that I was going to participate in the Terry Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation Walk Across Southeastern Connecticut. Well, I am here to tell you I made it!!! My niece, Kate, a student at the University of New Hampshire, and I took part in the event on October 4th.

When Kate called me and invited me to walk with her, I immediately agreed, but one of my caveats was that I would donate my time and my feet but I would not raise any money, that would be totally up to her. She agreed. This may seem harsh to you but Kate is 20 years old and an idealist. Been there, done that, got lots of tee shirts. I have raised a lot of money for "causes" , as a business owner I am contacted daily by individuals and organizations wanting money. I have learned that as much as 60% to 80% of money goes to "administrative costs". I will not give my hard earned money nor ask anyone I know to give hard earned money to "causes" when the money does not get to the people it is supposed to help.

After committing to Kate, but before committing to the Terry Brodeur Foundation, I did some checking. Happily I found out that administrative costs of which there are many, are taken care of by soliciting area businesses for fund. These costs are not taken out of the money donated by participants or donors.

Having organized several fund raising events and having volunteered and/or participated in many more, I know that the costs associated with planning and executing one can be substantial. There are printing and mailing costs, for an event such as this, providing water, power drinks, granola bars and fruit for the walkers, transportation, advertising, tee shirts, signage, equipment rental, etc., etc, etc.

My company, Laurel Mountain Basket Company, occasionally will participate as a sponsor for a local event. Most recently we were one of the sponsors for the Whately Triathlon, a fund raiser for the Whately, MA Police Department. In most cases, such a the TBBCF Walk, I prefer to participate.

It was a great experience. Kate has raised most of the $500 pledge herself (she's still working on the last few dollars) and we're already talking about doing it again next year. When I said I would donate my feet, I didn't know how true a statement that was. My feet are KILLING me! I'm glad I plan ahead and scheduled a chiropractic appointment for this morning. I should have scheduled a massage as well.

If you have the opportunity to participate in an event such as this, I encourage you to do so. The experience will be well worth it but I caution you, make sure you are in good shape and that you train hard before hand.

Sincerely

Marie