Colorado Promotional Products | Corporate Gifts for Holidays and Special Events

It has been a while since my last post. I have been knee deep in book keeping and getting my new gift web site set up. It is not moving as quickly as I had hoped, but good things take time.

I have been at Greenwood Athletic Club for the last four days selling balloons filled with a stuffed animal and candy. The revues have been great. I have really enjoyed seeing how some men really take the time to consider their valentine. They put great thought into the colors and what she would really like to have in her balloon. Some were very thoughtful and added a gift card for a massage or dinner to their favorite restaurant. It was fun to see the light bulb go on for the creative types when they realized the great gift giving potential that a gift balloon would serve.

Wedding favors are small gifts given as a gesture of appreciation or gratitude to guests from the bride and groom during a wedding ceremony or a wedding reception. It is a way to say thank you for joining in the wedding celebration. The tradition of distributing wedding favors is a very old one. It is believed that the first wedding favor, common amongst European aristocrats, was known as a bonbonniere. A bonbonniere was a small trinket box made of crystal, porcelain, or precious stones. Generally, the little boxes were filled with sugar cubes or delicate confections. Sugar was expensive and it was believed that sugar had medicinal value. As sugar became more affordable, bonbonnieres were replaced with almonds.

For centuries, almonds were commonly distributed to wedding guests to signify well wishes on the bride and groom’s new life. In the thirteenth century, almonds coated with sugar, known as confetti, were introduced. Confetti soon transformed to sugared almonds, which later evolved into the wedding favor for modern day weddings now known as Jordan almonds. Traditionally, five Jordan almonds are presented in a confection box or wrapped in elegant fabric to represent fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness. The bitterness of the almond and the sweetness of the coated candy exemplify the bitter sweetness of a marriage.

Today, gifts to guests are commonly known as wedding favors and are shared in cultures worldwide. Wedding favors have become an intricate part of wedding reception planning, especially in the United States and Canada. Today’s favors are unique, elegant, fun, colorful, and some gifts may even be personalized with the couple’s names and the wedding date.

Spend a lovely Valentine’s Day afternoon at Vows-where Love is in the Air! Open to all couples and their families, the Vows collective will be featuring specials and have a wonderful open house planned with many special surprises - Meet with 19 vendors in one space, and enjoy an afternoon full of delights, specials, and treats! Free goodie bags filled with gifts for the first 25 brides-to-be to attend!
Sunday, February 14th, 11-3 p.m.
Please RSVP today! to rsvp@wedovows.com

I have found the most wonderful addition to any centerpiece or floral arrangement. They are light branches. Light branches come in battery or plug in. Battery light branches would be very useful in centerpieces that need to be in the middle of a table or where a cord would be an issue. The pussy willow branch is the most popular, but they come in many other styles like a plain willow branch or many styles and colors of a plum tree branch. They have either a 60 light branch or a 96light branch. It makes any centerpiece or floral arrangement come to life.

I will be at Greenwood Athletic Club in Greenwood Village, Colorado on February 11, 12 and 13 selling the ever popular Valentine gift balloons. The Valentine’s Day Balloons this year will have an adorable and soft stuffed animal inside nestled on pink or red shredded crinkle paper. It will also include a Rice Crispy treat in the shape of a heart and decorated for Valentines and a box of Cocoa Room chocolate covered sunflower seeds and almonds. I will have plenty of them pre-made and ready to grab or I will make them on the spot. If you want a custom made balloon, you can add to the already great gift by bringing a gift certificate for a massage or to your favorite restaurant to put inside your Valentine’s balloon. These make great Valentine’s Gifts for Men, Women and Children.

Today, I (Erika Kleinman) worked with Lisa on her upcoming retail site. We are super excited for its launch. I edited copy for the website. I explained how It’s A Gift is an innovative business in the field of specialized gifts. Lisa not only offers the talents of a graphic designer, but she also incorporates her knowledge and experience of event planning, promotional products, and specialized gifts. I also created copy for a page about promotional products. Promotional products are used in the corporate and event worlds. They can be used as wonderful marketing tools and gift items!

Want something special for your Valentine? There are great products out there like Olivia Riegel crystal frames, Bose sound cancellation headphones, Swarovski heart necklaces, Tumi luggage, Soy Candles with a beaded heart or initial, Vera Bradley bags and accessories. They are all available through www.itsagiftonline.com or by calling 720-840-6711, or  Send me an e-mail at itsagiftll@aol.com and I will help you find the perfect gift. I will be at Greenwood Athletic Club in Greenwood Village, Colorado making unique Stuffed Valentine Balloons. They will have a 12″ stuffed animal inside with a Valentine bow. I will have many other items  available for you to purchase to put inside your gift balloon to personalize your gift.

I am so excited. I sat with Steve Mertz of SEO Speakers. He has shown me how to blog and how to use my blog as a marketing tool. Today, Steve helped me begin the path to building a retail website. We went to www.godaddy.com and chose the domain name and then we went to www.gatorhost.com to getting the website set up to be hosted. He told me to work on my layout, design and look for my new site and then he will have his coders implement it. The site will be www.itsagiftbylisa.com. I have wanted to have a gift store for a very long time. After years of selling great gifts on table tops at different shows and markets, I am one step closer to being a full retailer. I feel like this experience has prepared me to know what products will be great sellers. The journey continues.

What a huge and incredible show! I walked my legs off to see everything that I could possibly see. I have found really exciting products that will be fabulous for brides to give to their wedding parties as favors or Thank You gifts. Of course, they would be a great gift for anyone, but I had the brides on my mind. My favorite item was a candle. I know that sounds boring and done, but this one was so different. It was a glass pillar candle with a Monogram letter on the front that was beaded with white and glittery bead work. These candles come in a very special Valentines Day design as well. I liked the line so much, I bought the whole line. I got diffusers, candles and great looking beaded cards. I will showcase them on my new retail site www.itsagiftbylisa.com. My site will be up and running with fabulous retail in about a month.