At TheGift, our expertise is curation – we’ll make sure we help you find the right gift for the right occasion at the right time, every time. We’re sourcing tens of thousands of great gifts featuring many of the brands you know and trust as well as some exciting new gift idea providers.

We also understand that in this world of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc., your friends and peers are helping to ever shape your purchase behavior (come on’ you can admit), or maybe you are the one helping to shape theirs. . As a result, shopping for gifts, for any occasion, has never been more social! So look around, “Like” something, tweet how awesome our gift line up is, sign up for our email newsletter and don’t forget to take our fun quiz to help you choose the right gifting persona.

By way of background, TheGift is the newest entrepreneurial initiative from 1-800-Flowers.com. At 1-800-Flowers.com, we pride ourselves on delivering smiles with a broad range of great gifts brands and services. Hopefully, you are familiar with Celebrations.com, our media and content site that delivers party ideas and inspiration to help celebrate all of life’s occasions. Celebrations was launched as a skunk works project about 3 years ago with a small NYC based team. It is part of that team, along with some new additions, that is now bringing you TheGift. Like a true startup, we are scrappy; we have been sharing office space with partners, operating with small budgets and a lot of heart.

The idea for TheGift was conceived in January, 2011 as a way of leveraging a URL we have long owned in order to help bring us one step closer to having our family of brands be top of mind for all of your gifting needs. We moved fast – skunk-works fast – begging for budget, scoping and planning and finally starting to build in early July with an ambitious goal of being up and running in time for the year-end holiday season. We have our great partners at Dotbox to thank for building and designing our amazing site just a few short months, our dear friends at TargetCast:TCM for housing us, and also, to our Marketing and Business Development leads, Sharmy Nadkarni and Erik Keller, respectively. While it hasn’t been easy (mom said nothing worth having ever is!), it has been fun, and we are thankful to everyone in our entire organization for believing in us, our ideas and more importantly, in the need to continually innovate and invest for the future.

Here are a few links we think you should check out:

• Great content to answer all those gifting etiquette questions and help break down the latest trends.
• Our rock star panel of Experts.
• TheGift GPS – a fun quiz to help you navigate to the perfect gift persona.
• Our Same-Day Delivery storefront

Remember, our baby is still very new, and there will undoubtedly be some bugs (how else could we learn from our mistakes!). We encourage you to send any glitches you may find as well as your suggestions on how we can enhance TheGift. We know that we have created a very good site – one we’re proud of; but it’s only with help from our customers that we can turn it into a great site. You can email me direct at jon(at)thegift.com.

And please, sign up for our newsletter, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Stay tuned for new features to be rolling out non-stop through this holiday season, including occasion reminders, a daily deal, wish lists and social curation. Happy Gifting!
Regards,

Jon Mandell
General Manager, TheGift.com

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For more from Courtney, check out her Expert page on TheGift.com

The first thing to consider when planning your Super Bowl party is the setup. The television is the main event so everything must be set up around it. You’ll need enough seating for all party guests to be able to sit and have a good view of the television. It’s also optimal if guests don’t have to get out of their seats to reach the food. Small dishes of food placed throughout the party area is the best way to go.

Now is the time to assess your party area and make a list of things you might need. The week between Christmas and New Year’s is a great time to shop sales. Retail stores are practically giving away merchandise, in hopes of meeting their bottom line for the year so make sure you keep an eye out for things you might need come Super Bowl Sunday!

* Everyone playing the game brings a wrapped gift so there is no indication about what is inside. Place gifts together under the tree or on a table.

* The host writes a number on scrap pieces of paper for every gift and places them in a basket, bowl or hat.

* Each person draws a number. Getting a higher number is actually better because you will have more opened gifts to choose from.

* The person with #1 picks a gift to open from the pile. The person with #2 can choose to open another package or steal the gift from #1. If a gift is stolen, the person who had it then steals from someone else or picks another gift to open.

* The game continues like this until everyone takes a turn opening or stealing a gift. The last person to go can steal from anyone in the game or open the remaining gift.

* Once a gift is stolen three times, it is retired from the game.
Find more Holiday Fun at Christmas Party Games.

In traditional bingo, each player takes a card with a five by five grid. The word “BINGO” is displayed on the top with numbers underneath it. Someone moderates the game and calls out the number and letter combination until someone wins by getting a Bingo.

Alternative ways to play include: having a marker on four corners or forming an X on the Bingo card.

Holiday Bingo:

In order to revise this popular game for the holidays, change the cards by coloring holiday graphics or words in exchange for numbers.

Here are some to consider:

• Santa
• Reindeer
• Elves
• Toys
• Candy canes
• Snowman
• Mistletoe
• Hot chocolate
• Christmas tree
• Angel
• Ornament
• Stocking
• Candle
• Presents
• Sleigh
• North pole
• Snowflakes
• Carolers
• Jingle bells
• Lights
• Bow
• Wreath
• Gingerbread man
• Christmas cookies

Keep the word BINGO at top or substitute a holiday-themed word, such as “CLAUS.” If you’re using words versus images, watch out for the double letters (i.e. the “A” in “Santa” or “Claus”).

Preparation

* Online Resources:

If you don’t feel like designing your own customized holiday Bingo cards, check out some sites devoted to printable versions:
o Dltk-cards.com
o Blackdog.net
o Coolest-Holiday-Parties.com

Steps

* Let’s Play:

* The game is played in the traditional way with one person serving as the moderator.

* One way to put another unique spin on the classic version is to have players shout “Merry Christmas” when they have a Bingo.

* Another festive take: in order to have a winning card, try to create a tree with the Bingo markers. To do this, the entire N column should be covered and the third and fourth columns should have three middle spaces covered to resemble branches.

For more great activities see Christmas Party Games.

2. Dreaming of a White Christmas: Cream, Ivory and pale, brushed silver

3. Merry Monochrome: Muted gold, rich browns and light amber

4. Winter Wonderland: Pale baby blue, cream and light brown

Want more ideas on how to decorate this Holiday season? Check out Christmas Decorations.

* Before buying any Christmas decorations for the party, assess your personal decor to find items that fit within your chosen color scheme or theme.

* Use party ware to add color and to personalize the party. Find customized napkins and coasters for a reasonable price at several online retailers.

* Add greenery for a seasonal touch. Many Christmas tree vendors give away cuttings, which you can collect for DIY garlands and wreaths.

* Finish with flowers for pops of festive color. Carnations are a chic and cheap choice.

For more affordable decor ideas, check out: Christmas Decorations.

Check back soon for more do-it-yourself Christmas Ideas.

Gift wrap:

Wrap food-based gifts with take-out menus. It’s a great and green way to recycle.

Use wallpaper scraps as gift wrap or cut out smaller pieces to use as gift tags.

Use the comics section of the newspaper.

Wrap gifts in brown craft paper and decorate by gluing on tiny pinecones and cinnamon sticks. Top off with raffia ribbon for a natural look.

Using plain white paper and paint with finger paint.

Gift Tags and Note Cards:

Again, you can cut smaller pieces of leftover wallpaper.

Layer small pieces of brown paper with white paper, white paper over comic strips, etc. Use the colored pieces as a border and the white paper to write your note.

-Recycle old Independence Day party decor, dishware and utensils. Red, white and blue anything will do!

-Serve snack foods you’d put out for a television of movie party – popcorn, chips and dip, salsa and finger foods.

-Mix up some themed drinks (recipes below)!

-For more election party food ideas, decorate cookies, cupcakes or a cake with a patriotic theme – red, white and blue icing.

-Whip up a playlist of the presidential candidates’ favorite songs:

“Raisin McCain” by John Rich
“Yes, I can” by Will.i.am
“City of Blinding Lights” by U2
“Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys
“Barracuda”, by Heart
“Touch the Sky”, by Kanye West

Since election day is on a weekday and everyone needs to make time to vote as well, keep the party planning as no-fuss as possible.

Election Party Cocktails:

Barack on the Rocks

Ingredients

• 2 Oz Citrus Vodka
• 1 Oz Blue Curacao
• 1 Whole 1/2 juice from lime

Steps

• Combine all ingredients into shaker.
• Shake and pour into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.
• Garnish with a slice of pear

McCain Straight Up

Ingredients

• 2 Oz Respado Tequila
• 1/4 Oz simple syrup
• 6 Whole fresh Pomegranate seeds and juice
• 1 Oz passion fruit juice
• 1  Mint leaf for Garnish

Steps

• Muddle Pomegranate in base of shaker
• Add other ingredients; shake with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.