Posts Tagged: "food"

Custom Birthday Plate | Fun Tradition

Princess Diana - June 20, 2017 - Birthday, Kids

We all want to feel special on our birthday. Sometimes it’s the little things that make us feel EXTRA special.

Like getting to use a personalized birthday plate while every else uses paper plates.

Kids will especially love this tradition. All year long, they will anticipate getting to eat a big slice of cake on their custom birthday plate.

Think of the fond childhood memories this fun tradition will create!

This perfect birthday gift can be used year after year to celebrate someone’s special day.

Summer Camp Care Package

Queen Darlene - June 8, 2017 - Food & Drinks, Gift Baskets, Kids

I loved going to summer camp as a kid so I wanted my children to have their own experiences of summer camp. One of the differences between theirs and mine, I sent my children a surprise care package.

Even though I was having lots of fun, I remember being homesick and I was sure my boys were too.

Especially if this is their first time, receiving a care package of their favorite treats and fun games while away at camp, reassures your children they are loved and you are thinking of them. Continue Reading

A Candy Bouquet for Any Occasion

Princess Diana - January 24, 2017 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Congratulations, Food & Drinks, Get Well, Gifts for Him, Graduation, Host, Housewarming, Kids, Mother's Day, Party Favors, Retirement, Teacher Gifts, Thank You, Valentine's Day

Flowers bouquets are considered a perfect gift for any occasion. Although, realistically, women tend to appreciate the gift of flowers more than men. Not so with candy bouquets. Men, women and children love them equally!

A candy bouquet is like a flower arrangement except it uses candy instead of flowers.

Think about it. Not everyone has a favorite flower, but everyone has their favorite candy (or candies).

If you’re like me, you have more than one favorite candy. My perfect candy bouquet would contain Twix, Sour Patch Kids, Sweet Tart Gummies, Hershey’s Hugs, and Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses.

Candy bouquets are a beautiful sight! They look expensive, but they can be created simply and inexpensively.

You can purchase pre-made candy bouquets, but by creating your own you can customize it to contain the gift recipient’s favorite flavors.

Ceramic Woven Bread Basket | Keeps Bread Warm

Queen Darlene - January 12, 2017 - Birthday, Christmas, Gift Baskets, Host, Housewarming, Mother's Day, Teacher Gifts, Wedding

Have you ever heard of a ceramic woven bread basket that keeps bread warm? My sister-in-law received one for Christmas and now, I want one!

What I’ve always done to keep my bread warm is to wrap them up in a tea towel (just like my grandmother, mother and mother-in-law used to do) and place them in a wicker basket. Of course, they never stayed warm very long.

Keeps Homebaked Goods Warmer Longer

A heated Williams Sonoma ceramic woven bread basket will keep bread warm during your entire meal. Bread lovers can eat their second and third dinner rolls still warm!

It works by placing the ceramic bread basket in a 350°F oven for approximately 15 minutes. Afterwards, remove from the oven and line the basket with a cloth napkin before adding your bread, muffins or biscuits. Continue Reading

Oklahoma Gourmet Popcorn | 45 Flavors!

Queen Darlene - December 23, 2016 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Family, Food & Drinks, Housewarming, Kids, Teacher Gifts, Thank You

Pop! Pop! Popcorn! Imagine 45 flavors to choose from!

There’s a new POPular store in town – Oklahoma Gourmet Popcorn. I love to shop and support local stores especially when you can meet the owner.

The store carried my husband’s favorite popcorn flavor, Oreo, and my new favorite flavor, Puppy Chow.

Gourmet popcorn is a delicious and fun gift during any time of the year.

Flavored Popcorn

Since gourmet popcorn comes in all sorts of flavors and colors, you can choose someone’s favorite flavor or personalize their gift by selecting a color to match their favorite sports team.

You can order online or visit their store. I enjoyed visiting their colorful store and did a taste-testing of several flavors before making my decision.

Each gourmet popcorn tasted amazing so it was difficult to decide. I finally selected White Chocolate Pretzel, Jalapeno Cheddar, Sea Salt Caramel, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Ranch as Christmas gifts for friends and family.

There are several sizes available such as Mini, Junior, Small, Medium and Large. They also have a variety of Tins for all occasions. Continue Reading

Say It With Donuts

Princess Diana - August 23, 2016 - $20 or Less, Anniversary, Baby Shower, Birthday, Business, Congratulations, Father's Day, Food & Drinks, Get Well, Graduation, Kids, Mother's Day, Party Favors, Retirement, Teacher Gifts, Thank You, Valentine's Day

I donut know about you, but I love this gift idea!

It’s a cute, fun and non-traditional way to celebrate, appreciate or congratulate a person or group! I’m talking about donuts in the shapes of letters so they spell out a message – whatever you want to say.

This edible gift idea is really popular with kids on their birthdays. I love that different words can be decorated to look totally different. Who knew donuts could be so fancy!

You could even surprise them with the box of donuts at school so they can share the donuts with the whole class. Kids will remember Custom Message Donuts over cupcakes any day. And your child holding the big box of donuts will make for such a cute picture!

Adults would love these too. Imagine their face when they find a big box on their desk at work and open it to see what’s inside. It’s only morning and you’ve already made their day! How very thoughtful of you.

Ways to Give Custom Message Donuts

Hop In The Car One Day Road Trips

Queen Darlene - August 11, 2016 - Experiences, Food & Drinks

Our lifelong friends, Curtis and Susan, my husband, and I have come up with a fun experience to spend time together – Hop in the Car One Day Road Trips.

In the early years, we spent a lot of time together. We doubled dated and later were in each other’s wedding parties. We even shared holidays.

Our lives got much busier when we were raising our children, and we spent less and less time together. But now that our kids are grown, you would think we would have more time on our hands but our lives are as busy as ever.

We may have dinner together for a few short hours in a noise-filled chain restaurant once a year. This was pitiful and had to change!

I came across the best restaurants for home cooked meals across the state of Oklahoma on TravelOK.com. We decided to plan Saturday trips every four to six weeks to visit Mom and Pop type places to eat and our travels included siteseeing along the way. Continue Reading

Celebrate Obscure Holidays

Princess Diana - July 1, 2016 - $20 or Less, Business

Do you ever need a reason to celebrate? I’ve got hundreds of them for you.

Almost 365 reasons really because there exists an obscure holiday on almost every day of the year. How is this a thoughtful gift idea?

Because people will love you for turning an ordinary day into an unexpected celebration!

If you work in an office, you’ll be giving your co-workers an opportunity to take a break from staring at their computers to have a little bit of excitement and variety.

Take this scenario. It’s a typical Monday at the office. You surprise everyone with s’mores because it’s National S’mores Day! Your co-workers enjoy eating their delicious snack, and it makes them feel like a kid again thanks to you!

Bosses, supervisors and managers can use obscure holidays related to food (think Sundae Day and Pie Day!) to show some love to their employees.

On Popcorn Day, you could give your friends, family members or co-workers flavored popcorn. Oreo Popcorn is my favorite and it’s easy to make!

You could also place an unpopped bag of popcorn on your co-workers’ desks with a small note about it being National Popcorn Day. They’ll appreciate the snack and the fact that you thought of them, making it a thoughtful gift!

Here is a list of some obscure holidays that would be fun to celebrate. View a more comprehensive list.

Let Them Eat Cake Pops

Queen Darlene - May 26, 2016 - Anniversary, Baby Shower, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Congratulations, Father's Day, Graduation, Housewarming, Kids, Mother's Day, Retirement, Teacher Gifts

In our family, cake has always been the go-to dessert for celebrations, either homemade or bakery bought. But now I’ve discovered a new fun dessert – Cake Pops!

Cake Pops are a one-bite-size cake balls on a stick. They are soooo creatively cute and perfect for birthdays, graduations, holidays, baby and bridal showers, Mother’s Day, retirements and more.

I brought Cake Pops to a birthday and retirement party and they were a big hit with everyone! Lays’ best-known slogan “Betcha Can’t Eat Just One” is certainly true for cake balls!

You can order Cake Pops in different flavors and have them decorated in pretty much any colors, shapes and themes to make beautiful edible gifts!

Cake Pops Gift Ideas:

Flowers – Mom
Favorite Sports Team Colors – Gift for Him
Apples – Teachers
Rattles, Babies – Baby Showers
Graduation Hat – Graduate
Super Heroes, Elmo, Ninja Turtle, Mickey Mouse – Kids
Snowman, Reindeer – Christmas Party, Business Gifts
Bunnies – Easter
Mummies – Halloween

Establishing Healthy Eating Habits – Kids Cooking Gift Set

Princess Diana - November 17, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Kids

When it comes to being healthy, it really boils down to your habits. What are your habits when it comes to what you eat, your portion sizes, and your amount of physical activity?

Habits can be formed at a very early age. Kids are like sponges and putty like that.

Establishing Healthy Eating Habits - Kids Cooking Gift Set

Make cooking and healthy eating fun by getting a child his or her own chef’s hat and jacket. Include with it toy fruits and vegetables he or she can practice slicing with a wooden knife.

As parents and caregivers, we have an opportunity to help shape children’s habits when it comes to healthy eating. It begins with getting them in the kitchen to help with the cooking and introducing them to the wide variety of delicious fruits and veggies that exist.

Nothing gets children more interested in joining their parents in the kitchen than having their own chef’s hat and apron or jacket. When you’re dressed the part, you feel like the real deal!