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How often have you asked yourself if someone may be a diabetic when giving a gift basket? Such as your elderly parents or friend or even your employer? Be smart and give only diabetic gift baskets to those who need a sugar free diet.

I will teach you how to put together the most perfect get-well, diabetic-safe gift basket to give to your friend.

Now if you are doing it yourself you need first to put together a beautiful woven basket lined with decorative linens, and you need to know what snacks and items are safe to put into the diabetic gift basket. Snacks should be sugar free and have no sodium added. Organic tea like green tea is also one among the popular ingredients in these diabetic gift baskets.

Sometimes you can have other non-food items that are suitable for diabetics to use such as bath and body care products.

There are specialized stores and also drug stores that carry a lot of these attractive sugar free products. There they have tons of great diabetic snacks that you choose from and put into your diabetic gift basket .Some other great food items that are safe for diabetics to eat are; bags of plain popcorn, fruits, veggies, sugar free oatmeal, and sugar free cereals.

Whatever the occasion,whether it is Christmas, Valentine’s Day or just someone birthday, if you are giving a gift basket to someone elderly just paused and consider whether they might be diabetic or not. If so, then give them diabetic gift baskets instead of the normal sugar laden ones. Diabetic Gift Baskets Can also be given on any ocassion to diabetics.

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Source by Ivy Smith

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Spring has sprung, Easter is just around the corner. One of the most celebrated holidays is Easter and part of the reason why this holiday is loved is the food associated with it. If you are hosting an Easter dinner with your friends or family this year, here are some good tips for some delicious Easter recipes.

Maple Syrup Ham and Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows

One of the most requested types of food to eat at Easter is ham and you can sweeten up the taste of it by adding some tasty maple syrup. While your store bought maple syrup should work, try to purchase maple syrup that is 100% pure and not made from corn syrup. Adding pure maple syrup will add a sweet, delicious taste that your friends and family will love.

You can easily accompany your maple syrup ham with some tasty sweet potatoes smothered in miniature marshmallows. Sweet potatoes will be your maple syrup ham’s best friend. For an extra treat, add miniature marshmallows and you will definetly get some smiles from children and adults alike.

Easter Bunny Cookies

Even though chocolate bunnies are pivotal to Easter, cookies can also be an excellent treat. Just like Christmas cookies are fun to make and yummy to eat, so are Easter Bunny cookies. Most grocery stores, discount stores, and craft stores sell Easter Bunny cookie cutters to make your favorite chocolate chip or sugar cookie into some fantastic Easter Bunny shapes.

Easter Egg Cup Cakes

Easter Egg cup cakes are an awesome way to add enthusiasm to the holidays for your children. Easter Egg Cupcakes are an easy and fun way to bring color to any Easter dinner dessert. Instead of using cup cake holders, try to use small waffle cones to hold your cup cake mixture. Once baked, add coloring, sprinkles, candy, etc. to your creation.

Easter Bunny Carrot Cake

Easter Bunny carrot cake is an awesome way to add color and excitement for the whole family. What goes better with bunny rabbits than carrots and a yummy carrot cake goes with any Easter dinner. You can easily purchase a carrot cake and decorate the top by hand. Many people create their own frosting adding food coloring to color the carrot cake to look like an Easter egg.

Easter Cocktails

For those adults that like to top off their dinner with a delicious alcoholic beverage, there are many colorful cocktails that compliment the mood of any Easter dinner. For example, certain liquors come in various colors such as grenadine for rose, blue Curacao for cerulean and mixing clear liquor with assorted fruit juices for multicolored Easter drinks. For those that prefer a cocktail sans the alcohol, it’s easy to add color to your event with a host of fresh fruit smoothies, just by adding fresh fruit with cream or milk. Some people even add some yogurt to the mix.

If you are looking for a great way to enjoy your Easter this year, follow the above Easter recipes.

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Source by Christine Steendahl

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I had the most delightful chocolate gift basket, I had to tell everyone about it. Everyone loves chocolate gift baskets, or is that just me?

It would be difficult to find someone who does not like some kind of chocolate. At least that is what gift baskets business owners hope is true. Chocolate gift baskets make up a large percentage of gift basket business, especially around certain holidays like Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Christmas.

There are so many varieties of chocolate in the world. There is the fabulous Ghirardelli Chocolate made in San Francisco, U.S.A., rich dark Belgium chocolate, Godiva Chocolate, Nirvana, and many other wonderful concoctions.

There are many gift giving occasions to give a chocolate gift basket. Some ideas of the most common times to be thinking of giving chocolate as gifts are: Birthdays, holidays, in thank you gift baskets, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, Valentines Day of course, Sympathy or Get Well, and also they go well in wine gift baskets and thank you baskets. Don’t forget another person who loves to receive chocolate – you. It’s OK to give yourself a gift basket when you are feeling particularly low, and need a pick-me-up, or when you are celebrating a promotion, or just because!

Chocolate gift baskets are not only filled with candy, they can be filled with baked goods, snacks, other food items, non-edible items, and beverages. Chocolate gift baskets make great corporate gifts too.There are chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate covered Brittle, chocolate brownies, hot chocolate, novelty chocolates and chocolate cookies. Chocolate comes in shapes, or combos, chocolate expresso beans, and chocolate covered strawberries and even chocolate containers. There are also non-edible chocolate gift items like bracelets, and electronic gadgets that can be added to the baskets to make them special.

The elderly and women are especially fond of homemade chocolates.Gift baskets home business owners will make their business unique by offering special items like homemade chocolates. Casual chocolate gift baskets are filled with the chocolates you find on store shelves and are popular with men and teenagers. A really neat touch is to provide flowers with the chocolates especially for the romantic occasions for gift baskets like Valentines’s day, weddings, anniversaries, honeymoons, and for saying “I’m sorry”, and thank you for a job well-done. You can never go wrong with offering your customer a chocolate gift basket filled with heavenly chocolates that will put everyone in a good mood. Chocolates put a smile on your face and can turn any day into a special day. Chocolates are the food of lovers and will say I love you, even when you forget that special date.

Oh, by the way I ordered my chocolate gift basket from www.freejewelry.ecrater.com It was only $37.95 plus $9.95 shipping. IT WAS DIVINE…

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Source by Shawntina Archer

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If you are creative and like to make gifts for others, then a work at home gift basket business might be right for you. Making gift baskets to sell is rewarding and fun. Many people like the idea of giving personalized baskets for holidays, birthdays and special events but dont have the time to put them together. When you start a gift basket business, you will be supplying them with something they need and getting the opportunity to put your talents to work.

Before you start your life as a gift basket Wahm, make sure that this business is something that you really want to do. If you have never made gift baskets, but like the idea, try making one or several for your next gift-giving event. This will also be an opportunity to show off your gift basket making skills to your friends and family. While you are planning and making your gift baskets ask yourself if this is something you can see yourself doing on a regular basis.

Making some sample gift baskets will also give you an idea of how much your supplies will cost and how much time it will take you to complete each basket. This will help you gauge pricing when you start your business. However, keep in mind that when you get a business license you will be able to buy craft supplies for wholesale prices.

Getting a business license is an important step in making yourself into an official Wahm. The process is simple and there are many tax benefits to becoming a legal businessperson. You will also get your supplies at wholesale and be able to get discounts on other business related expenses.

Once you have decided that making gift baskets is right for you, it is time to develop your catalog of basket options and prices. Think up a few prototypes for different situations. Although gift baskets are popular during the holiday season, you can also create them for graduations, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Valentines Day and other events. Create a few different gift basket ideas and then ask your friends and family for their opinions. Make sure your choices of design and gift basket items are popular with many people before you make them part of your catalog.

Have your prices ready for both standard baskets and custom baskets, and then make your business cards and start advertising. By now, your friends and family will know about your business and you can tell them to spread the word on your new venture. Network with other local businesses, like nail salons and florist shops, to get your name in front of more people. Targeting businesses that are frequented by women is a good tactic because women are more likely to purchase your baskets.

Around the holidays, corporate companies are looking to buy gifts for their clients and suppliers. This can lead to a lucrative seasonal business for you. You should start marketing your corporate gift business in October at the latest. Network with your husbands employers and the employers of your friends and family.

Being a gift basket Wahm is a great way to show of your creativity and provide a valuable service at the same time. The rewards are many and with planning and initiative, it can be a very profitable business venture for you.

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Source by Karl Glantschnig

Basketball is a rough sport but people who regularly play the sport make it really fun to watch, not to mention very easy. If one looks a little bit closer, it has also technicalities and techniques. The object the game is to keep the ball in possession and score at the team’s basket. If the team has the basketball they should protect it from the opponent so that they won’t be able to steal it from them. This is called offense; the team who possesses the ball tries to keep the ball in their hands before they shoot and score.

Different players of the team have differences in the roles that they play during offense.

The Point Guard acts as the coach on the floor or court during the game. Extensive knowledge of the game and good ball handling skills are very important to be able to drive the ball to the basket with the help of the other members of the team. Good passing and dribbling skills together with great speed and fancy footwork is a technique that can be done by the point guard to keep the ball in possession and be successful in offensive play. Reading the defense of the opponent plus doing good defense can also be applied so the point guard can penetrate and dish off and drive the ball to the basket. Point Guards take little credit for the good offensive play however; they are valued by the other members of the team and the coach for they are the only ones who can understand the importance of the point guard.

The Off-Guard or the shooting guard acts as the best shooter among the guards of team. In addition to the qualities of the point guard, skills in moving without the ball and consistent hitting the 15 to 20 foot shot should be possessed. This player’s aim is to score and assists his teammates to score. This player should read the offense play the point guard has established because this player will replace the point guard if the point guard is overplayed or has to leave the game. This player then also acts as the understudy of offense.

The Center plays the mean tallest player on the floor or court and is as important as the point guard. This player should be quick and aggressive because this player rebounds to get the ball in the team’s possession and blocks the ball from shooting at the basket. Shooting skills required for this player are shooting at short and mid range, lay-ups, short hooks and jump shots and therefore strong hands, strong upper body and good jumping ability comes in handy. This player leads the team’s defense by reading the opponent’s defense and using it against the opponent. Upon taking the ball in the team’s possession, this player needs to look at the floor, see who is open and pass it so the ball can be taken to the team’s basket and score.

The Small Forward acts as the gifted player of the team. This player should know how to take hold of the ball and of the game. This player runs the length of the floor if needed especially during fast breaks so this player should be quick and fast. Rebounding skills is also necessary for him to take hold of the ball and in doing so, this player does defense anywhere on the floor. This player shoots at will and should be capable of shooting from anywhere on the court or floor.

The Power Forward does the dirty work but is like the point guard, small forward and the center. This player should also have the qualities of the center because this player controls the game in the key along with the center, doing offensive and defensive rebounding. This player may run the length of the floor if necessary especially during fast breaks so running skills is a plus factor. Adequate scoring and passing skills would be of great help to this player. This player does dribbling tactics and drives the ball to shoot in the basket. This player ensures that the team play is enforced properly.

The sixth man plays the all in one because this player replaces any member of the team on the court or floor if necessary. This player comes right out of the bench to ensure the right flow of the team play if the need comes to replace another player. This player observes the play and flow of the game so that this player can continue the game’s tempo and flow and deliver quality minutes to the team while he is on the court. This player may not be part of the starting five but this player keeps the team effective.

Source by Justin Sloan

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Your father is the most special person in your life and his birthday calls for great celebrations. It is the day when it is your turn to make him feel special. You can either buy him a unique gift basket or make one on your own at home.

Gift baskets are the most common and trendiest gifts that can be presented to your family and friends on any occasion. They are available in the market as well as online. In fact, there are a wide variety of them available. However, the personalized ones are special as they have your personal touch full of love. Homemade ones are even more special and will be appreciated and cherished by your father all life long.

Birthday gift baskets should be selected in accordance with your dad’s tastes, interests, hobbies and his special interests in sports, activities, etc.

Following are some ideas to make the best birthday gift baskets for your dad:

• Gift items like his favorite food along with wine bottles can be stuffed in the basket.

• Alternatively, a combination of his favorite bath accessories and hair styling products can also be gifted.

• You can add a ticket to his favorite movie or a DVD with things like popcorns, cookies, etc.

• If your dad likes to spend time in gardening you can gift him a basket full of gardening tools and accessories. These may include a trowel, pruning shears, seed packets and gloves.

• If your dad loves to read books, you can assemble some of his favorite books and gift them in a basket stuffed with other items such as bookmarks, book covers, highlighters, and a small pocket dictionary.

Thus, whatever you finally decide to gift and whatever you stuff the gift basket with, your gift will be an expression of love and appreciation, and will be loved by your dad.

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Source by deepak

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The  gift basket business is steadily booming largely because the number of home based businesses is continuously increasing.   According to statistics, the industry is worth approximately 3.5 billion dollars a year. Although many traditional flower shops also sell gift baskets and there are many basket shops around the States and Canada, this business is ideally suited as a home-based business. Creating gift baskets is one of the fastest growing types of businesses today that you can start from home. The advantage of starting  your business from home is that you can have the freedom to operate as you see fit and design it to flow around your lifestyle and family life. Since the gift baskets will be assembled in and shipped directly out of your home, the space you have and the amount of money you want to make will decide how long you will be able to work out of your home. If you have a large garage to work in versus an 8×10 bedroom, it will make a difference in how much business you will seek out and how long you can remain a home based gift basket business.

To start off your gift basket business from home with a bang, once you have set up your work area, created your marketing tools: your website, your brochures and your business cards;  let your creative juices flow to plan a grand opening of your gift basket business from home that will attract everyone`s attention and everyone will know that you are now open for business and eager to make beautiful quality gift baskets for all.

You will get more bang out of your grand opening by positioning it before a major gift basket rush holiday.  For example, starting a shop in October would be perfect for a Christmas  Rush. Consider your home based business  Grand Opening as a gradual process where you will do a series of activities to spark attention in the community.

Kick off the publicity week by sending a press release to all the local media.  You need to come up with a newsworthy situation that will be of interest to the media while spreading your name in a positive way.  Perhaps you will be visiting people in hospitals and  donating holiday gift  baskets to bring cheer. Maybe you will be visiting a local old age home to bring gift baskets for the residents who don`t receive any visitors at Christmas…. You get the idea…Use your creativity and come up with something that you would enjoy doing, would be proud of and that will get the word out about your business.

Since you will be in operation out of your home, you probably don`t want swarms of people in your home and don`t necessarily want to have a visit by the mayor and ribbon cutting.  But there are other ways to get out into the community and make it your storefront. For starters, I would highly encourage you to be part of your local Chamber of Commerce or local Economic Development Association.

Through the Chamber of Commerce, you will most likely have access to events and occasions such as Business After Five or some other type of members and non-member occasions. There, you can present yourself and your business in motel ballrooms,  board rooms or community halls.

Home Shows, Christmas Gift Shows, Flea Markets, Fairs, Home Business Shows, Penny Sales, any kind of local activity that screams community presence….is a perfect occasion to create an attractive display to showcase your goods, show the community what you can do and  distribute pamphlets, business cards.  This will also allow you to meet countless people and spread the word about your new gift basket business.  Bring along an assistant or family member to cut the monotony of being stuck in a gym for 8 hrs and to help you out, especially in moral support.

Demonstrations are another great way to  attract a lot of attention to yourself and your business. You can establish yourself as a local expert by doing this at shows, in community halls or in schools. You could do a 30 minute demonstration at a show on how to make a pretty basket for Christmas Gift Giving. Make sure to give out your cards and pamphlets at any event like this..Also make sure to call the media in order to ensure that someone will be there to take a picture. Sooner or later by participating in these type of events, photographers and reporters will be flocking around you and you will be in local newspapers and maybe even local TV and radio programs.

Here are other ideas to get your gift basket business from home off to a remarkable start.

1. Have a contest. People love contests.  For Christmas and New Year, you could host a contest that will be well featured in the media.  Maybe it will be advertised through a local radio station or through a local newspaper and you will have ballot boxes in many stores around town. Draw a Basket of The Month Package which includes a $40 basket a month for a year.  Make sure to have a simultaneous campaign to sell the same monthly basket package where the recipient receives a basket every month for a whole year…whether it be a fruit basket, a fruit and candy basket, a gourmet basket or a health food basket.

2. On your website, you could have a separate contest where you draw a basket a month online so you get people to sign up to your sales and newsletter mailings.  Make sure your website is displaying your product line in an attractive manner. Include  prices variations of each product in small, medium and large versions of your baskets for increased sales.

3. Place low cost classified ads in your community newspapers, everyone looks at those…or almost.

4. Network with other businesses such as restaurants, hotels, real estate offices, hospitals, schools, daycares, wedding planners and so on, tell them you have gift baskets for any occasion.

5. Distribute pamphlets to local businesses, especially where people will have time on their hand while waiting for their appointment such as at the hairdressers, the doctor`s office, the chiropractors or optometrist.

To find more information on how to start a home based gift basket business check out my Squidoo pages.

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Source by Sofia Rodriguez

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So you want to send a gift basket or two in appreciation but you don’t want to shell out the $50 to $100 a piece?  Here’s one money saving answer to your dilemma ~ Just Send a Can!

At present, conventional gift baskets are the widely accepted standard for signifying personal appreciation and for the remembrance of many holidays and special occasions.  Gift baskets can contain a variety of goodies, edible and otherwise, and they’ve been around forever.  Unfortunately, gift baskets can quickly become prohibitively expensive, especially when you need to purchase a gift basket for several customers or a special group of people.  Low end gift baskets like those with little soaps and teddy bears can start out at around $30 and by the time you add the shipping costs to your order… well, you know.  You can certainly purchase much more expensive gift baskets with the usual array of food items like wine, sausages, cheese and jams which are yummy, (or maybe not),  but guess what… The price for those gift baskets skyrockets toward or past the $100 mark along with the increasingly higher shipping fees for these tasty but heavyweight delicacies.  If you have ten people on your gift basket list, your last name had better be Trump.  Not to worry, you do have a unique and inexpensive option.

Enter… The Gift Cans!

New, exciting and fresh!  Every bit as appreciated and welcomed as its pricier hemp enhanced predecessor , gift cans are quickly becoming the compact, avant-garde alternative to that already well respected and timeless offering, the gift basket.  You might say, “It’s just a tin can”.  But is it really?  We think not!  These decorative containers can actually bear your special messages, sometimes inside, sometimes outside on their colorful gift can labels.  A gift can’s label is usually bright and cheerful and the label’s bold text spells out the exact reason for the giving of these unique and thoughtful gifts.  Also, a gift can is useful after the fact, is a decorative piece in and of itself and with its small footprint takes up little space to display.  Remember…by typing the words “Inexpensive Gift Cans” into your browser you will find gift cans you can afford to send to lots of your friends.

Here are some FAQ’s:

Will gift cans hold as many goodies as gift baskets?     Some gift cans are large, like gallon paint cans and can easily hold as many items as the largest gift basket.  Other gift cans are smaller and less expensive to purchase, fill and ship.  What you choose to fill gift cans with is only limited to the size of the interior of the gift can.  Here is where you can save some serious money because big gift cans might cost several times as much as their little brothers.

Can gift cans be personalized?     Gift cans are always personalized to one degree or another.  All gift cans have labels that make mention of the specific holiday or special occasion for which they were purchased.  Some gift cans may carry your special message on a note placed inside the sealed can.  Great gift cans take personalization a step further by allowing you to add a name or sometimes even your own special message to the outside of the gift can, laser printed right on the label for all to see. 

What products come in gift cans?     Gift cans are just like gift baskets in that you can get gift cans packed with many different goodies or you can buy them empty and stuff them yourself.  As with gift baskets, pre-packed gift cans come filled with your choice of a variety of items from cookies to teddy bears.  The more items you choose, the pricier the gift cans and the shipping costs.

Are gift cans inexpensive?     Just like gift baskets, gift cans come in an assortment of sizes and prices.  General speaking, gift cans are inexpensive when compared with their woven counterparts because of the difference in cost between a can and a basket.  Just type “Inexpensive Gift Cans” into your browser to find the best gift can deals.

How do I ship a gift can?     Most likely you won’t be doing the shipping unless you are buying empty cans with the intention of filling them with something personally unique and unavailable to the gift can vendor.  It is best to leave the shipping in the hands of the gift can vendor.  He has the appropriate packaging materials and the availability of a number of shipping services from UPS to US Mail at his fingertips.  This also takes all the work out of sending any gift.

Are gift cans available for all holidays and special occasions?     Some web sites offer a simple selection of gift cans limited to major holidays and special occasions which helps keep their costs low.  You will usually find your best deals on gift cans at these sites.   There are gift can sites that offer much larger selections.  Navigating these sites is a bit like reading a Mexican restaurant menu with so much to choose from.  Here you will find whatever you want minus the beans and rice.

What do recipients of gift cans do with their gift cans after they receive them?     Once someone has opened a gift can and removed its contents, the gift can could become one of a number of useful and decorative items.  At the very least, gift cans become colorful 3-D mementos of the special occasion they were given for.  As such, gift cans will usually be kept and displayed in places like bookshelves, office desks and fireplace mantels where traditional gift baskets don’t easily fit.  A gift can might also be used for utilitarian purposes as a decorative canister in which to place a dried flower arrangement, pens and pencils or kitchen utensils as a few examples.  One of the smaller gift cans available on line actually comes with its own coin bank lid which when attached, transforms these particular gift cans into useful, personalized change banks.  Two gifts in one!

Finally, gift cans are a gender neutral offering.  You can give these to both male and female recipients’ without fear of causing GBES, (Gift Basket Emasculation Syndrome).

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Source by Donald Wood

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In the recent times, Valentines Day Gift Baskets have gained tremendous popularity. A gift basket loaded with the goodies your friends shall always love to be gifted is both appealing and exciting. This is more because a specially wrapped gift basket shall add a touch of uniqueness to any gift that makes it special for the receiver.

This type of gift basket is very much dependent upon the person to whom it is going to be gifted. For example, if there is something favorite that you know about the recipient you can easily include it in the gift hamper. Handmade gift baskets shall include items fro children or other relations as well as occasions. Some of the common Valentine Day Gift Baskets could be Chocolate hampers or Bath gift baskets etc.

Chocolate gift hamper can include some best chocolates and sweets for a great gift basket. It could be a variety of milk and dark chocolates, creams, caramels or nut filled chocolates that shall be a delight for chocolate lovers.

For those you are fond of wine could be presented with a wine gift basket. It can include an exotic collection of wines and champagnes for the particular season along with a variety of cookies, jellies, cakes, candles, chocolate sticks and other cream biscuits.

If you wish to gift something to your girlfriend then you can present a Bath gift basket with toiletries such as natural soaps, herbal body scrub, herbal massage oil and candles. In the same way you can gift a male friend with men’s toiletries.

In case you want to gift something to the children then you can include items such as crayons, books, stuffed bear or other dolls to make a great gift basket. There are many creative ways in which you can create great gift ideas at your home with little efforts and skills.

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Source by Olivia Andrews