Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and you know what that means: holiday parties, get-togethers with family and friends, and remembering all that you?re thankful for. We have found some of the best ways to remind your loved ones how much they mean to you. Tell them ?Thanks? for all they do with these special gifts…
Flowers:
What could be better than receiving a huge bouquet of gorgeous flowers? Say Thanks by livening up your loved one?s home with colorful and fragrant blooms.
Speaking Roses
With a unique, patented embossing technology, Speaking Roses makes it easy to say thanks, without even saying a word. Their cutting edge technology allows customers to create a personalized gift for any occasion, by sending roses embossed with special messages and images. Every order is personalized to fit that special someone, from the color of the roses to the message to the floral arrangement. And they ship them right to your loved one?s door.
Florist to the stars for years, Speaking Roses has helped decorate celebrated occasions including the American Music Awards, Radio Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Kentucky Derby. At this year’s Grammy Awards they decorated the dressing rooms of presenters and performers with roses embossed with their photos. Speaking Roses were also seen on the Ellen Degeneres Mother’s Day show with Tom Cruise handing bouquets of roses out to the mothers in the audience with roses embossed with Happy Mother’s Day.
Speaking Roses will help you make the best choice in roses using their ?The Language of Flowers? concept. Each rose color has a different meaning; red for romance, yellow for friendship, white for loyalty and so on. Using their guide, you can find the most suitable flower for the message you want to send. Yellow and white roses are most popular for Thanksgiving. Have them embossed with Happy Thanksgiving, or even the image of a be-feathered turkey, and you?ll be sure to make your friends and family smile.
https://www.speakingroses.com/
Gift Baskets:
Why not go the traditional route and give the gift of gourmet food? These gift baskets are sure to please.
Basket Heaven
At Basket Heaven, you?ll find a gift for everyone on your list. Known for their gourmet food baskets, they also create beautiful spa/relaxation baskets featuring products by Thymes. These spa baskets are a great way to give thanks to mom or that best friend that has always been there for you. The luxury basket comes fashionably wrapped and includes bath products from Thymes in classic and feminine scents sure to please, as well as scented candles, brushes and potpourri to complete the perfect bath experience.
The newest line in the basket collection is an All Organic Foods basket featuring the best in organic snacks, including Nature?s Path Oatmeal Cookies, Kettle Potato Chips, Dagoba Organic Chocolate Cacao Nibs, Dried Mangos, and Newman?s Own Chocolate Chip Cookies. And since it?s organic, you know you are giving your loved ones a healthy and delicious gift.
Their vast selection is only rivaled by the superb quality of their products. From salty to sweet, there is a basket to satisfy anyone?s taste buds. You can choose from a selection of pre-designed baskets, or you can let your imagination run free with their custom baskets. All baskets include unique gourmet products, including such goodies as Beverly Hills Cashew Clusters (large pieces covered in dark, milk and white chocolate), California Orange Slices Half Dipped in Chocolate, Uncle Eddies Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Sybil’s Outrageous Brownies. With Basket Heaven, giving thanks was never easier.
https://www.basketheaven.com/
Wine Country Gift Baskets
Another great choice, Wine Country Gift Baskets is the name in distinctive personal and corporate gifts. As the number one gift basket website, they offer sophisticated baskets in a variety of themes so you?ll be sure to find the perfect way to say thanks. Wine baskets, spa baskets, Kosher baskets, even coffee and chocolate baskets are just some of the myriad of options available.
For Thanksgiving, express your gratitude with the World of Thanks gift basket. Its filled to the brim with Ghirardelli milk chocolate, Godiva dark chocolate covered almonds, cinnamon roasted cashews, Wine Country sesame crackers, camembert cheese spread and cheese knife, stone ground mustard, baguettes, salami, Jacobsen’s butter cookies, Lindt dark and milk chocolate truffles, Ghirardelli Citrus Sunset dark chocolate with orange and caramel crunch, Nonni’s twice baked roasted garlic crackers, and more. A matching Wine Country candy dish ensures this gift will be remembered.
To really wow them, send the Sterling Vintner?s Collection, a glorious gift of wine and cheese. Filled with three fine wines from Sterling Vintner’s Collection, including a ripe and fruity merlot, rich full cabernet sauvignon and Sterling’s crisp and creamy chardonnay. Sesame crackers, olive tapenade, cabernet black pepper cheese spread and cheese knife, roasted garlic crackers, cinnamon cashews, tiramisu wafers, Ghirardelli Twilight Delight and Citrus Sunset dark chocolate, Italian almond pralines and more make this striking basket a great choice for the wine lover.
www.winecountrygiftbaskets.com
Beauty:
Try something different this year and treat your friends and family to the gift of beauty. Pumpkin facials are a great way to get glowing skin, and are much better for the waist-line that pumpkin pie!
Jaqua
The two sisters behind Jaqua beauty products, Sara and Jennifer, have created a scrumptious Pumpkin Papaya Puree Enzyme Face Masque that smells as good as it sounds. Just be careful when applying, because, as it says on the packaging, the mask smells good enough to eat. Unfortunately for us, it?s not edible, but it will make your face look gorgeous. It can even be used as a spot treatment to zap blemishes.
Once you open the jar, it smells just like that pumpkin pie we crave every year. A tingly rejuvenating masque, it uses the natural enzymes in pumpkin and papaya to remove dead skin cells gently. The pumpkin enzymes gently exfoliates skin, while papaya fruit extract heals and reduces unwanted skin oils and kaolin clay refines pores and reduces oil production in the skin. It leaves you looking refreshed, sparkling and ready for the holiday season.
Jaqua is the expert when it comes to scrumptious-scented body products. Their Buttercream Frosting line a best-seller at beauty stores everywhere. The sisters grew up in Santa Barbara, and began creating products when they realized the ones they craved hadn?t been invented yet. The came up with Jaqua, and the beautifully packaged, true fragranced and highly effective bath and beauty products they loved and always wanted. Jaqua Beauty was born out of the sisters’ creative spirit and desire to offer high quality, reasonably-priced indulgences using only premium ingredients, nourishing oils, and proven extracts. Pass their spirit on to your favorite friend or family member.
Amadeus Spa
Show your gratitude by treating a loved one to a fabulous spa day at Amadeus Spa in Pasadena. To get in the Thanksgiving spirit, book an appointment together and get pampered with a refreshing pumpkin peel.
The fruit acid enzyme in pumpkin makes this an excellent alternative to the stronger AHA and provides over 100 nutrients including beta carotene, ascorbic acid and vitamin C. You?ll experience smoother, softer, newly-revitalized skin without the pain. And what could be a better way to give thanks than through better, younger-looking skin?
The beautiful spa and salon is a sanctuary of beauty. One step inside and you?ll know why Amadeus has been selected as L.A.?s best day spa by both The Los Angeles times and LA Magazine. Their mission is to provide the ultimate place for guests to experience soothing and rejuvenating services and products in a relaxing & elegant atmosphere. The spa has a community feel, and will make you want to keep coming back again and again.
They make it a promise to create an uplifting and bonding environment where guests? and staffs’ needs are anticipated and provided for with the utmost professionalism. Set up simultaneous appointments and get pampered together.
Thanksgiving Dinner:
Don?t feel like cooking on Thanksgiving? Treat yourself to a fine dinner out and let some one else make a mess in the kitchen for you.
Ocean and Vine
Ocean and Vine at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel is a comfortable and elegant restaurant that offers breathtaking views, fireside vignettes and delicious cuisine, making it the perfect spot to relax, enjoy time with family, and reflect on all that you?re thankful for. Like good food! The Thanksgiving Dinner menu alone will make thrown in the potholders and relinquish any thoughts of cooking dinner yourself. Instead, take the family out to enjoy a four-course dinner prepared by Chef Gregg Wangard.
With several options offered for every course, every palate will be happy. Some choices include Roasted Eggplant and Fig Soup and Little Gem Butter Lettuce salad with roasted pumpkin seeds, stravecchio cheese, and pumpkin emulsion for starters, Tamarind Glazed Grilled Quail and Ocean and Vine Macaroni and Cheese with three-year aged cheddar, fontiago, and chorizo for seconds, Grilled Strip Loin, Harvest Pumpkin Tortelli, and Duo of Organic Turkey for the main course, and Farmer’s Market Pumpkin Tart and Double Chocolate Cheese Cake for dessert.
With ocean-side views, the restaurant plays up the local setting with subtle tones of warm browns, subtle blues and touches of mother of pearl to create a warm and inviting dining room. Your family will right at home in the comfy couches that surround the fire, and guests can dine fireside either in the restaurant?s spacious dining room or extensive outdoor patio. Chef Wangard has created a unique menu that perfectly compliments the setting using farm fresh ingredients and unique creations. Designed to offer something for everyone, the menu features a combination of large and small plates, which makes it ideal for a formal dinner, or a small meal and a glass of wine.
Ocean and Vine Thanksgiving 2006
12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
$65 per person
$100 with wine pairings
https://www.oceanandvine.com/
Fine Wines & Spirits:
If you attending any get-togethers this Thanksgiving season, a great bottle of wine or a festive spirit is a great choice for the perfect hostess gift. Uncork the season of giving with these fine drinks.
Gallo
Gallo Family Vineyards has a superb collection of reds and whites that will make you the hit of any party. The 2004 Sonoma Reserve Chardonnay marries the rich full flavors of melon and citrus fruits with a hint of vanilla. The oak aging imparts a luscious taste with toasty, buttery notes followed by a crisp, clean finish. It?s a delicious complement to any Thanksgiving feast.
Gallo takes great care to provide their customer with a quality wine experience. To ensure that the grapes are gently squeezed and allow the natural fruit character to shine through, a gravity fed, whole cluster press is used for 100% of the Sonoma Reserve Chardonnay. After fermentation, 73% of the wine was aged in French, European, and American oak barrels for an average of six months to impart subtle hints of oak flavor.
For those who prefer red, the Gallo Twin Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is also a fine choice. It combines the satisfying flavors of blackberry and black currant, but the fruit is balanced by just the right amount of oak for a soft, smooth taste. Premier yeasts were used for quality in fermentation. Once harvested, the Cabernet grapes were cold soaked to enhance their flavors without bitterness.
For three generations the Gallo family?s passion for winemaking has never stopped growing. Family owned and operated for over 70 years, Gallo continues to deliver quality wines for all occasions. The Gallo family is personally involved with the vine and its grapes throughout the growing season to maximize the quality and character of the fruit they use. Only with this care and attention to the vine and its fruit does the Gallo family believe that they can make the best wine possible. The family devotes an unparalleled amount of passion and commitment to this task.
Dubonnet
Mix it up this season and add a touch of glamour to any holiday gathering with the delicious and festive Dubonnet aperitif wine. The best-selling aperitif wine is a chic vintage ingredient for inventive, delectable cocktails. Dubonnet adds a stylish French twist to traditional favorites like the Cosmopolitan and Manhattan. Dubonnet is the nation’s top selling aperitif, with a long and storied history that is enjoying renewed popularity as consumers return to ?classic cocktails?.
Made from the fruity wines of Roussillon in France and Napa Valley, Dubonnet has a long and storied history that is enjoying renewed popularity with the return to classic cocktails. Dubonnet was once the preferred beverage of the French Foreign Legion. Today, Dubonnet is available internationally in both Rouge and Blanc varieties and is a key ingredient in classic drinks such as the Dubonnet Cocktail and the Dubonnet Kiss. In the words of America?s foremost mixologist Dale DeGroff, ?with its rich ruby color, spicy aroma and refreshing flavors, Dubonnet embodies the best of the aperitif category.?
Give Dubonnet as a great hostess gift and be sure to bring the recipes for these great cocktails, courtesy of Dubonnet
Dubonnet Mistletoe Kiss
1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
? oz. Sour Apple Schnapps
1 oz. Apple Cider
? oz. Sour Mix
Shake with cracked ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with a slice of Red Delicious Apple
Blushing Snow Angel
1 1/2 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
Mix gently with:
5 oz. Champagne or Sparkling Asti
Splash of cranberry juice
Garnish with a twist of lemon rim on glass.
