April 2014

1800Flowers.com Celebrates Take Your Child to Work Day 2014!

CARLE PLACE, NY – On Thursday, April 24, 2014, 1800Flowers.com celebrated Take Your Child to Work Day by inviting a group of 30 enthusiastic sons and daughters of our talented staff! With a busy schedule ahead of them, the kids showed up ready to tackle the day’s floral-filled activities and celebrations.

Happily greeted by 1800Flowers.com President Chris McCann and Senior Vice President of Human Resources Maureen Paradine, the children were warmly invited to get a hands-on experience of what it is like to work at 1800Flowers.com for the day, just like their parents.

To kick the day off, the kids jumped head first into their first project. Since 1800Flowers’ main mission is to deliver smiles, the first project the kids were tasked with was to think of creative ways to deliver smiles.

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The youthful visitors were broken up into groups led by volunteers from the 1800Flowers.com family, where they put their innovative minds together to brainstorm some creative ideas for how 1800Flowers.com can deliver smiles during our “Summer of Smiles” initiative, an initiative where everyone in the company participates in volunteering at local charities. Each group of kids chose their best idea, turning it into a visual presentation with the help of poster board, marker, and arts and crafts. The completed projects were then presented to the rest of the groups with hopes of having their ideas brought to life in order to spread smiles into the community. Ideas included a carnival for kids, a toy drive, and a 5K marathon!

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After an energizing pizza lunch break with their parents, our budding entrepreneurs had the opportunity to create their own truly original floral arrangement, as they learned from one of our most talented floral designers, Phil DeVito, who also teaches college level flower design courses. While some chose to create arrangements to spruce up their parents’ work space, others took the opportunity to create a sentimental arrangement of Mother’s Day flowers to gift as an early present for Mom!

1800Flowers.com is proud to support the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation’s goal of “Education, Empowerment, Experience,” by celebrating Take Your Child to Work Day with an itinerary of educational and inspiring activities.

The History of Flower Power

“Flower Power” was a popular term used in the 1960s and 1970s, a time of change throughout the United States. From protests against the war to protests demanding equal rights for every citizen, the 1960s were a tumultuous yet interesting time in American history for social change. Some protestors during this era were dubbed as “hippies” short for the term “hipsters.”

Coined in 1965 by acclaimed poet and voice of his generation Allen Ginsberg, “flower power” was used to inspire a movement in which anti-war demonstrators focused on positive values such as peace and love to instead of brute force and rebellion in order to “fight” for freedom. The concept first came to being while Ginsberg helped organize a protest against the Vietnam War in Berkeley, California. In his essay “Demonstration or Spectacle as Example, As Communication,” he describes a tactic using peace as a “weapon.” He suggests “masses of flowers – a visual spectacle – especially concentrated on the front lines.” He continued, “…marchers should bring harmonicas, flutes, recorders, guitars, banjos, and violins.” He went on to invite all previously persecuted groups to join the revolution, turning the phrase into a movement of peace, hope, unity, and above all – imagination.

The “Flower” in Flower Power

The hippies of the 1960s and 1970s took Ginsberg’s message of peaceful protesting and incorporated it into their fashions and culture. Both men and women wore flowers from on their clothing to in their hair. Flowers in their hair ranged from floral head wreaths to slipping a single a dandelion into their groovy headbands (a trend that has resurfaced in fashion today). Bright, floral prints became extremely popular as did floral inspired patches. Some hippies even painted the flower symbol on their faces to show their support and dedication to the cause. With its natural and simplistic beauty, it’s not surprising that the flower became the ultimate symbol of peace and love for this counterculture and era!

DIY Easter Flowers: How to Make an Easter Floral Arrangement

Wondering how you can welcome Easter with unique Easter decorations? These fun DIY Easter flowers will make your Easter celebration a true original!

Materials needed for DIY Easter flowers

DIY Easter Floral Arrangement and Decorations

Egg carton (Colorful plastic or styrofoam is preferable)
6 plastic eggs
Easter flowers. We recommend:
-2 stems of pink miniature carnations
-2 stems of lavender daisy pompoms
-A bushy piece of heather
Floral greens
Floral foam cut to the size of 6 holes of the egg carton

How to make your DIY Easter flowers

Cut your floral foam to a little less than the size of six egg holes (half of the egg carton).
Nest your floral foam into half of the egg carton.
Lightly cover the floral foam with greens.
Start adding your florals (carnations or daisy pompoms) to the cut floral foam. The design should be a triangle within a triangle.
Finish off with the heather, small buds of the flowers, and floral greens for dimension to make the arrangement fuller.
Place the six plastic eggs in the remaining six holes of the egg carton for the finishing Easter touch!

How to Throw a Spring Flower Party

The awe-inspiring landscape of spring is certainly a reason to celebrate! Invite friends and neighbors to bask in the beauty of this season by hosting a fresh and fun garden party.

The age old saying “April showers bring May flowers” still holds true, so plan ahead and coordinate with the weather forecast to plan for a day that promises sunshine for a beautiful outdoor event. You may also want to provide a rain date in case of surprise showers.

From the menu to the spring inspired decor, here are some tips and ideas to make your garden party the talk of the season.

Garden Party Invitations

Creating a Facebook event or texting the party details may seem like an easy solution, but it’s informality certainly leads to less buzz about the event. Friends may forget to check their social media accounts, and phones don’t always deliver the message, so be sure to send a physical or virtual invitation! Celebrations.com has some creative and fun spring inspired invitations to choose from. Here are some of our favorites:

Garden Party Decorations

With the stunning beauty of nature as your backdrop, your job is already halfway done! Since you won’t be needing wall decorations, put your focus on the table spread and food layout.

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Create conversation starting centerpieces inspired by spring like these DIY Jello centerpieces! Choose a few elements to incorporate throughout the decor, like a certain color or flower. We paired the jello centerpieces with daisy napkin rings for a beautifully put-together look.

Menu for a Garden Party

Fresh Finger Foods

Such an occasion calls for a fresh menu to match! Skip the heavy entrees and serve light finger foods that won’t leave guests feeling overstuffed and drained of energy. Instead, serve light cucumber sandwiches (cut with a butterfly cookie cutter) or refreshing vegetable snacks. For a delicious garden-inspired treat, grab small plastic cups, lining the bottom with dip, and fill with fresh, raw veggies.

Cool as a Cucumber Cocktails

Toast to the new season with deliciously refreshing cocktail (or mocktail)! Get inspired by the flowers and crops of spring when planning your drink menu. Did you know certain flowers such as hibiscus are sometimes sold in syrups for mixology purposes? Get creative with your ingredients, and the possibilities are truly endless!

Creative Party Favors for a Garden Party

Sending guests home with a fun and theme-appropriate party favor will is a great way to ensure your party will be the talk of the town for months to come. A spring garden party calls for a nature-inspired gift, such as a packet of seeds or potted plant. Time willing, you can even choose to make DIY floral crowns for all the guests! Alternatively, you can set up a “floral crown” station for guests to partake in themselves.

Use these fun tips and ideas to make your garden party one to remember!