A Gracious Plenty

Congratulations! We have a Winner!

Many thanks to all of you who left comments to enter our Monogrammed Crystal Platter Giveaway.  The contest closed last Friday, and a winner was selected via random.org.

Congratulations to Mary Preston, who left Comment #5.  Mary, I've sent you an e-mail, and I look forward to hearing back from you so we can arrange the delivery of your platter.

Thanksgiving Giveaway!

Well, here at A Gracious Plenty our Halloween was a 'hoot,' and we hope yours was, too!  With Halloween now officially behind us, though, we turn our thoughts ahead to Thanksgiving.  And I have a confession to make:  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of them all!  I love the focus on family, friends, and yes, since I'm in a confessional mood, food!  But I especially love reflecting on all of the 'things' in my life (most of which aren't 'things', so to speak) for which I am thankful.

In truth, 2009 has been a challenging year for many of us.  Despite the ups and downs, as the year is winding down I realize I have more blessings than I can count.  First and foremost, I am thankful for good health - mine, my family's, and my friends'.  I am grateful also for the love and support of family and friends.  And most certainly, this gratitude extends to the wonderful customers we have the pleasure of serving through A Gracious Plenty. 

As an expression of my gratitude to all of you, I've planned another giveaway!  To enter this giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post sharing what you are most thankful for this year. One lucky person who shares their blessings with us will receive the beautiful monogrammed crystal serving platter pictured above!  (And we'll even ship it for free, just in time for your holiday entertaining!)

Don't delay - comments will be closed this Friday November 6th at midnight, Eastern Time.  A winning comment will be selected at random, and the author of the comment will be notified over the weekend. (If the winner does not reply via e-mail within 72 hours, a new winner will be selected at random.) Please, leave only one comment with a valid e-mail address where we can contact you if you are selected as the winner.  (Duplicate comments, including multiple comments coming from the same IP address, will be eliminated.)

Our goal is to monogram and deliver a personalized platter to our winner in time to use for Thanksgiving entertaining. So please, without further adieu, share with us your attitude of gratitude!  We look forward to reading your comments and learning what is important and meaningful to you, and we thank you for sharing!

Feature Friday Item: Thank You Gifts

This week I have posted about Thank You gifts, so for our Friday feature item I wanted to share one of my favorite gifts to give - as a thank you, or for just about any other reason!  I love to give a combination gift, where each item complements the other!  Often I pair personalized stationery and a monogrammed pen.  I particularly like this gift combination because it is personal and practical...and always appreciated by the recipient! 

 

 

A Gracious Plenty offers many styles of casual custom-printed stationery, in the form of folded notecards and personalized notepads.  The folded notecard by Noteworthy Collections shown above may be personalized with a single initial or a traditional three-initial monogram.  Other notecard designs in our collection may be custom-printed with a complete name or phrase.  And since we offer more than 40 fonts and 12 ink colors, we are sure to have the perfect combination for you!  

 
  
  

The stylish ballpoint pen shown above, one of several you'll find at A Gracious Plenty, is embellished with a woven metal pattern, and is one I often pair with my personalized stationery selection.  It also makes an ideal gift on its own for the graduate or executive in your life, or for members of your groom's party.  It includes a clip for safekeeping in a pocket or briefcase as well as a protective cap, and can be personalized with one line of up to 15 characters.

A Few Thank You Gift Ideas

When you would like to give someone a gift as a 'thank you' for something they've done to benefit you, here are a few examples you may wish to consider when you are trying to select a fitting thank you gift.

If you are thanking someone for a service, like checking in on your pet or watering your plants while you're away on a trip, use the approximate cost of the kennel or a gardener as a guideline on what to spend.  A good thank you gift guideline would be to consider what you would have spent to hire someone to provide the same service. You certainly don't have to spend as much, but it's a good point to keep in mind!

If you will be going away for a few nights or even longer, you could arrange to send gift from wherever you've been or schedule to send a gift while you are still away. In fact, you don't have to do that in person; it's often more convenient to shop online - of course, we suggest our website, A Gracious Plenty! - and pick out a gift that shows your appreciation and perhaps even reflects your travels. The bonus of on-line shopping is you won't have to worry about sending or delivering it after you return home - we'll ship it directly to your recipient!  (Don't forget that A Gracious Plenty will enclose a complimentary handwritten gift note with your gift, and gift wrap is also available for most items for a small additional charge.)

For those occasions when you've received a formal dinner party invitation and want to show your appreciation to your host/hostess for including you, we also have a few suggestions.  Instead of bringing flowers with you that you picked up along the way, plan ahead and bring a small, personalized gift related to entertaining, like monogrammed soap for their powder room or a monogrammed wine stopper for their bar.  Nothing says "I got this gift especially for you" more than a thoughtful item that has been personalized with your host's monogram or name!

In situations where a friend or relative has 'gone above and beyond' to help you with a significant event in your life, consider selecting a personal gift to thank them, something that reflects their style or just shows how you value their friendship and support.  One of the more popular requests we get at A Gracious Plenty from our customers is to personalize our engraved or hand stamped jewelry - especially a necklace or a bracelet - as a gift from one friend to another.  Since jewelry is worn by the recipient, it is an intimate, frequent reminder of the special love and appreciation it represents.

No matter your choice of gift - and the list is endless - the most important thing is to remember to show your gratitude to those individuals who have helped you, included you, or served you in some way.  And at A Gracious Plenty, with over a thousand personalized gift items in our collection, we'd love to help you in that endeavor!  

Source:

http://www.catalogs.com/info/gifts/thank-you-gift-ideas.html