Onto the final week of September already and I can't quite believe it. Once October time hits in BasketsGalore we start getting into Christmas mode with lots of merchandising and advertising in the office and lots of stock deliveries and logistics in the warehouse. We have mixed feelings about Christmas really, excited for the buzz of being busy yet also dreading it a little as it is such hard work. We even had our 1st Christmas Hamper being dispatched this week!Our Baked Blessings Basket is such a thoughtful gift, themed as one to be sent during a time of bereavement. The madeira cake and gift card display the message you are trying to convey and the other items inside include biscuits, shortbread, cookies, tray bakes and teabags ideal for offering to guests who may be visiting and to provide them with some sustenance during such a difficult time. However, I just noticed that the Customer sending this particular one actually included a birthday gift message. With this in mind we swiftly amend the cake sleeve and gift card to 'Happy Birthday' ones instead and the rest of the contents are suitable for a birthday afternoon tea anyway so no further changes were required. We try out best to spot any issues like this and check with our customer or amend to be more suitable if there is no time to do so.Everyone say "awww" now as we take a look at one of our popular baby gift baskets, Little Prince. The image below shows it gift wrapped in cellophane with everything tucked up safely inside. Once opened the new parents will discover an organic baby grow and bodysuit as well as gorgeous leather shoes, a cuddly blankie comforter and a Lamaze developmental toy. This one was going to little Noah and his new parents from a proud Step-Granny in America.The male version of our 30th Birthday Gift Basket was Wednesdays choice. Although the majority of the contents are the same in the "for him" and "for her" versions we make some subtle changes included the 30th mug to the dark one pictured below, a purple happy birthday cake sleeve, a blue birthday balloon and gift card. These things combined give the birthday basket a more masculine look and feel. I actually spoke to the lady in Toronto, Canada wishing to order this as she wanted to confirm it could be delivered on the day of her choice ok. It was going to her son in Rochdale who was studying abroad and she wanted to send him a special gift for his special milestone birthday.I know, I know it's only September yet here we have a Christmas Gift Basket featuring in our dispatches. This was part of a Corporate order and they required the hampers early as they intended to load them onto their shipping containers to send across to Europe. Normally when it is this early we might have to replace certain seasonal items, as they are freshly baked and so we don't take delivery until October/November time. Luckily we had a few days notice of this order for a Christmas Tempter and so were able to rush some Christmas puddings in from our supplier on time.Something a little bit different for a Friday and one close to our heart, as this was for birthday boy Steve in our family. Steve is a cheese and beer fan and so that was what we gave him. Lynne picked a selection of beers and some cheese from the local shop and combined these with crisps, corn snacks, beef jerky, Toblerone and a book by Peter James. Needless to say he was delighted with his gift and couldn't wait to dig in over his birthday weekend. We are always happy to help with specific requests like this and can source items locally for you. The only time we can't do this is in December due to the sheer volume of Christmas hampers being dispatched. But January - November let us know your requests and we will see what we can do.So quite a popular week for birthday gifts and baby baskets which makes sense, as apparently the 26th September is the most popular day to have a birthday. This is due to Christmas time conception apparently! As a curve ball we also saw our first Christmas Hamper being dispatched. Hopefully it is a sign of many more orders to arrive in the coming weeks.