Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is commonly called TURKEY Day. Most of all it is a special day to give thanks. As Americans we are blessed with the opportunities provided by our freedom. The history of thanksgiving dates back before the Revolutionary War. It is a true celebration of who we are as a nation. It is a day for reflection and giving thanks.

We hope you will have the opportunity to share a meal with your family and friends tomorrow. That you will have the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving and a chance to relax and rest to get ready for the busy Holiday season. Wishing you and yours a HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

Happy reading and shopping at www.giftsetc.com
Sincerely,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

Ornaments

Last night as I was driving home I could not help but notice how many Christmas trees were already up, lite and on display to be enjoyed by those driving past. The Christmas Spirit is already in the air even before Thanksgiving Day. Our family never decorates for the Christmas season until after Thanksgiving normally during the first few days of December. Our family has many traditions just like I am sure your family does to for the holiday season. This morning when I came into our order processing room I saw Maree working on an order for ornaments. It made me realize just how close it is time to decorate for the Christmas season.

Today I want to draw attention to one of my favorite ornaments. It is offered on our site, www.giftsetc.com. It is our MARDI GRAS MASK ORNAMENT. This ornament was designed by Maree. The design is adorable. It has a traditional fun and festive mask shape with three Fleur de lis accenting the face. It is original design. The design Maree created clearly exemplifies the "Joie de vivre" spirit of our state. The ornament can be used not only at Christmas but also during the Mardi Gras season. This piece is American Made and is a Certified Louisiana piece; it is made in our home state of Louisiana. The ornament is very affordable, priced at $4.95 each. The oranament is packaged in a keepsake chiffon bag, perfect for storing in for years to come. This ornament is sure to make a perfect gift, even if it is a gift to yourself.

Happy reading and shopping at www.giftsetc.com
Sincerely,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

Salt and Pepper Shakers

Each day I am always amazed by the items people order and thankful that they ordered products from www.giftsetc.com. I really love gift giving and giving gifts that are not only useful but of meaning to the recipient. Last week it seemed every time I turned around we were filling an order with salt and pepper shakers. These are items that everyone can use in their kitchen or on their table.

www.giftsetc.com currently offers a nice collection of salt and pepper sets. We have various shapes and a nice selection pattern options on many styles. So when visiting the site be sure to see what design or pattern options are available. For example our Rooster salt and pepper have two patterns to select from when ordering. These salt and pepper shakers are decorated here in our office with pride.

While working on an order last week, Maree and I had the chance to discuss our grandmother, "MOM"; she collected salt and pepper sets. She had a collection of over five hundred sets from all around the world. We always looked forward to finding that special pair for her each year for Christmas, Mother's Day or her Birthday. In fact Maree and I would shop all year long for sets for her. Salt and pepper shakers are a simple item with such a useful function. Salt and pepper shakers can be fun and festive, reflect a decorating style, or be symbolic of the things we love to collect. Each time I process an order with salt and pepper shakers I can not help but think of my grandmother and her collection. I often wonder as I process the order if they are going to an addition to a collection or to be used in the home. I sincerely hope the pieces we produce and sell will be used, enjoyed and treasured for a lifetime.

So if you need a simple and useful gift at an affordable price (all are well under $20.00) try our salt and pepper shakers. We are sure we will have a pattern to meet your needs after all we have dogs (180 + breeds) cats, lighthouses, roses, roosters, pineapple, fleur de lis, and red hats just to name a few design options. Looking for a design not on our site on salt and pepper shakers or any of our china items please call during office hours 9:30 to 5:00 CST, Monday to Friday or email any time sales@giftsetc.com and we will try to meet your request.

Happy reading and shopping at www.giftsetc.com
Sincerely,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

Give Thanks with Americana Products

Next week we celebrate the wonderful American Holiday of THANKSGIVING. We are so blessed to live in the United States of America, where we have so many opportunities. We are blessed with a standard of living that most people in other countries can not even begin to imagine. We live in a nation where we are blessed with the ability to celebrate and give thanks to our Lord, and Creature. The Pilgrims on the first Thanksgiving gave thanks and we are so lucky to be able to give thanks today for our blessings.

If you are in need of a last minute gift to bring next week as a hostess gift to a Thanksgiving celebration. Please consider a gift I have given. It is our American Christmas Tree Ornaments. We have two shapes available each available in two designs. (Here is the a second selection.) These ornaments celebrate our American roots and can be used in the upcoming holiday season of Christmas. If your hostess does not celebrate Christmas they can still use these items as a decoration for an American holidays such as Flag Day, the 4th of July, or Labor Day. Do not forget to show your pride for America with American themed gifts.

Happy Shopping and Reading at www.giftsetc.com
Sincerely,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

Jewelry

I just wanted to bring attention this morning to our jewelry items. Maree and I careful select the pieces for our site, www.giftsetc.com. We want to be sure the items are nice in quality.

There is one ring that we both have and really enjoy wearing it. It is our sterling silver Fleur de lis ring and it is very affordable. This piece is very easy on the hands when working. I often find that some rings are uncomfortable to type with due to their styling; this one is not. I wear it at work just as I am today. This ring is really comfortable. The ring has great styling and detail in the design.

We hope you will consider this ring and our other Fleur de lis jewelry as gifts this holiday season (which includes the season of Mardi Gras) even if it is a gift to yourself.

Happy reading and shopping at www.giftsetc.com
Sincerely,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

Tea pots

With cooler Fall weather nothing is better to start your day than a cup of hot tea. Our grandmother, "Mom", loved tea. She taught us at a young age to enjoy this hot beverage on cool mornings with breakfast. So this morning I did just that; with temperatures in the 40's here in South Central Louisiana a cup of hot tea was a perfect way to start my day.

www.giftsetc.com offers a wonderful selection of items perfect for serving tea. I love the teapots we offer! We have a wonderful selection of shapes, styles and sizes most with coordinating cup and saucers. Many of the pieces are are antique reproductions. These quality pieces are available with a large selection of designs. We have teapots with lovely designs or patterns including flowers (roses, magnolias, forget me knots etc) Fleur de lis, lighthouses (over 20 different sites), monograms (in ten different colors and three letter styles), roosters, dog breeds (30 different breeds), fruits, and red hats. These pieces are dishwasher and microwave safe, perfect for our busy lifestyles.

Look for new teapots as we are always adding new pieces. We even have some wonderful teapots in our CLEARANCE sections.

Happy shopping and reading at www.giftsetc.com,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

Jewelry for Children

Maree recently added a new product grouping to our web site, Jewelry for Children. This section offers a wonderful collection of jewelry for children. These pieces are classic in design and sure to be cherished for years to come. The pieces can be personalized with a name or monogram making them even more special for the child receiving it as a gift.

One of the pieces we like the most is the I.D. Bracelet. This lovely sterling silver bracelet is designed with durability in mind; it has a nice lobster clasp closure on it. Maree and I both had bracelets very similar to this one that our father had given us growing up. Each was engraved with our name. For children with names that have unusual spelling having a gift with your name spelled correctly on it was always something really special. My name, Marilynn, has two N’s at the end and Maree is spelled with two E's and not an I.

Keep these wonderful pieces in mind as the perfect gift for the children in your life. They are sure to put a smile on the face of any child for their birthday or holiday gift.

Happy reading and shopping at www.giftsetc.com
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

New Home Page

Just wanted to let everyone know we have a new home page. We are very excited about the new layout. It has two new features that we want to draw attention to as you visit our site.

The first is our SALE section. This layout showcases a direct link to our specials, front and center on the home page. We want our visitors to take advantage of these wonderful savings. Look for more products in this section as we are still "cleaning" and find lots of treasures!

The second section is our Customer Comments. In all the years we have been on line we had never posted comments by clients. As a small business, we can not express our gratitude to you your clients who make it possible for us to do what we love. It is always really special to read emails from clients after they get their order. We have posted just a few to let other know what to expect from our company.

It is our pleasure to assist you with your gift giving needs. We take pride in processing your order. If we know we are shipping a gift, when it ships it is gift ready. By gift ready, it is packaged as a gift. We take a little extra effort, (we give it the "etc." ) to be sure the person receiving it knows how much you cared. Often our gift packaging is simply a white gift box with ribbon; some items are wrapped. It depends on the item. This service is provided a no additional cost to you. It is old fashion and some may call it outdated not to charge but we believe it is just away to say THANK YOU for entrusting your gift order with us. We NEVER send pricing and if you email us in the notes a message we include it on a card. Gifts are sent with special packing ship always without pricing and terms.

We hope to be of assistance to you this holiday season.

Happy reading and shopping at www.giftsetc.com!
Sincerely,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

New Special Section

www.giftsetc.com has a new section on our web site offering SPECIALS. These pieces are all offered at a discounted price. Stock is limited so order now to take advantage of the savings. We have been cleaning out the stock room and want to share our recent finds with you in time for holiday gift giving.

As always if you have any questions about our products please call during normal office hours, 9:30 am to 5:00 pm CST, Monday - Friday. Email 24 hours a day to
sales@giftsetc.com and we will be happy to answer your questions.

Please mark this as a favorite and check it our as specails will be updated.

Happy gift giving! (even if it is a gift to yourself)
Marilynn and Maree
www.giftsetc.com

Christmas Ornaments

As I begin to think about the holidays I want to share with you a tradition that my Grandmother began with me and I share with family and friends. It is the tradition of giving Christmas Tree Ornaments. These are simple gifts that can be used for many years to come.

For my first Christmas my Grandmother, "Mom", gave me a Christmas tree ornament personalized with my name on it. I fondly remember it; a brass sleigh shape ornament with Santa in it. It was special to me because it had my name, Marilynn, and most of all it was from my "Mom". Each year until her passing "Mom" always had an ornament for me. She selected something that representing either a current interest (ballet, dogs, art etc) or current celebration (ex. 1976 Celebration, OK I am dating myself). These ornaments served each year as a connection not only to the celebration of this joyous season but my Grandmother and a celebration of my life's interest and milestones.

Maree and I are very pleased that our site offers a nice selection of ornaments. We actually offer over 1690 different ornament options when you consider the different pet breeds, ballerina images, lighthouses and monogramming options we offer.
Many of our ornaments can be personalized with a name.

We hope you visit our site and select an ornament as a gift even if it is a gift for yourself.

Sincerely,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

PS - We have several new ones that we are in the process of adding. I will keep you posted with details. One will be perfect for anyone who loves New Orleans. This ornament is an original design and only will be offered at www.giftsetc.com for Christmas 2008.

Marblehead Lighthouse

Marblehead Lighthouse is located on the northernmost tip of the Marblehead Peninsula in Marblehead, Ohio. It is the oldest continuous working lighthouse on the Great Lakes. The history of this lighthouse begins when Congress allocated $5,000.00 in 1819 for the construction of a lighthouse to assist in the safe navigation of the entrance to Sandusky Bay . Construction began in 1821 and was completed in 11 weeks. Construction cost when completed was $7,232.00.

William Kelly was the contractor on the project and worked with two men to build the lighthouse out of limestone on the exterior walls quarried nearby on the peninsula. The lighthouse measured 25 feet with five thick walls at the base; stood 50 feet tall with a spiral staircase. The top tapered to 12 feet in diameter with walls two feet thick. The first light for beacon came from 13 small whale oil lamps with wicks and a set of sixteen inch diameter reflectors. Whale oil lamps served until 1858 has the light source, when the oil lamps were replaced by a single kerosene lantern, magnified by a Fresnel lens. In 1880 the limestone exterior was covered with stucco and painted white. In 1897, a 15 foot brick addition was added to the top of Marblehead. The tower then stood 65 foot tall and accommodated a watch room. In 1923 the kerosene lantern was converted to electrical power.

The first lighthouse keeper was Benajah Wolcott. Mr. Wolcott was a Revolutionary War veteran. He and his family lived near the lighthouse in a home also constructed by Mr. Kelly. Wolcott served for ten years at Marblehead until his death in 1832. Wolcott’s duties included lighting the whale oil lamps and keeping records of all vessels passing, weather conditions and assisting in organizing rescue efforts. His duties were taken over by his wife, Rachel. She was the first female lighthouse keeper on the Great Lakes. Loderick Brown served as keeper of Marblehead Lighthouse from 1849 to 1853. Mr. Brown’s wife was Margaret Kelly Brown. She was the daughter of William Kelly, who constructed the lighthouse. A second female keeper, Mrs. Johanne McGee served from 1896 to 1903. In 1943 Edward Herman, resigned as the last civilian keeper after ten years of service. The U.S. Coast guard took over the duties of the keepers and then in 1958 automated the light.

The lighthouse, keeper’s house and grounds surrounding the building are currently owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The U. S. Coast Guard continues to operate and maintain the lighthouse beacon. Since taking ownership of the property ODNR has invested in restoring the property. Today the lighthouse is in operation and the complex can be visited by the public. The beacon flashes every six seconds a green light and is visible for 11 nautical miles.

Happy reading and shopping,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com

Products We Sell - Canister sets

We are often asked questions about items offered on our site, www.giftsect.com, and we are happy to answer your questions. These questions often include: Do you use the products sold on your site? Have you seen this item? Do you ever see the items before they ship? The answer to all of these questions is YES. Yes, we use them in our homes. Yes, every item we sell has been researched and evaluated before being placed on our site. Over the coming weeks we will be posting information about specific items and why we like them.

Canister Sets

We will begin today with our canister sets. The best feature we like about these pieces is the air tight rings. The air tight rings keep the contents of the jars fresh. I have found living n Louisiana, with many days of high humidity, these canisters are perfect to keep sugar fresh and from clumping. The jars are dishwasher safe. Just remove the rubber gasket before placing the pieces in the dishwasher. It is the gasket that makes the lids air tight. After washing the rings can be placed back on the jar. Each jar lid has a ridge in which the gasket fits. We have a wonderful collection of patterns or designs available on our canister sets.

Happy reading and shopping,
Marilynn
www.giftsetc.com