With Employee Appreciation Day coming up on March 3, an event may be on your schedule or gifting may even be on your list of to-dos! If you're overwhelmed and spinning your wheels on what to gift your team, then you're in the right spot!

Employee appreciation is one of our favorite forms of corporate gifting because it's a great way to highlight the hard work your team is doing, make them feel appreciated and lifting team spirits during first quarter after coming off the heels of the holiday season.

Pro-tip: Although we all love our logos, it is crucial to take into consideration the actual contents of the gift rather than swag. Swag is fun but can easily turn your employee appreciation gift into a promotional gift which would conflict with the ultimate intention of the gift itself. You can still add your branding in a subtle nature such as: branded note-cards, branded tags, branded shipping tape, etc.; that will ultimately not take away from your gift! (You can check out our semi-custom program here for more information).

In addition to sending employee appreciation gifts on or surrounding employee appreciation day, you can also send welcome boxes aka onboarding gifts for new employees which will immediately set the tone for a great first impression, continue that new hire excitement and establishes at the beginning that they already are an integral part of your team, which in turn gives them a positive feel of company culture.

Below I have added some of our main employee appreciation gifts that you can send this year!

1. Gather Around Gift Box

If you want a more custom approach to your employee appreciation gifts or have an event that you want us to create a gift for, we can absolutely help with that! Just click here.

February is known for spreading love and gratitude and we are here to highlight Galentine's Day!

The meaning behind Galentine's Day, as defined by Google, is "a holiday observed on February 13th as a time to celebrate friendships, especially among women." 

As a woman owned business, this tugs at our heart strings as we wouldn't be where we are today without the support of our peers. That's why this year we launched our Galantine's Day Collection!

We want to show and spread our appreciation for everyone that has been with us since day one as well as making this a time for you to send some love to the leading ladies in your lives! We kept the collection simple and sweet. Take a look below and see what Galentines Day Gifts you like and let us know your favorites.

*ProTip: these also serve as great Valentine's day gifts if you need them to be! 

That's it! It is that easy! Once we process your gift orders you will automatically receive tracking information.

Our service was made to not only create an incredible experience for your clients but you as well. We understand the heavy workloads you endure to ensure your clients are happy as they work with you and we do just the same for our clients. Let us relieve you of the gifting overwhelm, product handling, shipping logistics and packaging so you can focus on what you do best!

Our mission is to make gifting easy and save you time while still delivering beautiful and thoughtful gifts to your recipients. From birthdays and housewarmings to engagements and new baby gifts, our gift collection was curated to cover all major and everyday occasions for your gifting needs. 

So, how does ordering from our online shop work? It's super simple...

What's your budget?

Our gift page has a pricing filter to help you sort through our collections and find options that suit your level of affordability. Note: many of our gifts offer options to change the packaging which will also decrease or increase in price depending on your preferences!

Pick Your Gift!

Once your options are filtered through, choose a gift that best suits your needs! Note: If you know that your recipient has allergies, it's best to stay away from gifts that offer food items. 

Time to Personalize

Many of our gifts offer options to change the packaging, swap candle scents and include add-ons! All gifts come with the option for a gift tag based on your gift occasion. Note: If you need help choosing a gift, simply ask us for advice.

Write Your Message

For another level of personalization, tell us what you would like your message to say so we can handwrite a thoughtful note for you! Note: Be sure to use your recipients name and add yours!

Time to Assemble + Deliver!

Once ordered you will receive an email confirmation of your order and tracking information once your order ships!

If you need to deliver something quickly, feel free to choose one of our speedy options at checkout!

Happy Holiday Shopping!

These next few months are going to be full of Friendsgivings, Thanksgivings, Secret Santa's, White Elephants and bouncing around from place to place. Some events may be more formal than others, held in restaurants and may not even warrant a gift!

Not all occasions are gifting occasions BUT, as experts in gifting with intention, our rule of thumb is this: if you're invited as a guest into someone's home, it's best to not show up empty handed!

With that said, we know that drumming up ideas can be daunting and often a last-minute task with everything else you have going on.

Of course, a bottle of wine or alcohol is an easy option but always make sure your hosts do indeed drink alcohol! This list is for those who want to step it up a notch on the creative scale!

Options can be overwhelming, so we've curated a list of our favorite DIY ideas from our Amazon and similar gifts from our curated shop for you to choose based on your needs, budget and time frame.

All of our shop gifts do come with a handwritten note and packaging options! So if DIYing makes you cringe a bit, we have you covered! Some of our gifts also come with add-ons and product swaps so you can really personalize to your liking. 

Everything is linked below but for quick and easy...

CLICK HERE FOR OUR AMAZON LIST!

CLICK HERE FOR OUR CURATED SHOP!

1.) Dress Up a Wooden Cutting Board or Cookbook!

Whether you are new to corporate holiday gifting or you have gifted your employees for years, we are here to help with some fresh new ideas outside of the traditional giant tins of popcorn, fruit baskets and gift cards!

There has been an uptick in gifting companies over the years which allows for a lot more personalization, options and budgeting. With that said, gifting can get a bit overwhelming with all of the options to choose from, so we are here to help you narrow your gifting into the top 4 gift categories that are best for the holiday times!

All gifts come with a handwritten note and packaging options! Some gifts also come with add-ons and product swaps so you can really personalize to your liking. If you want to add your business logo to any of our gifts, check out our Add Your Business Logo program!

Holiday Gifts for the Home Office

Chances are you know at least one person who has literally everything or impossible to shop for around the holidays... I'm here to tell you that you're not alone and the struggle is REAL.

Shopping for them can be a bit frustrating which typically leads to last-minute holiday shopping for random stuff that you were trying to avoid in the first place.

Luckily, we’re here to make things a quick and easy for you!

If we're being honest, people who have everything don't need more "stuff" but it's still nice to receive beautifully packaged, quality products that can be used and enjoyed. Candles, consumables and self-care inspired gifts are always a great idea since they engage the senses and can still be enjoyed by your recipients.

Below are some of our favorite holiday gifts for the person who has everything! 

1. Oh Christmas Tea

Gift Recommendation: best holiday gifts for employees and tea lovers!

2. Baby's First Christmas

3. Sweater Weather

4. Winter Wishes

5.Tis the Season

6. The Fireside

7. Cookies for Santa

8. The Holiday

You see, gifting someone who has everything doesn't need to be something you dread every year. Simply think of a few things they like (if they're a foodie, self-care enthusiast or simply enjoys a cup of tea) and introduce them to new brands!

Our gifts have you covered this season and we can't wait to help you ditch the gifting stress and experience the true joy of gifting!

Ever wonder how companies execute those elaborate and perfectly timed gift sends? Have you thought about gifting but not sure how outsourcing can help? Our custom holiday gifting process is organized, easy and stress- free. 

That said, lets walk you through our process!

Step 1: Inquiry Form + Kickoff Call

Start off by filling out our Holiday gifting form here. You choose the form of gifting you would ideally like to do, whether it be Full Custom or using our Semi-Custom Program.

From there you receive an email to schedule a time that best fits your schedule where we discuss all essential information to proceed with your project (ex: theme, goal, budget, timeline). If you would like to move forward with our services following our call, we will send you information to make things official and get your project started!

Step 2: Proposal + Approval

Next, we design a full proposal that will outline the gift design, investment and project timeline. Your proposal turnaround is approximately 1-2 weeks. Feel free to ask any and all questions along the way!

Step 3: Payment + Production

Following design approval, we send over our Service Agreement and invoice for payment to order up inventory! Products are ordered and stored in house until we are ready for assembly.

Step 4: Shipping + Delivery

We handle all aspects of shipping and delivery during the holiday craziness! When creating your holiday timeline, we take all aspects into consideration including accelerated shipping deadlines with all mail carriers. In addition, we run all addresses through validation to ensure packages arrive at the right destinations! Bulk orders and on demand shipping is available!

That's that!

Our process is designed to take the overwhelm off of your plate. So whether you want to add your branding on our curated gifts through our semi-custom program or do a full custom project with all of the bells and whistles, we handle the logistics while you enjoy your holiday season!

We look forward to working with you!

We are currently at the point of the year where summer is coming to an end and before we know it, Pumpkin Spice is going to start coming out of everywhere, leaves will be falling, and Mariah Carey will be blasting in retail stores across the US.

As a gift company, we are ALWAYS ready for the holiday time and although you aren't ready to even think about holiday gifting, it's our job to help you create a gift strategy now so you aren't scrambling during a busy time of year when all you want to do is relax and be merry! 

Not only does corporate gift giving improve employee and team relationships, but it also establishes trust, increases productivity and gives positive recognition.

A study done by Forbes stated, "among 300 corporate gift buyers, 80% of respondents claimed that gifts have improved relationships with coworkers and clients." As well as "48% of the companies said gifting had delivered a substantial benefit, as it made recipients feel valued, improved customer loyalty, and improved employee retention."

In addition to the above statement, if your company is willing to invest in gifting to employees, that in itself shows your employees that the company they work for is determined in not only their own success, but the success of their workers as well due to you investing in them.

Now, the next question is... when and how do you start?

When? In short, the answer is now. Crazy... I know, but ideally August/Early September is when to start thinking of holiday gifting.

This may seem so soon for gifts for employees, but people tend to forget that the last four months of the year are the most hectic between year-end reports, PTO and the scramble to get everything else done! We also recommend early planning to avoid inventory and supply chain issues. If a product that you want ends up out of stock, planning early gives us time to catch the issue before it's too late!

Next: the How!? Luckily, that's where we come in!

We making holiday gifting a total breeze. It starts with an inquiry where you share with us your overall intended form of gifting, we discuss some details and take it from there!

We are here to make this gifting process as seamless as possible for you: whether you are crunched for time, not sure where to start on the design process or just simply overwhelmed by the shipping logistics; we are here from start to finish. 

You can simply fill out our holiday gifting form here and to get started on your corporate holiday gift boxes!

Now that summer vacation is coming to an end, it is time for kids and teachers to start getting ready to go back to school!

Although this may be a fun time for kids to see their friends again and parents to have a little break in their mornings. Teachers on the other hand may be bringing on more of a financial burden than we may think.

Did you know that most teachers are expected to stock their own school supplies? This article, presented by savings.com has broken down the average 2022 investment of teachers in the workforce. It states that, "nearly one in four teachers say they’ll spend more than $750 of their own money during the 2022-23 school year."

There are different factors as to why this is but the main one is the lack of school funding. In addition to this, if parents do not have the means to supply school supplies for their kids, the teachers are there to help!

Lavender and Pine has teamed up with Ms. Delaney, a first-grade Teacher in the Bronx, NY who will be using these items on her Wishlist for small group instruction- focusing on the Science and Reading & literacy. You can also click here to make a donation for Ms. Delaney to buy an iPad and Apple Pencil for her students to showcase their work in real time for their families to see and helping Ms. Delaney plan her lessons digitally on the go!

From now until September 30th, we are donating 10% of our proceeds to help clear teacher wish lists! 

Check Out Ms. Delaney's Wishlist Here!

This Farmhouse Styled Wedding Shoot was an awesome opportunity for us to showcase just how intentional a welcome gift can be!

Back in May, Wedding Planner, Sarah Brehant, Owner of Brehant Creations Events asked us to create wedding welcome gifts for her styled wedding photoshoot. Sarah's eye to detail is beyond compare and being a part of helping her version come to life was so fun!

This welcome gift is inspired by the gorgeous venue, Smith Farm Gardens in CT.

We sourced simple mills farmhouse cheddar crackers, belvoir farm elderflower lemonade, a practical hangover kit and a smores kit guests can use by the fire pit during the after party on the farmhouse grounds!

Packaging was kept simple with some fresh greens and Welcome tag that tied into the gorgeous stationery suite that was designed and created by Tulaloo!

Here are some extra photographs from the shoot so you can see just how beautifully designed this day was!

Below is everyone that made this beautiful event possible!

Photographer: Lynne Reznick Photography
Planning & Design: Brehant Creations Events
Floral Designer: Enza Events
Dress: @rentthedressct
Venue: Smith Farm Gardens
Drapery & Lighting: EZ-Occasions
Linen: Nuage Designs
Glam: Upstyle & @artistrybysav
Chairs: @rentpearl
Rentals: Wylde Rose Events
Custom Gifts: Lavender and Pine Gifting
Stationery: Tulaloo
Calligraphy for Stationery: Nob Hill Jane
Custom Signage: Something Borrowed Event Decor
Shoes: Bella Belle Shoes
Cake: But a Dream Custom Cakes
Models: @savannahtayler & @s.dante_77
Accessories: Borrowed by La Jolie Brid

Wedding season is booming this year and one of our more frequently asked questions this year has been what to include in gift boxes for a wedding party. Many folks decide to DIY or go a different route and we encourage all of our couples to do whatever they want to do!

In this case, our client didn't have the time to DIY so she outsourced to us. She wanted practical bridesmaid boxes with robes and a few other items that fit her wedding vibe that her best friends could use. 

Here is the final gift concept that Hilary chose for her bridesmaids.

We kept the items simple and catered to what Hilary requested to be handed out the day of her wedding! Since the morning of the wedding was going to be super busy, Hilary wanted to make sure everyone was hydrated and had something easy to snack on. Silk scrunchies were the perfect add on to compliment the robes. Lastly, the final element Hilary wanted incorporated was to have it be self care theme which is why we incorporated the LAPCOS Brightening face mask as well as two individual Advil packets--for the day after ;).

If you are stuck on what to give and want to do your own bridesmaid DIY gifts, visit our Amazon Storefront here. It's full of fun and practical items that your bridesmaids will love!

Pro Tip #1: Be mindful when incorporating robes/pajama sets. Not all brands are size inclusive and you just want to be sure your bridesmaid all feel confident in what they are wearing.

Pro Tip #2: Don't spend your money on personalizing items or products that say "Bridesmaid" on them. Not only are they added costs, but they turn the items into disposable items that can only be one or a few times. Instead, opt for simple items that are still in your color scheme that your bridesmaids can use long term!