Gift In a Box - Gifts for all Occasions

Valentine's Day Gifts

2011-02-02T05:24:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day Gift for Him

Selecting a perfect Valentine's Gift for him is quite a difficult task especially if the man is close to you and you wish to touch his heart on this special occasion. However, the task of selecting a gift can become a bit easier with a little planning, some thinking and lots of love.

The ideal way to go about Valentine's Day gift selection is to begin early. Some women actually start thinking and working on the gift months before. Think hard if he has ever told you about a long lost hobby or passion or something he has been planning to buy for a long time, you might get a vital clue. If this does not provide the answer, you may go in for general Valentines Day Gifts for men. Chocolate hampers, sweets hampers, gourmet hampers, cupcakes, pamper hampers, we have them all on www.giftinabox.co.za. These gifts can be given to fathers, uncles, brothers, sweethearts or any other man you consider special.

Valentines Day Gift for Her

Selecting that perfect and out of this world's Valentines Day Gifts for women can be quite a challenging task. This is because most women are extremely sensitive in nature and will put in hours thinking what they might receive as a Valentine's Day Gift from you. Surpassing or even living up to their expectations is a daunting task. However, a selection of Valentines Day gift for her can be found on our webpage www.giftinabox.co.za. We will deliver direct to her door, doubling the surprise. Browse through our stunning selection of fresh flowers, teddy bears, chocolates, pamper hampers. These are considered to be appropriate Valentine's Day gifts for mothers, teachers, friends, beloved or any other special woman in your life.

Valentine's Day - 14 February 2011

2011-02-02T05:03:00.000-08:00

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 500 AD. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers and gifts, offering confectionery, and sending greeting card.

Valentine's Day celebrations begin well in advance in South Africa. Shops and market places are beautifully adorned with fragrant flowers, love symbols like cupid, love birds, hearts and in traditional African style decorations. Week long parties and celebrations take place in various clubs and hotels. These activities highlight the tradition and South African culture. People totally indulge themselves in the African culture and art to celebrate the occasion of Valentine. Be it an old man of 60 or a young lass of 16, the joy of celebrating love is the same in everybody.

Spoil the one you love this Valentine's Day by sending them a special gift or a beautiful bunch of flowers, delivered direct to their door. Take a look at our stunning selection on www.giftinabox.co.za or call us direct on 011 469 1837 if you would like a gift customised.

Christmas Gifts for everyone

2010-11-12T04:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas Gift Ideas:
We at Gift in a Box take pride in making our Christmas hampers quite unique! We ensure that our Christmas gifts contain only the best products wrapped beautifully with a Christmas theme. Our Christmas hampers are guaranteed to satisfy whoever is receiving them. Take look below at our stunning selection of Christmas Gift hampers and baskets on www.giftinabox.co.za. We deliver to their door overnight anywhere in South Africa. Don't delay, order today!

Festive Season Gift Hampers for delivery to South Africa

2010-11-12T04:27:00.000-08:00

Aaah, Christmas! The Christmas holiday season is a magically special time when family and friends come together to celebrate, create memories, and recall Christmas's past as they continue traditions. What do you envision when you think of Christmas? Children's eager faces? Christmas shopping or Christmas carols? Decorating the tree? Special Christmas recipes? Christmas cards and family traditions? Gift-giving? The memories of past holidays and the anticipation of future Christmas seasons keeps us all looking forward to all that Christmas has to offer.
Log onto our webpage, www.giftinabox.co.za, to view our stunning selection of Christmas gift hampers or call us on +27 11 469 1837 to customize your hamper to your specific requirements. All our hampers are beautifully wrapped in a Christmas theme and delivered overnight to anywhere in South Africa.

Bosses Day, 2010

2010-08-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

Bosses Day, South Africa - 2010

Bosses Day is an opportunity for you to thank your boss for being a mentor and leader throughout the year. Now here is a day that gives you a chance to both tell and show the boss what you really think of him or her, and to give your boss the appreciation that he or she truly deserves. You can do many things to make Bosses Day a good thing in your office! This is a time to set aside petty conflicts and invest in your future by taking care of your boss. After all, Bosses Day only comes around once a year.

How long you've worked together and how well you know each other will play into your gift-giving decision. If you want to play it safe, a modest food gift basket is a great choice. If you know your boss enjoys a good cuppa coffee then a gift hamper such as our The Coffee Addict is a good idea. If you know that your boss enjoys wine, a wine gift hamper containing a good quality wine as our The Bosses Choice, will be a very welcome gift. Are they mad about chocolate? Our The Chocoholic hamper should really please them.

It's a tough job to find a good gift for your boss. But help has arrived!
Log onto our webpage www.giftinabox.co.za and view our stunning selection of Bosses Day gift hampers

Women's Day, South Africa

2010-07-26T03:36:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Women’s Day on the 9th August and what makes this day so special to South Africans?

It was on the 9th of August in 1956, 53 years ago, that the Federation of South African Women organized a mass demonstration against the imposition of pass laws on women in South Africa. More than 20,000 women, led by Lilian Ngoyi (a trade unionist and political activist), Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, took part in the multi-racial march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, to deliver a petition to the prime minister JG Strijdom.

The pass laws meant that all black people were to carry a special “pass” or identification document which they had to produce to prove they were permitted to enter a certain area designated for white people. This was a major law of the apartheid regime and greatly restricted the freedom of movement of black people.
National Women’s Day celebrations were instituted in 1994. The 50th anniversary of the march in 2006 was marked with a re-enactment, with many who participated in the original march taking part.

Now, each year on the 9th of August, South Africans of all backgrounds, races and cultural groups join together in celebrating National Women’s Day. This annual public holiday commemorates an eventful day in South Africa’s history – 9 August 1956.

National Women’s Day in South Africa is held in high esteem and is a reminder of the important contributions women make to society, as well as a time to ponder the advances in women’s rights.

Embrace being a woman! Celebrate Women's Day with us! Gift in a Box has a wonderful selection of gift hampers and gift baskets for that special woman. View our webpage for full details, www.giftinabox.co.za

Father's Day, 20 June 2010

2010-05-25T01:50:00.000-07:00

The Beginning of Father's Day Story
Historians have recorded that there was a tradition to celebrate Father's Day even thousands of years ago. Their study say that 4,000 years ago in Babylon a son called Elmesu carved a father's day message on a clay card. In his message Elmesu wished his father a long and healthy life. There is no knowledge as to what happened to this father son duo but it is believed that several countries retained the custom of celebrating Father's Day.
Fathers Day Celebration in Present Time
Father's Day has become a hugely popular festival. World over people thank their father and pay tribute to them. Most commonly children gift Father's Day cards and flowers to their father. Neckties are a popular gift on the occasion of Father's Day. Due to the tradition of giving gifts, cards makers, florists and gift sellers campaign for Father's Day Festival in a big way.
Gift in a Box has a huge selection of Father's Day gifts. Peruse through our webpage, www.giftinabox.co.za. and choose something really special for your special dad. We deliver to his door anywhere in South Africa, from wherever you are in the world.

Father's Day Gift Ideas from Gift in a Box

2010-05-18T00:50:00.000-07:00

Father's Day is a perfect occasion to express your deepest feelings for dearest Papa and pamper him with loads of Father's Day Gifts. Ties and wallets are nice but don't you think that dad deserves something more personal. Try and be a little more innovative and thoughtful this year and present a gift that leaves an everlasting impression and creates sweet memories for a lifetime. The most daunting task is to decide on the right gift for dad. Gift in a Box is your solution. We have a wide variety of Gift Ideas for father’s day. These might help you to widen your approach for selecting Father's Day Gifts. These father's day gift ideas can suitably be implemented for grand dads, uncles or men who are like your father. The most important thing that should complement any Father's Day Gifts that you select is to include a warm hug and a big THANK YOU.

The Best Braai Boffin
For the Sunday Braai Man. Give him a glass of his favourite beer and this wonderful selection of braai goodies to turn him into the Best Braai Boffin ever

Golf day
For a relaxing and competitive day on the golf course. He will thoroughly enjoy this box of golf goodies even Gary Player would be envious of!

Especially for dad
A classic selection of male grooming products to leave him smelling like roses

Super dads choice
Dad knows best! A tantalizing selection of gourmet goodies to make his day.

Cologne
A wide selection of trendy colognes to really perk him up

Watches
A wide selection of Swatch and Police watches to keep him up to date

Father's Day - South Africa, Sunday, 20th June 2010

2010-05-18T00:40:00.000-07:00

Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, and special dinners to fathers and family-oriented activities. In 2010, it will be celebrated on 20 June in South Africa. It originated in Spokane, Washington.[1] In 2010, it will be celebrated on June 20 in many countries. In a few Catholic countries, it is celebrated on the Feast of St. Joseph
The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on July 5 1908 in a church located in Fairmont, West Virginia, by Dr. Robert Webb of West Virginia at the Central United Methodist Church of Fairmont.
Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington thought independently of the holiday one Sunday in 1909 while listening to a Mother's Day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church at Spokane, and she arranged a tribute for her father in June 19, 1910. She was the first to solicit the idea of having an official Father's Day observance.
It took many years to make the holiday official. In spite of support from the YWCA, the YMCA and churches, it ran the risk of disappearing from the calendar. Where Mother's Day was met with enthusiasm, Father's Day was met with laughter. The holiday was gathering attention slowly, but the wrong reasons: it was the target of much satire, parody and derision, including jokes from the local newspaper Spokane Review. Many people saw it as just the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions like "Grandparents' Day", "Professional Secretaries' Day", etc. all the way down to "National Clean Your Desk Day". A bill was introduced on 1913, US President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea in 1924] a national committee was formed in the 1930s by trade groups in order to legitimize the holiday,
In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries, most often on November 19

FIFA World Cup coming to South Africa

2010-03-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

The FIFA World Cup, the world's biggest sporting event after the Olympic games -and the tournament that unites the whole world is coming to South Africa. For four weeks in 2010, South Africa will be the centre of the world. The eyes of billions of television viewers, even from the remotest corners of the planet, an estimated three million international visitors and the cream of the world's sporting media will be focused on South Africa.
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of World Cup fever, whether it’s flying a flag from your radio antenna or painting your face in your favourite team’s colours! Just who will lift the FIFA World Cup trophy is the question on the minds of even the most casual of soccer fans, many answering with a twinge of cultural pride.
Log onto our webpage www.giftinabox.co.za for some great gifting ideas for those corporate clients or special guests visiting our shores

Mother's Day - 9 May 2010 in South Africa

2010-03-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

In South Africa, Mothers Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in the month of May. People of South Africa celebrate Mother's Day in its true spirit by acknowledging the importance of mothers in their lives and thanking them profusely for all their love and care. People also gift flowers and cards to their mother as an expression of their heartfelt feeling of gratitude and affection. The most commonly used flowers on Mothers Day is the traditional carnation. People wear red or pink carnation for the mothers who are living while white carnation is used as a symbol of mothers who are dead. In South Africa, Mother's Day is taken as an opportunity to thank not just mothers but also grand mothers and women who are like mothers. Mothers are pampered by caring children on the day. Many children treat their mother with a delicious breakfast in bed but owing to the changing lifestyles, a large number of people take their mother out for dinners. Young children present their mothers with homemade gifts while the elder ones buy gifts for their mothers.
Remember Mother's Day, Sunday, 9 May 2010. Log onto our webpage, www.giftinabox.co.za, for a stunning selection of gifts for mom!. Send her a pamper treat, flowers, or even a health spa voucher. All available on our online gift store.

Your complete online gifting solution

2010-03-17T00:27:00.000-07:00

Gift in a Box maintains its position in the market by providing a one-stop online shopping experience and your complete online gifting solution. Gift in a Box offers a wide range of gift hampers, gift baskets, fresh flowers, jewellery and perfumes at competitive prices and best of all...secure door-to-door delivery. We deliver anywhere in South Africa and overnight to all major centres. The ordering process is simple and more importantly payment is secure and safe. Feel free to browse our webpage, www.giftinabox.co.za and should you not find the perfect gift, we will gladly customise one to suit your needs and your budget.

Christmas Gift Hampers – It’s the Festive Season - a time for giving

2009-10-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

Aaah, Christmas! The Christmas holiday season is a magically special time when family and friends come together to celebrate, create memories, and recall Christmas's past as they continue traditions. What do you envision when you think of Christmas? Children's eager faces? Christmas shopping or Christmas carols? Decorating the tree? Special Christmas recipes? Christmas cards and family traditions? Gift-giving? The memories of past holidays and the anticipation of future Christmas seasons keeps us all looking forward to all that Christmas has to offer.
Log onto our webpage, www.giftinabox.co.za, to view our stunning selection of Christmas gift hampers or call us on 27 11 469 1837 to customize your hamper to your specific requirements. All our hampers are beautifully wrapped in a Christmas theme and delivered overnight to anywhere in South Africa.

Christmas Traditions:
The traditions surrounding the celebration of this season are almost as numerous as the people who celebrate it. Through the years, the holiday has been adapted to local customs, culture, and history and so has produced an amazing variety of Christmas traditions around the world. Some, such as the giving of gifts or the use of a star, arose directly or indirectly out of the biblical nativity stories. Some, such as the legends of Saint Nicholas, have their origin in church history, historical fact that became legendary as it was embellished in story. Others, such as the use of evergreens and the yule log, have pagan origins but were transformed into distinctively Christian traditions. Others, such as the use of a crèche or caroling, arose first as local traditions in certain countries or regions that became widely adopted. And still others, such as, reindeer, elves, the North Pole, etc., have largely secular origins and are only loosely associated with the holiday in popular imagination or marketing techniques.

Boss's Day Quotes and Quirks

2009-09-04T02:08:00.000-07:00

Most bosses know instinctively that their power depends more on employee’s compliance than on threats or sanctions.
Being the boss anywhere is lonely. Being a female boss in a world of mostly men is especially so.
If you think your boss is stupid, remember: you wouldn’t have a job if he was any smarter.
The person who knows HOW will always have a job. The person who knows WHY will always be his boss.
Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.
Ability is what will get you to the top if the boss has no daughter.
Most people like hard work. Particularly when they are paying for it.
By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day.
Monday is a lame way to spend 1/7 of your life.
Show me a man who is a good loser and I’ll show you a man who is playing golf with his boss.
There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.
One measure of leadership is the caliber of people who choose to follow you.
My Boss said to me, “What you see as a glass ceiling, I see as a protective barrier.”
The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven’t made up their minds.
Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.
The best time to start thinking about your retirement is before the boss does.
Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.
The difference between a job and a career is the difference between forty and sixty hours a week.
We passed over a lot of good people to get the ones we hired.
My Boss frequently gets lost in thought. That’s because it’s unfamiliar territory.
I didn’t say it was your fault. I said I was going to blame it on you.
Workplace surveys confirm that one of the most important elements of job satisfaction is a positive relationship between a supervisor and employee.

Looking for Boss's Day gift ideas? Log onto our webpage, www.giftinabox.co.za for our stunning selection. We pack and deliver directly to your Boss's door

Boss's Day, 16th October 2009

2009-09-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

The History of Boss’s Day

Boss's Day (also known as Bosses Day or National Boss Day) is a secular holiday celebrated on 16th October. It has traditionally been a day for employees to thank their boss for being kind and fair throughout the year. The origin of Bosses Day dates back to 1958. Patricia Bays Haroski, an employee at State Farm Insurance Company in Illinois, registered it with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Haroski chose the date because it was her father's birthday. Who was her boss? .... her father. Four years later in 1962, Illinois Governor Otto Kerner backed Haroski's registration and officially proclaimed the day.

National Boss's Day has become an international celebration in recent years and now is observed in countries such as Australia, England and South Africa.

What To Do on Boss’s Day

Boss's Day is an opportunity for you to thank your boss for being a mentor and leader throughout the year. Now here is a day that gives you a chance to both tell and show the boss what you really think of him or her, and to give your boss the appreciation that he or she truly deserves. You can do many things to make Boss’s Day a good thing in your office! This is a time to set aside petty conflicts and invest in your future by taking care of your boss. After all, Boss’s Day only comes around once a year.

How long you've worked together and how well you know each other will play into your gift-giving decision. If you want to play it safe, a modest food gift basket is a great choice. If you know your boss enjoys a good cuppa coffee then a gift hamper such as our The Coffee Addict is a good idea. If you know that your boss enjoys wine, a wine gift hamper containing a good quality wine as our The Boss's Choice, will be a very welcome gift. Are they mad about chocolate? Our The Chocoholic hamper should really please them.

It's a tough job to find a good gift for your boss. But help has arrived!
Log onto our webpage www.giftinabox.co.za and view our stunning selection of Boss’s Day gift hampers

National Secretaries’ Day, 2010 – South Africa

2009-07-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

Many of us do not even realise they are around us. They schedule our appointments and remind us of things we have to take care of. They bring us tea when we are thirsty and cope with us when we are in a bad mood. Well, if you have completely forgotten what day we are talking about, here is a quick reminder – secretaries' day.

Secretaries’ Day is celebrated annually on the first Wednesday of September to recognise the work of office professionals.

Celebrate the third most important person in your life [Wife-1st, Mother-2nd] by showing your secretary how much they are appreciated. Dedicate this one day to them, after all it is they that keeps things running smoothly all year round, no matter how bumpy the ride. Remember that by doing something special for them on that day, you will show them that you really are grateful for everything they do for you and that they are just as important to you as your most valuable client.

A gift is always appropriate, because you can certainly not afford to give them time off! You would be at a loss without them! Log onto our webpage www.giftinabox.co,za for some valuable Secretaries’ Day gift ideas

The History of Father's Day, South Africa, 21 June 2009

2009-05-19T03:34:00.000-07:00

The History of Father’s Day
Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, and special dinners to fathers and family-oriented activities. In 200, it will be celebrated on 21 June in South Africa. It originated in Spokane, Washington.[1] In 2009, it will be celebrated on June 21 in many countries. In a few Catholic countries, it is celebrated on the Feast of St. Joseph
The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on July 5 1908 in a church located in Fairmont, West Virginia, by Dr. Robert Webb of West Virginia at the Central United Methodist Church of Fairmont.
Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington thought independently of the holiday one Sunday in 1909 while listening to a Mother's Day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church at Spokane, and she arranged a tribute for her father in June 19, 1910. She was the first to solicit the idea of having an official Father's Day observance.
It took many years to make the holiday official. In spite of support from the YWCA, the YMCA and churches, it ran the risk of disappearing from the calendar. Where Mother's Day was met with enthusiasm, Father's Day was met with laughter. The holiday was gathering attention slowly, but the wrong reasons: it was the target of much satire, parody and derision, including jokes from the local newspaper Spokane Review. Many people saw it as just the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions like "Grandparents' Day", "Professional Secretaries' Day", etc. all the way down to "National Clean Your Desk Day". A bill was introduced on 1913, US President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea in 1924] a national committee was formed in the 1930s by trade groups in order to legitimize the holiday,
In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries, most often on November 19.

Father's Day - South Africa, 21 June 2009

2009-05-19T03:26:00.000-07:00

Story of Father's Day
Father's Day is a beautiful festival that acknowledges and appreciates the important role played by a father in raising the child and consequently building a stronger society. Though fathers have been revered at all times by civilizations across the globe ironically what was missing until the last century was the official recognition of the significance of fathers in ones life. Father's Day story is the tale of realization of the need for a Father's Day festival primarily by Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Washington. The story narrates Sonora's unflagging struggle to officially set a day to honor all fathers. Thanks to Sonora, today Fathers Day is celebrated in a large number of countries around the world. The Beginning of Father's Day Story

Historians have recorded that there was a tradition to celebrate Father's Day even thousands of years ago. Their study say that 4,000 years ago in Babylon a son called Elmesu carved a father's day message on a clay card. In his message Elmesu wished his father a long and healthy life. There is no knowledge as to what happened to this father son duo but it is believed that several countries retained the custom of celebrating Father's Day.

Genesis of Father's Day in Modern Society

The tradition of celebrating Father's Day as seen today originated in the last century. Though there are several people who are credited for furthering the cause of Father's Day, there is far greater acceptance for Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd's contribution. A doting daughter from Spokane, Washington, Ms Dodd is recognized as the Founder or Mother of the Father's Day Festival. Inception of the Father's Day took place in Sonora's mind when she happened to hear a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Sonora, who was 27 then, had begun to recognize the hardships her father must have gone through while bringing up his six children alone. When Sonora was 16, her mother had died during childbirth. Sonora's father a Civil War veteran by the name of William Jackson Smart raised six children including the newborn on his own. Sonora questioned that if there is a day to recognize mothers then why is not there a day to honor fathers? Many people laughed and joked at Sonora's idea. But her will did not droop. She began a sincere campaign lobbying for the cause of Father's Day. Her hard work began to show signs of success when Spokane celebrated its first Father's Day on June 19, 1910 with the support of Spokane Ministerial Association and the local Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). To pay tribute to her affectionate father, Sonora wished that Father's Day be celebrated on her father's birthday on June 5, but it so happened that there was not enough time for preparation and the day came to be celebrated on third Sunday in the month of June. The noble idea of celebrating Father's Day became quite popular in US so much so that President Woodrow Wilson approved of the festival in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge too supported the idea but it was President Lyndon Johnson who signed a Presidential Proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day in 1966. Then in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.

Fathers Day Celebration in Present Time

Father's Day has become a hugely popular festival. World over people thank their father and pay tribute to them. Most commonly children gift Father's Day cards and flowers to their father. Neckties are a popular gift on the occasion of Father's Day. Due to the tradition of giving gifts, cards makers, florists and gift sellers campaign for Father's Day Festival in a big way and cash in on the sentiments of the people.

So go on, show dad you care and appreciate him! Log onto www.giftinabox.co.za and view our stunning selection of Father's Day gifts

Father's Day Gift Ideas from Gift in a Box

2009-05-19T03:13:00.000-07:00

Here are just a view of our stunning ideas for Father's Day gifts:

The Best Braai Boffin
For the Sunday Braai Man. Give him a glass of his favourite beer and this wonderful selection of braai goodies to turn him into the Best Braai Boffin ever
Golf day
For a relaxing and competitive day on the golf course. He will thoroughly enjoy this box of golf goodies even Gary Player would be envious of!

Especially for dad
A classic selection of male grooming products to leave him smelling like roses
Super dads choice
Dad knows best! A tantalizing selection of gourmet goodies to make his day.
Cologne
A wide selection of trendy colognes to really perk him up
Watches
A wide selection of Swatch and Police watches to keep him up to date

Father's Day - 21 June 2009

2009-05-19T03:03:00.000-07:00

Many people laughed at Sonora Dodd when she gave the concept of having a Father's Day, as traditionally, only mother is regarded as the sole nurturer of a child. The role of father is often relegated to a secondary status as compared to a mother. But all of us know that father is just as important for a child as the mother is. If mothers are the heroes of child rearing, significance of father in the development and emotional well being of a child is no less. Children depend on their father for their spiritual, emotional, physical, financial and social well being. For daughters, father is the ideal man in the world and also the first man they adore, while for sons, father is an idol and the strongest man they aspire to emulate.
Though traditionally father is seen more as a provider and guide for children, the scenario appears significantly changed in nuclear family culture of today. With most husband and wife working, fathers in present times are as involved in child rearing job as the mothers are. Today, most fathers do not shy away from changing nappy or taking the difficult task for putting the baby to sleep. This cultural change is helping in strengthening father-child relationship and consequently in emotional development of a child and building of stronger family bonds

So go on, show dad how much you appreciate him. Log onto www.giftinabox.co.za and view our stunning father's day gift selection.

Twelve stats about mothers in South Africa

2009-03-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

This Mother's day, you may have bought your mother a card, or perhaps called her, but have you ever thought of what life is like for the average mother in South Africa?

Mothers truly are the foundation of this nation, but what do you know about them? What are some of the day to day struggles they have to endure? We have gathered some startling facts about mothers in SA. Did you know:

1. According to the 2001 Census, there are around 8.5 million mothers in South Africa under the age of 50.

2. Nearly 80% of South African women between the ages of 20 and 50 are mothers.

3. One third of mothers under the age of 50 have one child. Some 21% have four or more children.

4. Only half of mothers aged 50 or less are married or living with a partner.

5. Almost four million mothers are not married or living with a partner. Of these, 3.3 million were never married.

6. There are around 2.8 million working mothers in SA under the age of 50.

7. Some three million are not economically active while a further 2.6 million are unemployed according to the official definition.

8. Official unemployment of mothers (under 50) with young children is 35% compared to 23% for men (under 65).

9. Around 8 000 babies are born to HIV-infected mothers in South Africa each month.

10. Approximately 25%-30% of HIV infected mothers in South Africa will transmit the HIV infection to their child.

11. Up to 30% of new mothers in South Africa (an estimated minimum of 50 000 mothers per year) are clinically ill with depression or anxiety disorders.

12. It is estimated that there are 1,000,000 children without mothers in South Africa due to the AIDS pandemic.

Make your mom's day special and spoil her with one of our stunning selection of gifts to really show your appreciation of her. Log onto our webpage, www.giftinabox.co.za.

Mother's Day in South Africa

2009-03-11T05:11:00.000-07:00

Remember Mother's Day, Sunday, 10 May 2009. Log onto our webpage, www.giftinabox.co.za, for a stunning selection of gifts for mom!. Send her a pamper treat, flowers, or even a health spa voucher. All available on our online gift store.

Mother's Day

2009-03-11T03:47:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was created as a day for each family to honor their mothers. It is celebrated on various days in many places around the world. It complements Father's Day, the celebration honoring fathers.
Different countries celebrate Mother's Day on various days of the year because the day has a number of different origins.
One school of thought claims this day emerged from a custom of mother worship in ancient Greece, which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of Greek gods. This festival was held around the Vernal Equinox around Asia Minor and eventually in Rome itself from the Ides of March (15 March) to 18 March.
The ancient Romans also had another holiday, Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno, though mothers were usually given gifts on this day.

Mother's Day is celebrated in South Africa on Sunday, 10 May 2009. Take a look at our wonderful selction of Mother's Day gifts and send mom a gift to remember this Mother's Day. Log onto www.giftinabox.co.za.

International history and traditions
In most countries, Mother's Day is a recent observance derived from the holiday as it has evolved in North America and Europe. Many African countries adopted the idea of one Mother's Day from the British tradition, although there are many festivals and events celebrating mothers within the many diverse cultures on the African continent that long pre-date colonisation.
Japan
Mother's Day in Japan was initially commemorated during the Shōwa period as the birthday of Empress Kojun (mother of Emperor Akihito). Nowadays - as in the United States - the holiday is a heavily marketed concept, and people typically give flowers such as carnations and roses as gifts.
China
In China, Mother's Day is becoming more popular, and carnations are a very popular gift and the most sold type of flowers. In 1997 it was set as the day to help poor mothers, specially to remind people of the poor mothers on rural areas such as China's west. In the People's Daily, the Communist Party of China's journal, an article explained that "despite originating in the United States, people in China take the holiday with no hesitance because it goes in line with the country's traditional ethics -- respect to the elderly and filial piety to parents."[
In recent years Communist Party of China's member Li Hanqiu began to advocate for the official adoption of Mother's Day in memory of Meng Mu, the mother of Mèng Zǐ, and formed a Non-governmental organization called Chinese Mothers' Festival Promotion Society, with the support of 100 Confuncian scholars and lecturers of ethics.[ They also ask to replace the Western gift of carnations with lilies, which, on ancient times, were planted by Chinese mothers when children left home. It remains an unofficial festival, except in a small number of cities.
Greece
Mother's Day in Greece corresponds to the Eastern Orthodox feast day of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Since the Theotokos (The Mother of God) appears prominently in this feast as the one who brought Christ to the Temple at Jerusalem, this feast is associated with mothers.[citation needed]
Iran
Celebrated on 20 Jumada al-thani, the birthday anniversary of Fatima, Muhammad's daughter. It was changed after the Iranian revolution, the reason having been theorised as trying to undercut feminist movements and promoting role models for the traditional model of family. It was previously 25 Azar on Iranian calendar during the Shah era[citation needed]
United Kingdom and Ireland
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday (March 22 in 2009). It is believed to have originated from the 16th century Christian practice of visiting one's mother church annually, which meant that most mothers would be reunited with their children on this day. Most historians believe that young apprentices and young women in servitude were released by their masters that weekend in order to visit their families. As a result of secularisation, it is now principally used to show appreciation to one's mother, although it is still recognised in the historical sense by some churches, with attention paid to Mary the mother of Jesus Christ as well as the traditional concept 'Mother Church'.
Mothering Sunday can fall at the earliest on 1 March (in years when Easter Day falls on 22 March) and at the latest on 4 April (when Easter Day falls on 25 April).
United States
North America celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May (May 10 in 2009). In the United States, Mother's Day was inspired by the British day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace.
Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mother's Work Days. She organised women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.
Frank E. Hering, President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, made the first known public plea for "a national day to honor our mothers" in 1904.
When Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. In 1907, she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother’s church, St. Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia—one for each mother in the congregation. The first Mother's Day service was celebrated on 10 May 1908, in the same church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Anna chose Sunday to be Mother's Day because she intended the day to be commemorated and treated as a Holy Day.
Originally the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church, the site of the original Mother's Day commemoration, where Anna handed out carnations, this building is now the International Mother's Day Shrine (a National Historic Landmark). From there, the custom caught on—spreading eventually to 46 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912, beginning with West Virginia. On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and requesting a proclamation. On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made that proclamation, declaring the first national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.
Carnations have come to represent Mother's Day, since they were delivered at one of its first celebrations by its founder. This also started the custom of wearing a carnation on Mother's Day. The founder, Anna Jarvis, delivered a single white carnation to every person, a symbol of the purity of a mother's love. She chose the carnation because it was the favourite flower of her mother. In part due to the shortage of white carnations, and in part due to the efforts to expand the sales of more types of flowers in Mother's Day, the florists promoted wearing a red carnation if your mother was living, and a white one if was dead; this was tirelessly promoted until it made its way into the popular observations at churches.
In May 2008, the US House of Representatives voted twice on a resolution commemorating Mother's Day, , the first one being unanimous so that all congressmen would be on record showing support for Mother's Day

Secretary's Day Gift Ideas

2009-03-11T03:43:00.000-07:00

Don’t look so worried, we have the perfect Secretary's Day gift ideas. Follow these simple suggestions to the letter, and you are certain to be reciprocated when Boss’s Day comes around!
Secretary’s Day is a holiday observed on Wednesday of the first full week of September. It was established to recognize the hard work of secretaries, and other support personnel.

History of Secretary’s Day
Secretary's Day was all part of the master plan of Harry F. Klemfuss. [With a last name like that, he was accustomed to having people ‘fuss’ over him] In 1952, Klemfuss devised a whole week dedicated to secretaries during what he called National Secretaries Week. Remember, June Cleaver “I’m breading cutlets” of Leave it to Beaver fame. This was a popular US television sit-com during the 1950’s. The Mother in the series is a portrayal of a 1950’s homemaker. It was during this era that Harry Klemfuss decided women needed encouragement to enter the workforce. His idea was to create a special day to honor secretaries in hopes of enticing more females into the job position.

Celebrate the third most important person in your life [Wife-1st, Mother-2nd] by showing your secretary how much they are appreciated. A gift is always appropriate, because you can certainly not afford to give them time off! You would be at a loss without them!

We at Gift in a Box have a stunning selection of gifts to choose from. Log onto our webpage, wwwgiftinabox.co.za, and select the perfect gift for the perfect lady.

Health Spa Gift Vouchers - South Africa

2009-03-11T03:35:00.000-07:00

We all love to be pampered and Gift in a Box has gone to great lengths to make sure their pamper gift ideas are unique and all-embracing.
So if sending flowers doesn't quite swing it and pamper hampers are not quite your style, how about a health spa voucher to iron out all those little wrinkles and creases?

Set in some of the most stunning locations amongst wondrous scenery, you will always find yourself being pampered to your hearts content with our selection of Health Spas. South Africa boasts some of the most unique and finest Spas in the World. Highly trained therapists tender a desirable range of treatments and rituals whether for recuperating or indulging. Enjoy being soothed by the world's favourite branded spa products together with more conventional African treatments. Send someone special one of our South Africa health spa gift vouchers for a day of massages, treatments and luxury at top-class spas and wellness centres.

Couples Treatment
How about re-energising the love life too? Gift in a Box is one ahead and already has a couples pamper spa option that includes back, neck and shoulder massages, facials and the use of all the amenities. If you feel the sexual excitement in your relationship is palling, grab his hand and get primped and pampered together, you never know where that may lead.

Indian Head Massage
If stress is taking the lust out of your life, consider an Indian Head Massage. It not only relaxes the overworked muscles in the neck and back but it effectively reduces stress and takes the edge off debilitating tiredness too.
We all feel overworked and underpaid at times and there is arguably nothing better than setting an hour or two aside exclusively for a little bit of R&R. Gift in a Box has a selection of spa vouchers for you and your partner, or just for you, so toss those work worries aside in the safety and silence of a luxury spa with all its amenities.