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Refresh and Relax with our latest goodie

Thursday, March 31, 2011 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Choose between a classic pattern, soothing colors or a fresh design to transform your bedroom this spring. And with 30% off you could buy more than one bedding complete set and never get bored with your look. Don't forget to use promo code: SPRINGBED (details follow)

The Evette 7-Pc Comforter comes in four different colors including Ivory, Aqua, Chocolate and Gold. The set includes:

Comforter
Two shams
Dust ruffle
Oblong pillow
Square pillow
Neckroll pillow

The Rockford Manor 8-pc microfiber comforter set is ultra soft, smooth and wrinkle-free. The set includes:

Comforter
Dust ruffle
2 shams (1 with Twin; 2 King-size with King)
Plus FREE sheet set**:
1 flat sheet
1 fitted sheet
2 pillowcases (1 with Twin; 2 King-size with King)

Check out your Goodie Bag

Shop all bedding including Bed in a Bag Ensembles.

Offer ends 9:59am 4/7/11 CT. Enter promotion code SPRINGBED during checkout and receive 30% off products G6890, G6777, G6875 . While supplies last only. Not valid on Clearance. Not valid on shipping and handling. Not valid on previous purchases or on the purchase of Gift Cards. Promotional code only valid online. One promotional code per order. Cannot be combined with other Gettington.com offers. Not redeemable for cash. Not valid for payment on Gettington.com Credit Account. Void where prohibited or restricted. Not valid on Partner Offers.

Big Changes with Small 2011 Resolutions

Friday, December 31, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

It’s finally time to say goodbye to 2010 and welcome 2011. We’ve had a great time connecting with our fans over the past year and look forward to interacting even more over the next 365 days. Hopefully you’ll continue to come along for the ride!

New beginnings are the best part of celebrating the New Year. There’s promise of opportunities and a renewed vigor to try things you were not able to accomplish over the previous 12 months. With this rebirth comes the desire to set resolutions for the coming year.

As most of us know from past attempts, some goals are much more lofty and difficult than others. While it’s important to shoot high, we sometimes forget about small changes that can really make a difference in creating a memorable and happy year.

With some of the smaller goals in mind, we wanted to share a few resolution suggestions that will make a measurable difference without completely altering your lifestyle. Remember, ideas may seem small individually. When you account for the sum of their parts, 2011 can become everything you want it to be.

Spend Time with Family and Friends (include some time for you too)
Since the recession, work hours have become longer and more stressful. Hopefully, we’ve started to see the end of this trend which will trigger a return to a more manageable work schedule. If this change happens, we will have much more free time to spend with loved ones. Of course, this also means more time for ourselves to relax and do the things we love. The New Year is a great time to start party planning (Super Bowl anyone?) and organizing trips that will provide much needed downtime and an appreciation for the great people in our lives. Like Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Read More Books
Just like in school, reading is FUNdamental. Reading is perfect for taking advantage of rainy or snowy days inside, lazy hours spent beachside on vacation or frustrating time waiting at the airport during a long flight delay. Books are inspirational, stimulating and entertaining. If you haven’t read in a while and need a place to start, just think about the television and movie genres that interest you most. Chances are you’ll find countless books that fit your interest and fill your mind in 2011.

Back when books were a rare commodity, family libraries and collections became a status symbol. Now some consider physical books to be clutter. If you fall into the clutter category, you should consider an e-reader, like the iPad, Sony’s eReader or HomeSurf’s Internet Tablet. These products will allow you to download entire books directly to one device, save space at home and even save a few trees.

Help Others
Committing to charitable work does wonders for others and for your personal well-being. Helping others does not necessarily mean cutting a check. There are many organizations simply looking for people to volunteer their time and skills to assist others in need. Another idea comes in the form of fundraising through walks or biking trips. As an added bonus, you could ask family or friends to join you in participating in a charitable walk – which would also help you achieve a goal of spending more time with friends and family. That’s an unbeatable two for one deal!

Reorganize
Organization is on the borderline of being a big thing when you’ve been scrambling around for the last couple of months thanks to the holidays. Unfortunately, disorganization can make your life much more stressful. Think of the times at work where you couldn’t find an email or paperwork. It’s not hard to remember anytime that you needed to find something in your basement or attic which led to a mental meltdown. If organization is on your list, check out our products for home and the office that will help you forget about a messy past.

What small changes do you have in store for 2011?

Are you having holiday fun yet?

Friday, December 17, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

The clock is starting to wind down if you’re celebrating Christmas this year. That means you’re probably reaching your stress limits and with all of the last-minute running around, cleaning, shopping, preparing, etc, no one can blame you. Certainly, everyone can relate to holiday stress. The best remedy to keep you from reaching Griswoldian levels of holiday frustration is fun. The holidays are about family, presents, food, friends – but sometimes the fun can get lost in the shuffle. The next time you’re about to reach a boiling point, just pull up a chair next to your computer and take a few minutes to look at the lighter side of Christmas.

In this post, we’re going to look at a few interesting ways to help your mind wander away from any holiday blues you might be experiencing. First, we’ll have a look at Santa. Then, we’ll follow-up with an often amusing holiday office gifting tradition most people know as “Secret Santa.” Finally, we’ll take a look at an international holiday tradition that is much different than our own.

With screeching children serving as loud reminders, Santa can be a pretty creepy guy. Newspapers across the country have started a yearly tradition of featuring “Scared of Santa” slideshows showcasing this year’s crop of screamers. The Chicago Tribune has done a particularly good job at cataloging evidence to prove that Santa is indeed scary. You can check out the 2010 edition here, but can also access pics from 2007 – 2009. Honestly, these Santas are not all that disturbing. It’s more on the children than anything else. To witness some truly cringe-worthy Kringle’s, you can have a lot of laughs looking at The Daily Beast’s Sketchy Santa gallery.

If you’ve worked in an office during the holidays, chances are you’ve experienced the phenomenon that is Secret Santa. The premise is very simple, participants pick a co-workers name from a hat then they secretly shower their colleague with gifts leading up to Christmas. Unfortunately for many on the receiving end, there are many documented cases of just plain horrible or horribly inappropriate gifts passed along by their Secret Santa. Fox News has a guide on gifts to avoid, while MainStreet dishes on some of the most bizarre holiday gifts in office history. Not to spoil it, but the list includes strange items, like a pack of smokes, an elastic ball and a horse lick. Of course, this topic was humorously addressed in an episode of NBC’s The Office. Hopefully, you all learned valuable lessons from watching.

So moving on from weird gifts to a strange holiday tradition that involves Santa’s scary helper. One figure gaining in popularity stateside is a traveling companion to Santa called the Krampus. Originating from Austria, the Krampus is a large, furry beast with horns that travels with St. Nick to do Santa’s dirty work. While the famous gift-giver bestows presents to the good children, the Krampus comes along to punish naughty kids. In its 25 weird days of Christmas, The San Francisco Chronicle profiled the Krampus and provides a wonderful background to this strange, but fun, holiday tradition.

If the Krampus is just too hair-raising for you, one tradition that always makes people I know happy around the holidays is watching a favorite holiday film. Gettington has special editions of three of the most popular holiday flicks around: A Christmas Story, Elf and Christmas Vacation in the event you want to watch them outside of their Christmas day marathons. All three have exclusive gift set material that only come with these versions. For example, A Christmas Story comes with a cookie cutter in the shape of the infamous leg lamp.

What are some things you do for a laugh during the holidays? We’d love to hear about your funny Secret Santa or Yankee Swap experiences and if you have any amusing stories about a scary Santa. Hopefully this will help you remember to enjoy this time of year.

Hot Toys of the Past & Present

Friday, December 10, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Since before the first sprouting of a Cabbage Patch Kid, toys have dominated the holiday shopping landscape. Just as sure as the sun will rise, each holiday season brings a new, much sought-after gift that will be buzzing across the TV and Radio talk show circuits, flashing on children’s TV and Web destinations and, most notably, keep kids talking during recess.

Before we get into this year’s hot items, let took a look at three of the more interesting stories behind the toys that had shoppers scrambling over the years.

Furby: Barreling towards a new millennium meant new innovations in science, medicine and, of course, toys. Furbies were not your average talking doll. Oh no, these dolls were more like robotic pets that you had to feed and care for in order for them to grow – a sort of real-world take on another nineties rage, the Tamagotchi or digi-pet. Furbies were also blessed with the ability to interact via a sensor that allowed two of the furry friends to carry on a conversation. That is of course if you feel as though “u-nye-loo-lay-doo? Doo-dah” qualifies as a conversation.

However, the most interesting Furby story was that many influential people thought that lovable, little Furby posed a threat to national security! Due to a rumor that Furby was equipped with a voice recording device (not true) that could record conversations allowing the Furby to speak English, the toy was banned from the National Security Agency’s office in Maryland. Here’s a snippet of CNN’s coverage:

Furby is embedded with a computer chip that allows it to record words. Because of that ability, NSA officials were worried "that people would take them home and they'd start talking classified," one Capitol Hill source told The Washington Post.

In a warning to employees, the NSA said, "Personally owned photographic, video and audio recording equipment are prohibited items. This includes toys, such as 'Furbys,' with built-in recorders that repeat the audio with synthesized sound to mimic the original signal."

Beanie Babies: Bean bag dolls were all the rage in the mid to late nineties. What made this fad stand out is that it involved a lot of potential collectors. Similar to baseball cards or comic books, collectors would find rare Beanie Babies and hope to sell them for a profit. This brought in a number of bizarre stories including Beanie Bootleggers and Beanie custody rights in a divorce settlement. One interesting account of Beanie crime is found in a 1999 New York Times article that details an early e-commerce scam and cases linked to identity theft.

Unfortunately for those looking to retire off Beanie billions, the bag went bust. Just this summer, John Ewoldt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune broke the bad news and used the once coveted Princess Di Beanie Baby to tell the tale (sorry collectors):

Specialty Babies such as Princess Di, which came with a book and a display case, fetched $100 new. But fate has not been kind to Di's buyers. Even the princess is worth only 40 cents…

Cabbage Patch Kids: This doll really marks the beginning of the modern Christmas toy craze. In the product’s first year on the market alone, 2.5 million Cabbage Patch Kids were sold. The frenzy swept the nation causing near riots and aggressive behavior amongst shoppers looking to secure one of dolls during the holiday season. Back in 1983, TIME Magazine penned an article that does a great job describing the fervor in the air:

So what are we to think about the great Cabbage Patch Kids madness of 1983? What are we to think of a homely, vinyl-faced cloth doll that has become such an object of desire to so many people that 5,000 of them staged a near riot last week at Hills Department Store in Charleston, W. Va.? Manager Scott Belcher could provide no explanation. He could only describe a Christmas crowd becoming a Christmas mob: "They knocked over the display table. People were grabbing at each other, pushing and shoving. It got ugly."

What are we to think of a woman's suffering a broken leg when another crowd of 1,000 turned violent after waiting eight hours to get into a Zayre store in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.? Departmental Manager William Shigo could provide no explanation either. He armed himself with a baseball bat to defend his position behind the counter. Said he: "Get back, you're breaking my legs."

So what can you expect this year? Here are the top toys that are catching buzz for 2010. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about getting scammed, banned or crushed while shopping on Gettington.com!

Paper Jamz: If you’re familiar with this blog, you know we’re big fans of these paper thin instruments. Each guitar comes pre-loaded with three popular songs for practice and a freestyle mode for kids to create tunes of their own. For a video demo, you can check out last week’s post with footage from Lifetime’s The Balancing Act.

Squinkies: Another favorite from our Balancing Act segment. Squinkies are tiny, squishy toys that come in human or animal form. Like Beanie Babies, some are considering Squinkies to be collectables so I hope you learned a lesson from the above Princess Di story. Bottom line is Squinkies are cute, fun for kids and won’t break the bank. For further reading on the Squinkies saga, check out The New York Times article, Squinkies Maker Savors Demand for Holiday’s Hot Toy.

Sing-a-ma-jigs!: Part chorus, part rag doll, The Sing-a-ma-jigs are not your average noisy dolly. These plush pals operate in three modes: Chatter, Sing-a-Song and Harmonize. Kids squeeze their Sing-a-ma-jig’s tummy and are instantly treated with its musical stylings – but the real magic happens when a bunch of dolls come together for a Sing-a-ma-jig shindig. If this all sounds a bit confusing, check out the video:

Loopz: This game reminds me a lot of Simon. It’s all about read and response. Instead of pressing buttons like in Simon, Loopz has users pass their hands through an illuminated loop. Now that I think of it, I can see why not having dirty hands all over a game is progress. If you’re kids are up for a fun challenge, circle your gifting wagon around Loopz.

Pillow Pets: Does this name sound familiar to you? Pillow Pets are reminiscent of another 1980s fad, Pillow People. Where Pillow People were anthropomorphic pillows, Pillow Pets keep their animal form, but can double as a pillow due by folding out. To throw in another 1980s favorite, they’re like a Transformer, part plush pet, part pillow. Gettington’s collection includes the following: unicorn, penguin, dolphin, monkey, ladybug, bee and panda.

That’s our quick look at the past and present of holiday toys and crazes. Hopefully Gettington can help make your holiday wishes come true, and twenty years from now we can cash in our Squinkies collection for a warm vacation home near the beach with nightly Bingo and shuffleboard!

Hot Gift Suggestions from Lifetime Television’s The Balancing Act

Friday, December 3, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

One question always seems to crop up at some point while holiday shopping: “What do I buy for (insert name of difficult person to shop for).” In most cases, you’re probably asking this question multiple times and consider yourself lucky if you’re only asking it once!

The good news is that we’re here to help you try and find the best answer to the most common shopping question of the season. I recently had the pleasure of discussing the topic of difficult gifting on the Lifetime Network’s The Balancing Act with host Beth Troutman. In the below video we go over a few gift ideas for kids, dads and in-laws:

Here’s a little more info on the items that we talked about on The Balancing Act – including where you can find them on our site.

Paper Jamz

Right now, we’ve got four Paper Jamz options that come with a free amp and strap. Each guitar comes with three different programmed songs, a freestyle mode for trying new tunes and they come in four different colors: green, blue, red and pink. It can help your kids get creative this year and maybe it will open the door to discovering some musical talent!

Squinkies

Squinkies are a force to be reckoned with this holiday season. If you don’t believe me, just run a Twitter search on Squinkies and you’ll understand. These cute squishy toys come in friend (human) and pet (animal) form. Currently, Gettington has a 16-piece palace set that comes with 16 figures and one palace that can store up to 96 of our loveable friends.

iPod Touch 4th Generation

At this point, you’re probably familiar with the music and movie/television capabilities that come with the iPod. If you’ve had an older generation iPod, you’ll be impressed as how much more you can do with the new generation. First it added video capabilities so you can record in HD and use Face Time. Of course it also connects with the App Store and has Wi-Fi that will have you downloading Angry Birds in a flash. Gettington has two versions that come with 8GB and 32GB storage.

Sony Trik

If your gift recipient does not need a new iPod, one option is to upgrade their iPod’s sound capabilities. The Trik is a two speaker docking station that was created specifically to connect with iPods and iPhones. The Trik also comes with four skins and one free coupon for a customizable skin to help your gift recipient make the system match their style. The Trik is capable of connecting with other digital dvices, comes with a remote and will charge the docked iPod or iPhone while plugged in.

Magellan 5" GPS Navigation System

Do you know someone still using the same road map they picked up at rest stop in 1984? If so, maybe it’s time for a digital welcome to the 21st century with the Magellan 5” GPS. This model comes pre-equipped with AAA TourBook information, maps of the US, Canada and Puerto Rico and 6 million points of interest. The best part is Magellan provides lifetime traffic updates, so this model will probably last just as long as a decades-old print map.

Rockwell 12V Lithium Impact Driver & Drill

A person never really appreciates power tools until they have to assemble a product with a manual ratchet screwdriver. If you’re worried about power, the Lithium batteries in this combo set weigh less and last longer than those in traditional Ni-Cd batteries and charge in just 35 minutes. If someone on your gift list has home projects in store for the new year, this is a great gift idea. If you plan on doing some handy work or assembling furniture, these tools will make your life much, much easier – maybe you can treat yourself or drop a hint to someone shopping for you.

Personalized Items

A lot of people love personalization when it comes to holiday gifts. Generally, these are folks that prefer not to receive gift cards because they lack “a personal touch.” The only problem is sometimes these people can be the hardest to shop for! This year, Gettington has a number of personalized gifts that range from jewelry to rocking chairs to items for your home or vehicle. For people that really appreciate getting personal, check out our personalized items. Remember to allow for extra time when ordering personalized items because they have to be customized to your specifications.

Use the Gift Finder for More Ideas
Of course, there are a lot of people that you have to shop for and, unfortunately, we could not cover all of the bases in the gift ideas clip. Gettington does, however, have a gift finder that can help point you in the right direction. The finder can be broken into categories based on recipient: him, her, boy, girl, teen, couple and teachers/caregivers. It can also be categorized by price, gift type, like gadgets and gizmos or top rated/top sellers.

Entertaining Holiday Season: Part 2

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

In part two of our holiday entertaining series, we’ll examine a few ways for you to take and prepare favorite dishes on the road. We want to make sure that the turkey is not the only one stuffed this year. We’ve also included a few fun facts and silly jokes that are perfect for sharing with kids or any cranky relative – please enjoy!

Holidays To Go:

If you’re bringing a dish to a relative’s house or to an office holiday party, you’ve got to figure out how to transport you food. Luckily, there are a number of options that can get any dish – hot, cold, slow cooked or roasted to its last stop before your stomach.

The great thing about a slow cooker is its ability to cook, then reheat a dish without getting in the way of what your host is already preparing. Gettington.com has slow cookers in all shapes and sizes, but this Elite model has the top spot according to our customer reviews.

Elite 8.5qt Oval Slow Cooker Stainless Steel

This Rachael Ray 4.25QT Casserole Dish is perfect for cooking, transporting and reheating a side or main course. The dish can be used for cooking or reheating in the oven or microwave and doubles as a serving bowl. If you’re reheating in the oven, your host will certainly appreciate the gift that keeps on giving space – the Nifty 3-Tier Oven Companion. After all, you are a professional organizer.

Rachael Ray 4.25QT Casserole Dish

If you’re in charge of baked goods, freshness is key. There is a huge difference between minutes from the oven cupcakes and cupcakes that have been stuck in a three-hour holiday commute. If you’re driving, you must keep your baked good fresh. The Wilton Ultimate 3-in-1 Caddy belongs on the PGA Tour. It fits standard cakes as well as mini and standard sized cupcakes. The caddy has a locking base and convenient handle for carrying past obstacles like excited pets or clumsy co-workers. Of course the caddy really shines at locking in the freshness to make sure you’re not stuck bringing home any rockcakes…I mean cupcakes.

Wilton Ultimate 3-in-1 Caddy

Whether you’re hosting or taking the show on the road, having your entertaining “A Game On” is a must. This is especially important when you’re not bringing any food to the party and gives you an opportunity to contribute some charm in place of food. Here are a few holiday facts that can help spark conversation, assist your host or warm up the crowd before you start performing parlor tricks:

Lend a Helping Hand:
Each November and December Butterball opens its Turkey-Talk Line to assist people in preparing their turkey dinners. 50 professionally trained, college-educated economists and nutritionists are on stand-by and routinely answer more than 100,000 questions during the holiday season. If your host is having a problem, reach out and touch 1-800-BUTTERBALL. Once the good people at Butterball help save the day, you’ll be more popular than Tom Turkey.

Share some Facts:
If you’re looking to serve up some interesting Thanksgiving facts, The History Channel has put together a great resource. Here are a few highlights:

The Detroit Lions played their first Thanksgiving football game in 1934. Since then, they’ve played every year except for 1939 and 1944. The first televised Thanksgiving football game was aired in 1956.

At six parades, Snoopy has appeared as a giant float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -more times than any other character.

In a survey conducted by the National Turkey Federation, nearly 88 percent of Americans said they eat turkey at Thanksgiving. The average weight of turkeys purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds, which means some 690 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the U.S. during Thanksgiving.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimated that 38.4 million Americans traveled 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2009.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long.

Cranberry production in the U.S. was approximately 709 million pounds in 2009. Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington are the top cranberry growing states.

Thanksgiving Jokes:
Everyone loves a good joke. Some people even appreciate the bad ones. Here is a short list of Thanksgiving jokes that kids will love and any bad joke aficionado will get a kick out of:

What key has legs and can't open doors?

A TurKEY!

Can a turkey jump higher than the Empire State Building?

Yes - a building can't jump at all!

What kind of music did the Pilgrims like?

Plymouth Rock!

Why was the turkey the drummer in the band?

Because he had the drumsticks!

Knock Knock.

Who's there?
Tamara.

Tamara who?
Tamara we'll have turkey leftovers!

Hopefully these posts have put you well on your way to cooking up a successful holiday season. What’s on your holiday menu this year?

Entertaining Holiday Season: Part 1

Monday, November 15, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Ever hear the saying, “As American as apple pie?” This means something or someone is quintessentially American. Around November and December, I can’t think of anything more American than holiday dinners. Starting with Thanksgiving through Hanukkah and Christmas until finally culminating with New Year’s Day brunch we have ample opportunity to “get our feast on.” It’s no wonder why a pie is considered to be so highly American J.

Since many Americans will be celebrating approximately three major holidays in a six week span starting November 25, there’s a good chance that you’ll be hosting an event at your house before the calendar reaches January 2, 2011. I know this might come as a shock considering the million other priorities you have in your life! Consider this two-part post your wake-up call to ensure a happy holiday meal in your home.

In part one, we’ll take a look at a few items that will help you prepare and serve your guests. In part two, we’ll examine how to take your food on the road when traveling to holiday parties along with some interesting facts about the season’s first food holiday: Thanksgiving. Surely, these facts will really help entertain the people around you!

Turkey & Food Prep:

Anyway you carve it, the oven is going to become a popular location in the coming months. Since you’re (probably) not working with industrial grade ovens, space is at a premium. Another problem: keeping stuffing, potatoes, corn, beans, etc. warm while you’re waiting for guests to get settled. If these problems sound familiar, the Nifty 3-Tier Oven Companion is your solution. Any organizer knows the importance of maximizing space to get the most from any area. You might not earn a degree, but using this companion pretty much makes you a professional organizer.

Nifty 3-Tier Oven Companion

If you’re a turkey traditionalist that needs a new roaster, this 2 in 1 High Dome Stainless Steel Roaster gets great user reviews (4.7 out of 5) and comes at an affordable price. Combine this roaster with an oven caddy, and you’ll want to make holiday dinner every week – as long as your guests agree to clean up when it’s over.

2 in 1 High Dome Stainless Steel Roaster

Maybe you’ve mastered the roasted turkey. Perhaps you’ve prepared an oven bird one too many times. There’s always a chance that you’ve got a little Clark W. Griswold inside you that needs to take the holidays to the next level. If you match any of the above descriptions, it’s time to spread your turkey wings and fry. Over the past decade, deep-fried turkey has really started to become popular across the country. If you’re looking for a culinary change, this is the place to direct your eyeballs. I highly recommend checking out a Cajun-style recipe if you want to try something new. If you’re not ready to take the full turkey oil plunge, use a small bird and pair it with a standard roasted turkey. After eating side to side, you’ll wish you fried a big one! Here are two fryers that fit your turkey needs:

Butterball Oil Free Electric Turkey Fryer

Butterball Indoor Electric Turkey Fryer

A Dutch Oven was a preferred cooking vessel of the American colonies. It would be fitting to use this type of pot to prepare at least one Thanksgiving dish and use it as an opportunity to brush your guests up on American history while giving their taste buds a blast from the past. Dutch Oven desserts, especially cobblers are a fantastic finish to your holiday get-together and it gives you an excuse to eat some ice cream.

Paula Deen 4QT Stoneware Bean Pot/Dutch

Dinnerware:

Paper plates are great for the kiddies or daughters’ boyfriends, but really don’t hold up at the main table. Think about all that time you spent on a turkey, brisket or ham only to serve it up on a plate not worthy of holding a slice of pizza. It’s hard to find holiday spirit when you’re using plates left over from a Fourth of July BBQ. Here is one style that comes in a number of colors that will instantly whisk you to a winter wonderland.

32-pc. Mesa Dinnerware - Berry Burgundy

Sometimes you might be able to get away with questionable plates. There is never a time that you’ll get away with cut-rate cutlery. I love plastic knives as much as the next person, but they don’t hold up over a multiple course holiday meal. One or two courses – maybe. You’ve got zero chance of making it through the cranberry sauce though. Gettington.com has a bunch of affordable options and if you’re really proud of your family name there are even a few that you can personalize!

66pc Stainless Steel Monogrammed Flatware Set

Now that we’ve got cooking and serving covered, look for our next post that will discuss tips for bringing food to a relative’s house or office party and give some fun facts to share with friends and family during your Thanksgiving dinner! Until next time, gobble, gobble!

Black November Store is Now Open

Friday, November 5, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Alright shoppers, your favorite time of year is upon us – Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner. But luckily for the shopper in all of us, the deals are already here!

In years past, Black Friday was THE biggest shopping event of the year. Shoppers and retailers alike planned for this day months in advance because a successful holiday season could be determined in one short day. Basically, shoppers looked at Black Friday as the Super Bowl, World Series, Nobel Prize and Oscars of retail all rolled into one.

Eventually, e-commerce sites started to spring up and opened the door for Cyber Monday. This, now traditional, sale day started in 2005 when companies began to realize that consumers were shopping online after the Thanksgiving holiday because they were either too busy for Black Friday or they did not find products at brick and mortar locations.

The speed of information opened up by the Web pushed deals out even further. Last year, companies were leaking holiday deals early in hopes of generating a buzz around their best offers. This year, many retailers are going a step further and are opening up Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals up for purchase throughout the month of November.

Gettington is on board and we’re fixing to transform Black Friday into Black November. We launched our Black Friday shop this week and it’s already filled with over twenty deals. Throughout the course of Black November, we’ll be adding more deals on Tuesday, November 16 and (surprise, surprise) Friday, November 26.

Here’s a look at some of the Black November items available now:

Garmin Nuvi 4.3" Screen Navigation System

J A Henckels Int'l Forged Synergy 16pc Knife Set

Dual Carafe Coffeemaker

Chicco 4 in 1 Play N Ride Car

Canon 12MP Silver Digital Camera

Rockwell Sonicrafter 16pc Kit

Stay tuned to Gettington’s Facebook and Twitter pages for more Black November information leading up to the holidays.

In the meantime, we’d love to hear about your Black Friday shopping experiences, including the good, the bad and the ugly. If you’re a seasoned holiday shopper, do you have any tested techniques to help prepare your shopping strategy? I’m sure almost everyone that has attempted to bust the door on Black Friday has a great story to tell that includes a valuable shopping nugget – what’s yours?

Coffee, it’s What’s Brewing this Winter!

Monday, October 25, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

If fall weather has started to sweep into your area, then you’re unfortunately already aware of the coldness creeping in your direction over the coming weeks and months. Since the memories of shoveling, scraping and deicing have most certainly crossed your mind, it’s easy to remember how simple it can be for frigid conditions to put your morning routine on ice.

Take something as basic as getting up in the morning. Mustering the strength to abandon a warm bed becomes significantly more difficult when you’re out of the house before the sun cares to rise and your car feels more like an Iditarod sled than a motor vehicle. Luckily, we’ve got an ally in our fight against the frigid: coffee.

Unless you’re part Yeti, a warm drink is mandatory to stave off the a.m. chills. Let’s face it, if the weather gets you flustered it’s going to make for a long day – nevermind a tough commute. Tea, hot chocolate or cider are all great beverage options, but coffee can really help generate the kick-start necessary to battle the biting cold.

As an FYI, Gettington.com is located in Minnesota. So you can imagine that we know a thing or two when it comes to cold weather :-) Then it probably comes as no surprise that we have a HUGE selection of automatic coffee makers for any java lover in your life. Ranging from single-serving models to built-in grinders, coffee presses and even dual coffee makers. We’ve got such a large selection, it would make used car dealers blush.

Here are a few of the items that have received great customer reviews:

Cuisinart 12 cup Programmable Coffee makers

EWave 12 cup Stainless Coffee Maker

Hamilton Beach Automatic Drip Coffee Maker

Cuisinart/Keurig Single-Serve Brewing System

Dual Caraffe Coffee Maker

At Gettington, we’re always scouring the web for interesting and obscure facts to help spark conversation or even contribute to winning a trivia contest – look out Trebek! Here are a few items and links on coffee that we brewed up fresh for you!

The Oatmeal is a great website for finding fun facts in infographic form and interestingly enough, it’s run by one person. Here’s The Oatmeal’s 15 Facts Worth Knowing About Coffee. One tidbit to encourage you to click your mouse: Coffee is the second most traded commodity on Earth.

Gomestic has a list of 25 coffee facts that will blow your barista’s mind including:
- Worldwide, more than 1400 millions cups of coffee are consumed every day
- More than 20 million people worldwide work in the coffee industry
- In days gone by, Turkish bridegrooms had to promise that they would always provide their new wives with coffee

Looking to brew a better cup? Virtual Coffee has seven steps to help your cause. This post is best for the most discerning coffee drinkers. Instant coffee is probably a dirty word around these parts.

If you’re feeling adventurous, The Huffington Post recently covered the 10 Unusual Coffee Flavors that you can brew at home. My husband's favorite flavor this time of year is Pumpkin Spice.

Although winter is right around the corner, at least coffee will keep us from becoming cold-hearted. And remember that Gettington.com makes it easy to buy items online. Stay warm and drink up!

Gettington Trick-or-Treat with Maria Smegal

Thursday, October 21, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

This Halloween, our staff is taking the skeletons out of their closets and into the blogosphere. In this frighteningly fantastic profile, email marketing coordinator Maria Smegal treats us to stories of Halloween past and lets us know that anything goes on October 31 – even chaps!

What was your first Halloween costume? Hmm very first? Since I was only 6 months old I’ll defer that question to my mother. But…first costume that I can really remember was a Purple Unicorn.

What are you wearing this year? OHHHHH who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants!

What is the worst or most embarrassing costume you’ve ever seen – or worn? Me? Embarrassing? Never! I’m not sure there is any way you can go wrong at Halloween. Even if you are a dude wearing chaps with your bum hanging out. It is Halloween, anything goes!

Are you afraid of the dark? Not really, but I also don’t make it a habit to just hang out in dark places either…

What is your favorite Halloween-time movie? Hocus Pocus…I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to scary movies so I’m more into light hearted thrills that won’t keep me up at night.

What is your favorite and least favorite candy?
Favorite: Laffy Taffy…strawberry flavor and anything milk chocolate.
Least Favorite: I don’t really like Mike & Ike’s or Hot Tamales. They get all up in my teeth.

Have you ever played any Halloween tricks? Well I was a part of a haunted garage in my neighborhood growing up. They stuck me in a box that had a table setting on it. I stuck my head through a hole at the top so it looked like my head was the main course…deeeelish!

It's National Pizza Month!

Monday, October 18, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Since Halloween casts its long shadow over the month of October, you might have missed that we’re in the midst of National Pizza Month. Nearly everyone in the United States eats pizza. In fact, Parade Magazine reported that 94% of the U.S. population eats pizza. 94% of people can’t be wrong, so it only makes sense that we dedicate a month-long celebration to one of our most loved foods.

Pizza blog Slice is solely dedicated to praising America’s favorite pie. If you need pizza information or just want to learn about interesting food in your area, Slice is a great place to look. Back in 2008, Slice chronicled 21 different styles of pizza in the U.S. alone! Here they are in no particular order:

Neapolitan-style pizza
New York-Neapolitan
New York-style
Sicilian-style pizza
Grandma-style pizza
New Haven-style apizza
Grilled pizza
Bar-style pizza
Trenton tomato pies
Old Forge-style pizza
Detroit-style pizza
Deep dish
Stuffed pizza,
Chicago thin-crust pizza
Midwest-style pizza
St. Louis-style pizza
California-style pizza
Ohio Valley-style pizza
New England Greek-style pizza
D.C. jumbo slices
Pizza parlor-style pizza

In a country so diverse, it’s no surprise that we have a pizza for any taste and we really haven’t even talked about toppings. What’s your favorite style?

Huffington Post writer and host of PBS’s Ciao Italia, Mary Ann Esposito, recently provided some interesting pizza facts as food for thought. In her ode to National Pizza Month, Esposito dished out tasty pizza knowledge including:

Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or about 350 slices per second.

Pizza is a $30+ billion per year industry. There are approximately 69,000 pizzerias in the United States. Approximately 3 billion pizzas are sold in the U.S. each year. (Source: Blumenfeld and Associates.)

Pizzerias represent 17% of all restaurants. (Source: Food Industry News.)

Pizza accounts for more that 10% of all food service sales. (Source: Food Industry News.)

93% of Americans eat at least one pizza per month. (Source: Bolla Wines.)

66.66% of Americans order pizza for a casual evening with friends. (Source: Bolla Wines.)

Each man, woman and child in America eats and average of 46 slices or 23 pounds of pizza per year. (Source: Packaged Facts, New York.)

Italian food ranks as the most popular ethnic food in America. (Source: National Restaurant Association.)

According to a recent Gallup Poll, children between the ages of 3 and 11 prefer pizza over all other foods for lunch and dinner.

A study done by a U.S. Department of Agriculture statistician and home economist found that in a three-day survey period, 42% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 had eaten pizza. (Source: Smithsonian Magazine.)

If you love pizza, that means you’re probably planning on making a pie or two at home. You could go the frozen route or start from scratch – after all, there’s no such thing as bad pizza. Either way you decide, we’ve got options to fit your made-at-home pizza craving:

For the made from scratch gourmand: Pizza Maker with Stone Grill

For the short on time frozen fanatic: Presto Pizzazz Pizza Maker

I hope you have a happy National Pizza Month, but please, don’t eat pizza every day – your doctor will thank you!

Happy Halloween Décor

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Halloween stems from Celtic, Catholic and Roman origins. Experts believe that the holiday dates back over 2,000 years and was initially celebrated as the end of the Celtic calendar year. Modern day Halloween has become a secular event best known for costumes, scares, candy, tricks and treats.

Gettington has opened our Halloween store and has some spooky items to up the fear factor both inside and outside of your home. So if you want to go beyond leaving a candy bowl or answering the door in your PJ’s, we’ve got items that can help you decorate the scariest home on the block.

Some of the coolest (or should that be creepiest) 2010 Halloween items can be personalized with your family’s name.

Personalized Halloween Pumpkin: pumpkin carving is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we’re all not artistically gifted or coordinated enough to make carving safe or decorative. This pumpkin takes the mess and element of danger out of the annual carving tradition and since it doesn’t rot, you can use it next year!

Personalized Half Round Pumpkin Doormat: when trick-or-treaters come to your door, they shouldn’t be standing on a spring-themed doormat (unless you’re looking for a real trick). So let them know who gives out the best Halloween treats by adding a personalized pumpkin doormat to your fall décor.

Inflatable decorations will instantly transform your yard from unassuming to spooktacular. Gettington has three choices this year: spider, pumpkin and ghost. Any of these items would be a great addition, especially if you were able to work on making a homemade scarecrow.

4-Foot Inflatable Halloween Pumpkin

4-Foot Inflatable Halloween Ghost

4-Foot Inflatable Halloween Spider

In the interest of providing educational Halloween facts to impress trick-or-treaters, we’ve scared up a few different items that you might not have known:

According to History.com, one quarter of all the candy sold annually in the U.S. is purchased for Halloween.

The Guinness Book of Records lists the world’s largest Jack O’Lantern at 1,469 lbs.

In 1997, North Tarrytown, New York officially changed its name to Sleepy Hollow after Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis got her big acting break in John Carpenter’s Halloween. This film is credited as starting the slasher horror genre.

Halloween accounts for 75 percent of the annual candy corn production and October 30th is National Candy Corn Day.

Beverage Company Jones Soda releases special editions for Halloween – including Candy Corn and Lemon Drop Dead.

Looking to go ghost hunting this Halloween? AOL recently revealed that America's Most Haunted City is Savannah, GA. Gettysburg, PA and Salem, MA came in second and third respectively.

Wikipedia lists Michael Jackson, Kate and Jon Gosselin, Sarah Palin, Bernie Madoff and Edward Cullen as the most popular 2009 Halloween costumes. Early 2010 favorites include Lady Gaga, Old Spice Guy, Toy Story characters and characters from Glee.

Got a fun Halloween fact, favorite spooky movie or a scary story to share (ok, not too scary)? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below. We’d also love to hear about how you plan on surprising trick-or-treaters this Halloween – we’re always looking for new tricks ourselves!

All’s “Fair” in Fall

Monday, October 4, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Fall is in the air across the seasonal states. For many, this means swapping out shorts for sweaters and increased time dedicated to yard work. Fall isn’t all about leaving summer fun in the rear view mirror. There are still plenty of ways to take advantage of a generally underappreciated season. Here are a few of our favorites:

State Fairs: State fairs are a staple of the late summer/early fall season. Fairs are a great place to celebrate our agricultural roots and see the best locally grown produce and livestock along with lots of homemade items from your region. Wikipedia has a listing of state fairs that will point you in the right direction. Also, remember to check local news outlets for updates and schedules.

Another staple of the state fair: food. Since many fairs are sponsored by local restaurants, the fairgrounds provide a great opportunity to sample what’s cooking in your neighborhood. Beyond local tastes, state fairs often attract vendors of traditional carnival food items like fried dough, cotton candy, corn dogs, candy apples, BBQ, etc. Is the food great for you? Nope, so make sure you do a few laps around the fair to work off lunch. :)

Scarecrows: Frosty’s cousin and enemy to birds everywhere. Luckily, scarecrows don’t really scare humans and they’re a great place to store some of that yard waste you have to tidy up. Gettington’s got you covered if you need some tools to help you gather up materials for your scarecrow. Right now, you can find leaf blowers from a number of manufacturers including Toro, McCulloch and Troy Bilt to ease the pain caused by fall cleanup.

Believe it or not, there a number of festivals dedicated to scarecrows. This year St. Charles, Illinois is celebrating its 25th Annual Scarecrow Festival. The 2010 festival takes place from October 8th – 10th and culminates with a scarecrow design contest. For a little inspiration, check out the 2009 winners including a take on The Karate Kid, “Crow-ella DeVille” and KISS.

FYI: The Gettington scarecrow would win hands down…if he only had a brain.

Apple Picking: Apple pie, apple cider, apple juice, apple fritters, apple butter and more can result from an afternoon of apple picking. PickYourOwn.org is an excellent resource to find farms in your area that let the public come in for picking sessions. In addition to having great facts and tips for first time pickers, PickYourOwn.org also has a list of “pick your own” farms by state. Chances are there’s a farm near you!

Slow Cookers: Fall really brings back the fix-it-and-forget-it cooking season and slow cookers are the best tool for hearty fare like beef stew and pork roast. Slow cookers are also great for other fall items like cider or game day finger food like ribs. The best part is the cooker does all of the work. You prep the meal, load it in the cooker before heading to work or running errands and it’s ready when you get home. When the weather really starts to get chilly, there’s nothing better than opening the door to hot soup to warm your bones.

Gettington has a great selection of slow cookers from brands like Crock Pot, Elite and Hamilton Beach. Thanks to the internet, countless numbers of fall recipes are at your fingers and can be accessed at a moment’s notice.

We’re definitely looking forward to fall. What are your plans this season?

Toughest Gift Recipients

Friday, September 24, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Summer is officially over. Now is a good time to break the news to you: Christmas is less than 100 days away. That means our focus is directed toward the holiday season and gift giving.

We all have people that are nice to shop for – as in nice and easy. These friends and family are either happy to receive any kind of gift or are forward enough to provide a list of suggestions. Much like another famous holiday list, we also have a naughty group of people. These people are not troublemakers. Nor do they deserve to get a box-full of coal. They are naughty because they impossibly difficult to shop for!

After conducting some unofficial research in the office, Present Enemy #1 tends to be Dear Old Dad. It is also interesting to note that almost every person listed a male as their toughest gift recipient. As for reasons why men, and particularly fathers, are hard to shop for, our pollsters listed the following:

Unsure about his hobbies – the gift-giver knows Dad loves to fix things around the house, but doesn’t know the first thing about tools. This problem could come up with any hobby whether it’s tools, working out, sports or technology.

Already bought what he wants – this problem came up time and again. It seemed fairly common for Dad to just simply go out and purchase things before even considering that a loved one would buy it for them – how selfish! :)

He has picky or finicky tastes – Dad is very particular about what he buys. This problem often blends into both of the previous gift-giving problems.

In terms of example one, Dad is an expert at his hobby and knows more than most. He’ll stick to his way of doing things that align with his tastes and particular way of enjoying his hobby.

For example two, Dad knows exactly what he wants and will not leave this purchase outside of his hands.

We’ve run these top three gift-giving conundrums through our Gift Finder and have come up with solutions for these common problems that you can apply as early as this holiday season:

Research your father’s favorite hobby – If possible, get involved with one of his projects – you’ll learn about what he likes/dislikes (understand his peculiar tendencies) and get some clues to make your shopping experience less stressful. Who knows, maybe you’ll even pick up a new hobby!

Find out what your father plans on doing next year – Look to the future my friends! Chances are if your father has something he’s interested in doing around the holiday timeframe, he’s already bought it by November. If you plan ahead and find out what he’s up to in June, you’ll have outsmarted him at his own game!

Know his routine – Maybe his hobbies are too bizarre or he buys everything five years ahead of time – but he still has some kind of daily routine. That could be morning coffee, something for a commute or time to help him relax. When it comes to gift-giving, we too often swing for the fences and come up empty because we forget the little things. If you can brainstorm a few practical gift ideas that simplify his daily activities, you won’t have to worry about pickiness.

We want to know about the people in your lives that make holiday shopping difficult and why. We’ll do our best to help point you to a solution whether that be at Gettington.com or elsewhere. Please let us know how we can help! Additionally, we’d love to hear your shopping advice – how do you deal with the “naughty” people on your list?

Safety First: A Bandage Tribute

Friday, September 17, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

This year marks the 90th anniversary of a very important question. It is a question that we all have to answer at some point in our lives. It’s not the meaning of life or even who shot JR – this question asks:

Do I rip the band-aid off or do I peel it off slowly?

Thanks to Earle Dickson’s ingenious idea to combine sterile gauze with medical tape, this question has sprung up in playgrounds and backyards for close to a century.

When Dickson invented the band-aid in 1920, he was inspired by his wife, Josephine, who was constantly cutting herself while working in the kitchen. At the time, cumbersome bandages were too large to deal with minor cuts and scrapes. Dickson seized the opportunity and presented his invention to his employer Johnson & Johnson.

Although initial reception was lukewarm, the product skyrocketed in 1924 when an unlimited supply was given to the Boy Scouts of America. By Dickson’s passing in 1961, sales reached $30 million annually and it all started in his family’s kitchen. Here are a few more band-aid fun facts for you:

The first decorative band-aids were introduced to the market in 1956. Now, fashion designers, like Cynthia Rowley, are designing for the brand.

In 1963, L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. blasted off into orbit on the final mission of the U.S. Mercury Program. Luckily, if he got a boo-boo band-aids were right by his side.

Before he became Vinnie Barbarino, John Travolta starred in band-aid advertisements in 1974.

By 2001, 100 billion strips were produced since the product’s inception.

With kids around, you’re sure to run into a few cuts and scrapes. It’s never fun when it happens, but our first band-aid experience is a bit of a rite of passage. After mom or dad dress the wound, a lot of kids treat their accident like a badge of honor that says, “Yeah, I fell off the swing set, but I’m getting back on.” Meanwhile, the parents are doing their best to ward off a panic attack.

We all know that play is an important part of any child’s day. It helps develop physical skills, injects fun, promotes fitness and provides an opportunity to interact with friends. Bike riding is one activity that certainly comes to mind when thinking about kids playing around neighborhood. Of course, cuts and scrapes also come to mind. :)

Whether you’re in the market for a new bike, scooter, skateboard or roller-skates, we’ve got you covered. It’s also important to remember to visit Gettington.com’s Helmets + Safety page to protect your little riders. These days, helmets, elbow pads and knee pads are not accessories – they’re requirements. Here are few recommendations for kids age 5 and above (Having a few adhesive bandages around the house is also recommended):

Razor Helmet Black Age 5-8

Razor Helmet Black Age 8-14

Razor 4pc Pad Set Age 5+

Razor 4pc Pad Set Age 8+

Now that safety’s covered, it’s time to answer our initial question. Amazingly enough, the Medical Journal of Australia revealed the results from a 2009 study titled, “Fast versus slow band-aid removal: a randomized trial” (the full report can be accessed in this PDF). The study tested 65 participants to discover their pain tolerance for fast and slow bandage removal. After the scientists crunched the final numbers, they came to the following conclusion:

In young healthy volunteers, fast band-aid removal caused less pain than slow band-aid removal.

When you do get around to removing those bandages, just remember: it’s scientifically proven to rip versus peel!

Tailgate Time!

Friday, September 10, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Football season is in full swing and that means it’s time to tailgate! As much fun as it is to grill in the summer months, it can still get pretty toasty near a hot grill. The cooler weather makes fall the perfect time to take advantage of your grill before Old Man Winter rears his chilly head. But the best part of fall grilling involves creating a fun, weekly football tailgate at home or at the stadium.

Every week, the team you cheer for has a new opponent from around the country – each with its own unique culinary flavor to cook on your grill. So the next time your team plays Kansas City you can make ribs. Is New England coming to town? Try grilling lobster. Making a unique tailgating menu each week is as easy as looking at your favorite team’s schedule.

You’re in luck if you play Buffalo this season, because we’re going to use “The Nickel City” as an easy example of creating a region specific menu. No question Buffalo is most famous for its wings – making Buffalo chicken a must have item for this menu. Below we have Gettington’s take on the classic dish and in this case, we’ve substituted wings for tenders to limit the number of messy fingers and faces while eating.

Gettington’s Touchdown Tenders

What you’ll need:

Two pounds chicken breast tenders
Ground cayenne pepper

One 23oz bottle of your favorite hot sauce
One stick of butter

Directions:

Buffalo sauce:
Empty the entire hot sauce bottle into a medium size saucepan.

Add the stick up butter to the saucepan.
Place the saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat and melt the butter while occasionally stirring the butter/hot sauce mix.

After the butter melts, cover and set aside the Buffalo sauce mixture in a large mixing bowl.

Chicken:

Rub cayenne pepper on the chicken tenders (Note: For a mild taste, use the pepper sparingly. For a more intense heat, sprinkle a liberal amount of pepper).
Cover the chicken, place it in the refrigerator and let the rub set for approximately 20 minutes.

Preheat the grill to medium heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken tenders 5 minutes per side, or until juices run clear. They cook quickly, so watch them closely.

Transfer the cooked chicken to the large mixing bowl and thoroughly coat the chicken with the Buffalo sauce.
Place the chicken on a platter with carrots, celery, blue cheese and ranch dressing.

Serve and enjoy!

If you’re without a grill, Gettington’s got you covered. We’ve got some great options from Char-Broil including a three-burner gas grill with a sideburner (perfect for grilling and making sauces simultaneously) and a Char-Broil smoker grill that uses charcoal or wood to smoke or grill tailgate treats. Since a grill master needs proper equipment, we’ve got a 20 piece stainless steel BBQ toolset that is receiving a lot of customer praise.

Football provides the perfect opportunity to experiment with your grill and it’s a great way to have fun with family and friends while taking a break from standard issue grilled fare like burgers and dogs. Let us know if you try this recipe or if you have any favorites that you’d like to share (we’re always looking for new ideas). So what are you grilling at your next tailgate?

First Birthday Thank You Card

Thursday, September 2, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Dear Friends, Followers and Fans,

Thank you for making our first birthday one to remember! We are really happy that you all were excited about our birthday shopping spree and took the time to share your Bday well-wishes on Facebook and Twitter.

As you may have seen, Sara Dawkins Phillips was our Facebook winner and @chrissiemz took home Twitter’s shopping spree. In all honesty, Gettington.com felt like the biggest winner yesterday! We had a lot of fun interacting with you about everything from cake to Yo Gabba Gabba and it really made all of our hard work feel that much more worthwhile.

So whether you’re an old friend, follower, fan or you’re new to Gettington.com, thanks for your support and we’re glad that you’ve joined us. We’re ready to make this year even better and we can’t do that without your help – so don’t be a stranger!

Thanks again for making Gettington.com’s birthday wishes come true. Stay tuned for some fun happenings leading up to the holidays and we’ll make sure your Goodie Bag is always full of fun!

All the Best,
Gettington.com

Happy Birthday, we're 1! Help us celebrate by winning a shopping spree.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Gettington’s First Birthday

It’s hard to believe that a year has already passed since we opened the virtual doors to Gettington.com. Launching a completely new brand and website makes time move at light speed. It reminds me of what people with college-aged say, “One day you’re dropping them off at kindergarten, the next you’re packing for college.”

The school analogy also makes me reflect on what we’ve learned in the past year from the perspective of a retailer and from the customers we interact with on an everyday basis. We’ve learned that Gettington.com does help people manage their budget. I’m always touched by the stories our customers share with us. In fact, I’ve called quite a few customers myself. I remember one call with a wonderful woman who was a real estate agent. She needed a new vacuum and Gettington.com’s payment options* allowed her to purchase the vacuum she wanted and manage her cash flow (which was important given the real estate market). Another time a customer called me! She needed help placing an order and Gettington.com was the only store she could find resin outdoor rocking chairs in green. It was very important that she place the order in time to receive them as a special gift for her family. So, even though it was the weekend, I booted up my computer and we got her order placed. I guess this is a long way to say that our birthday is nothing without our customers.

We are also looking forward to our second year. It will be full of new products from great brands. We continue to listen to our customers and use our VIP – Very Important Perspective - team to help shape our future. For those who are VIP members, remember the survey on bedding? To join VIP simply fill out a quick survey by following this link and please give us a lot of feedback.

To celebrate out first birthday, we’re gonna get our face full of cake, get a haircut and give you some gifts – well, we’ll skip the face in the cake and haircut and just give you a chance to receive a Gettington Birthday Present. Since we are one, we will give away two $100 shopping sprees on Gettington.com (one for Twitter followers and one for FaceBook friends).

On Twitter – simply follow us and then retweet “Happy Birthday Gettington! Enter me to win a $100 shopping spree on Gettington.com” Only one tweet per hour will be entered.

On Facebook - just send us a birthday wish by posting on our wall. Only one wall posting will be entered to win. Facebook.com/Gettington

Today is very happy day for all of us – being one again is great and we’ll do our best to avoid the terrible twos! Please drop by and say hello on Twitter (@Gettington) or Facebook.com/Gettington.

*The Gettington.com store credit account is offered to US residents by WebBank who determines eligibility and qualifications for the terms of credit

Gettington Birthday Giveaway
Gettington.com Prize Drawing Rules 9.1.10

OPEN TO LEGAL U.S. RESIDENTS, 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AS OF 8/6/10. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU HAVE NOT YET WON. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. BEGINS 8/6/10; ENDS 8/7/10.

1. PROMOTION TIMING: The Prize Drawing (“Promotion”) Starts 10:01 a.m. CT on 9/1/10 and ends 11:59 p.m. CT on 9/1/10 (“Promotion Period”).

2. ELIGIBILITY: Open to legal residents of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older as of September 1, 2010. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Employees of Gettington (“Sponsor”), their affiliates, prize providers, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies and immediate family members and members of the same household (whether related or not) of each are not eligible. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.

3. PRIZE, APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE (“ARV”) AND APPROXIMATE ODDS OF WINNING: Two (2) $100 shopping sprees on Gettington.com.

4. WINNER NOTIFICATION / VERIFICATION: Winner will be notified by the email address or Twitter account provided on the business card entry. The winner will also be announced on twitter during the BlogHer 2010 conference.

5. GENERAL RULES: For the Gettington.com Birthday Contest,
FaceBook – Become a Gettington.com friend on FaceBook (“Like” Facebook.com/Gettington) and submit a birthday wish posting on our wall.

For the Gettington.com Twitter Give-Away, Follow @Gettington and Retweet the contest giveaway. Only one entry per each hour will be accepted. Submitting more Retweets within a one hour period does not increase your chances of winning. After the winner is contacted, a Gettington.com account will be set up to ship out their prize.

WINNER: Will be contacted by the Twitter account or Facebook account. Winners will be announced on Facebook, Twitter and the Gettington.com blog.

6. SPONSOR AND ADMINISTRATOR: The Sponsor of this Promotion is Getington.com, 6509 Flying Cloud Dr, Eden Prairie, MN 55344.

Consumer Disclosure: This is an offer and does not imply that you have won a prize. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Purchasing will not increase your chances of winning. Void where prohibited. Starts 10:01 a.m. CT on 9/1/10 and ends 11:59 p.m. CT on 9/1/10. See above for Official Rules and complete details. Odds of winning dependent upon total number of eligible entries received. Sponsored by Gettington.com.

Celebrate National Marshmallow Toasting Day with Homemade Marshmallows!

Friday, August 27, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

As you may recall from our National Ice Cream Month post, we’re big fans of obscure holidays at Gettington.com (I guess we’re fans of sweets, too). This month’s little-known celebration gives thanks to our puffy campfire favorite – the toasted marshmallow. Monday, August 30 is indeed National Marshmallow Toasting Day!

To help you gear up for marshmallow toasting, we wanted to give you a few tips to fluff up this momentous occasion – including a recipe for homemade marshmallows, unique S’mores ideas and a 90-second guide to toasting the ultimate marshmallow.

Yeah, anyone can march down to the local store and pick up a bag of marshmallows, but you can’t take the easy way out on National Marshmallow Toasting Day. Our homemade recipe suggestion comes from celebrity chef and food science extraordinaire Alton Brown. The recipe takes approximately 45 minutes from prep to plate and yields about nine dozen marshmallows. Directions for standard size and mini-mallows can be found here, but here’s what you’ll need to pick up at the grocery store:

Homemade Marshmallow Ingredients:

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray

Alton prefers to use a stand mixer for this recipe and anyone that has one will tell you it’s the greatest kitchen appliance of all-time (probably why it seems to pop up on every wedding registry). Gettington’s got a large assortment of stand mixers, but discerning marshmallow chefs love Kitchenaid’s multipurpose offering.

Now that our marshmallows are finished, it’s time to start toasting! I had no idea that there was a right and wrong way to toast a marshmallow. Luckily, the intrepid thinkers at Howcast posted this 90-second guide to YouTube. Watch it and you’ll be masterfully toasting multiple marshmallows in no time!

After toasting, our marshmallows are ready for primetime and will take center stage in our favorite campfire food: S’mores! We’ve got the basics covered – marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker, but try these ideas for a new twist worthy of National Marshmallow Toasting Day.

Lisa Adams literally wrote the book on S’mores. Check out her website for recipes like Simple Mint (with Andes candies), Banana Caramel and Stuffed Apricot.

If you like cookies and peanut butter, Taste of Home substitutes chocolate chip cookies for graham crackers and throws in peanut butter cups in this remix of the classic S’more.

For those that are feeling extra festive, The Food Network has an awesome recipe for S’more brownies. As far as I’m concerned, the only brownie to eat on National Marshmallow Toasting Day is a S’more brownie.

S’mores put a perfect cap on the summer camping season. If you’ve got some fall trips planned, be sure and check out Gettington.com’s outdoors products. We’ve got everything from tents to burner stoves and a two for one deal on Colorado II Sleeping Bags.

Have a fun National Marshmallow Toasting Day and Stay Puft, my friends!

Freeset BlogHer Bag Giveaway Winners!

Friday, August 20, 2010 by Paula Drum, General Manager

Now that things have slowed down a bit after the excitement that was BlogHer ’10, we wanted thank everyone that participated in our pre-BlogHer bag post. You were not forgotten! As a thank you, we’re rewarding each of the BlogHer bag commenters with a jute bag crafted by the remarkable women at Freeset.

We were all touched by the thoughtfulness and support that you shared in the comments section. As you may know from our post on Gettington’s experience at BlogHer, we’re completing a digital scrapbook to share with Freeset. The scrapbook will include your encouraging words along with photos and messages that were created by BlogHer attendees. We’re very excited to wrap up the scrapbook and will share a link once it’s completed.

If you commented on the original bag post, you should be hearing from us soon. We’ll reach out for your mailing address and you can expect to receive your bag shortly. After your bag arrives, we’d love to see one thing: how you use it! The beauty of a digital scrapbook is that we can always update it and continue to share it with the people responsible for making the bags. So whether you take it to the beach or to the grocery store, please let us know by giving your bag the Flat Stanley treatment…that sounds like it could be an idea for another contest – stay tuned!

Thank you again for your support. Enjoy the bags!