« January 2007 | Main

Caution - May Cause Smiles and / or Tears

I gave a bagette this year to a very special person to me. Her name is Jaclyn. Jaclyn is my godfather's daughter. We grew up together as "cousins". I have known her since the day she was born. In May of 2006 Jaclyn and I and the rest of our family felt the true meaning of the word shock. I thought I knew what it felt to be shocked until the afternoon of May 7, 2006. I happened to be with Jaclyn's sister when we received the phone call that her dad, my godfather, died at the age of 56. I cannot even put into words how difficult the following months were for Jaclyn and her sister Dawn who happened to be 5 months pregnant when their dad passed away. It was extremely hard for me to see them so upset. They were quiet, kept to themselves, did not leave the house much, cried often, and just were not themselves. These girls were practically like my sisters and I couldn't help them. It's a horrible feeling. However, one day over the summer, Jaclyn's boyfriend bought her a pug dog which she named Jeter. I visited her the day after she got the dog. She was laughing and smiling and energetic. It was so refreshing to see "Jaclyn" again. Jeter helped her through an extremely difficult time. Then, on August 31, 2006 Jaclyn's niece, Mia Jaclyn was born. She is Jaclyn's first niece. The never ending smiles returned to Jaclyn's face. The constant sadness lifted a little and it was such a good thing. All of this leads me to Jaclyn's Christmas gift. I had Jaclyn this year in a grabbag. I wanted to get her a memorable, meaningful gift. I chose a bagette with a picture of Jeter on one side and Mia on the other side. After a horrible year, I wanted to give her something that would make her smile. I loved watching her open it. Her face lit up and the bagette caused many, many smiles, and some tears. Thank you bagettes.com for giving me the opportunity to give such a wonderful gift. SB - North Riverside, IL

All for One and One for ALL...

As the end of last year drew near, I became anxious because of the approaching Christmas season. Every year, my husband and I share the shopping responsibility. He buys gifts for his side of the family, and I for mine. However, this year was going to be different. He was going to buy for the males in the family and I was going to buy for the females. I was 8 months pregnant with our second child and was struggling to make it to the stores with all of the hustle and bustle. So, I made the decision to do all of my shopping on line. I had to keep to a budget of $25.00 per person, because as soon as our baby was born, I would be on an unpaid maternity leave for 8 weeks. So, the search began. I needed to find the perfect gift for each person. Because of the price limit, the gift had to be personal and meaningful (and look like I spent more than $25.00-ha ha ha). After a few failed searches on the web, I came across this AMAZING site-Bagettes.com. This was perfect! I had time to get together some favorite pictures, and away I went shopping. I ended up purchasing 4 small cosmetic bags: one with a picture of my brother and sister-in-laws pride and joy Weimaraner, one with a picture of my 2 year old nephew dressed as a pirate, one with pictures of my neice and nephew (then and now photos) and one with my 3 nephews for my other sister in law. Then I bought 6 personalized name bags and filled them with little goodies. I felt so relieved that my shopping was done. With spending less than $200.00, I got 10 Christmas gifts done all at once. The most rewarding part, was the true heartfelt thanks from each individual. To me, their responses were PRICELESS. Thank you bagettes for a wonderful product that my family and friends will truly use throughout the year. TR - Olmsted Falls, OH

A Bagette of Hope

Two days before Christmas my mother-in-law, Shirley, was diagnosed with overian cancer. It was such heart-breaking news to receive at this festive time of year. On Christmas day I gave my sister-in-law, Shirley's daughter, a small cosmetic bag from Bagette's with a picture of her two young children on each side of the bag. My 3 year old nephew, Eric was pictured on one side of the bag sitting on an alligator. His 10 month old baby sister in her pretty pink dress was on the other side. All of us thought the bag with pictures was darling. Two weeks later my mother-in-law went into the hospital for surgery . My husband told me that Shirley liked the bag so much that her daughter let her take the bag with her to the hospital. Shirley said it was for good luck. Sometimes it's hard to know if the gift you're giving someone is the right gift. I was so touched to find out what a wonderful blessing the Bagette bag turned out to be for my mother-in-law. Thank's Bagettes for giving my family a bit of comfort and hope during a diificult time. CK - West Chester, OH