The Christmas USPS backlog may be over, but that doesn't mean that mail is being delivered reliably. On top of that, half the country is under a blanket of snow, which may slow everything down even more. So, to be blunt, order NOW. I can never guarantee when packages will be delivered, but your best chances are if you order now. When I take orders to the PO tomorrow morning, they will have a week to deliver it before the first day of Ayyam-i-Ha. That should be plenty, but you never know. Since I am the only one packing orders, [...]

Four Categories of Ayyam-i-Ha Gifts Will Make Sure You Don't Leave Anyone Out The four categories you need to consider are 1) Personal gifts for the adults you love (we often leave them out). 2) Personal Gifts for the children in your family and among your close friends 3) Games & activities that your entire family can enjoy. 4) Community-wide gifts I described last week for gift bags your LSA might want to give to everyone US Customers - The Post Office is still slower than usual. Please order by the 16th to assure delivery before Ayyam-i-Ha. Add extra time if you are assembling gift bags. International Customers!!! Priority Mail International takes 7-11 days if we are [...]

Bahai Gifts With Parties not an option this year, many Communities are turning to Gift Bags.  Many Local Spiritual Assemblies are taking the money normally budgeted for parties and refreshments and using it instead for personalized gift bags for every household in the community. Though parties can strengthen preexisting bonds, gift bags have some real advantages as well. World Citizen Tote First, while a party attracts the usual, active members of the Community - especially those with children - gift bags can be created for every single person in the community.  This creates a natural way to make [...]

  Lots o' cookies We've been selling 9-pointed Star Cookie Cutters for over 20 years! So it was surprising to receive a note from someone saying they had been Baha'i all their lives and had been looking for cookie cutters for years and didn't know where to find them! Please, everyone, tell your friends about our cookie cutters! They will thank you. I will thank you. Every Baha'i party in your community will thank you.  We even ship them internationally. Cookies Build Community Cookies Build Community When I was a kid, my favorite part of Easter was not the egg [...]

Every year we upgrade our pens to the latest combination of style and function, and rotate out our previous offerings. Right before Ayyam-i-Ha seems like the perfect time to do this. So this month we are introducing our newest interfaith pen and closing out four others at 50% off. Pens are a unisex gift that is easy to mail and universally appreciated. Get a few of each for the various students, teachers, interfaith friends and lovers of the light in your life. Click here to see them all. We've had a "One Light, Many Lamps" pen in one form or another for over 20 years. This [...]

Baha'i children today are so lucky. When I was a new Baha'i, we had one children's book, called The Gift. Then, we got Secret in the Garden, and a handful of other books from Kalimat Press. Now, we have entire shelves dedicated to Baha'i children's books. Every year new ones appear, and every year they get better. Case in point: Here are six new Children's books to inspire very young children to be kind, noble, detached, reverent and virtuous. They are amazing. Two are prayer books, the other four can be given to non-religious families, schools, libraries and daycare facilities.  How can they be Baha'i books if they don't [...]

Expressions of gratitude create bonds of love between people, and encourage us to look for the good in everyone. I would love to see gratitude become the dominant spirit of the Baha’i community. To that end, I’ve produced these beautiful Kindness Thank-You card, and I’m giving them out FREE to any LSA that requests them. Kindness Thank-You Card Here’s the deal: If your LSA consults and agrees to use these cards to send hand-written thank-you notes to individual members of your community, then you may order as many packs of ten as you can use during the coming year. It is my hope [...]

While the end is finally in sight, a year of pandemic worries has gotten most of us a bit stressed. Imagine, then, what our kids and grandkids are feeling. They don't have the maturity and coping skills that we've spent a lifetime developing. Cuddlebunnies can help. More than just another fuzzy toy, Cuddlebunny teaches kids how to regulate their own emotions when they are worried, stressed or upset. Cuddlebunny with coins, pouch & instructions Cuddlebunny is a 4″ fuzzball with ears that comes with four wooden “comfort coins.” They utilize three scientifically proven techniques that kids can use to: 1) calm themselves down when they [...]

After decades of being able to reliably assure customers that their packages would arrive in 2-3 days by Priority Mail, we have been shocked and saddened by the many delays we are experiencing in delivery. Faced with sick workers, trashed sorting machines and changes in overtime rules, the Postal Service has so far failed to deliver 8 packages we shipped on the 2nd, 4 from the 4th and 24 from the 7th. With 1st class packages arriving on time in California, while Priority packages to Illinois sit in Indianapolis, there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to the problem. [...]

Several years back, we produced four marvelous little fold-out booklets that we named "Comfort Booklets" because they were designed to comfort people in distress. As it turns out, we are pretty good at telling when someone has died, and can sometimes tell when someone is sick, so the two that dealt with health and the afterlife sold really well. We evidently aren't so good at telling when our friends are in distress or feeling unloved, so our other two have not been used as much. The year is 2020, and I can pretty much assure you that many, if not all of [...]

Don't be embarrassed. Most of us still have Christian family and friends that EXPECT us to participate in holiday activities. In the interest of maintaining unity, I encourage you to go with the flow. That often means bringing a present. That might mean a small token "gift exchange" present, or a major "prove you love me" present for an in-law. In either case, we have you covered. Here are some gift ideas that are appropriate for people of any religion. Most are easy to mail. Adult Affirmation Comfort Coins Our Adult Affirmation Comfort Coins were new last year, and arrived just in [...]

Fine-point smooth gel ink. I got a call from Carla Baker from Houston the other day. She just called to let me know that she had gotten her order, and to say "Thank You" for the "I Think You're Wonderful" pen I had included with her order. Tell me. How do you think I feel about Carla Baker? Do I feel a little surge of warmth whenever I hear her voice? Do I remember her as one of my favorite customers, even though we haven't seen each other for years? Do I see in her a reflection of what it means to [...]