Category "Business"

72 Employees Surprise Pizza Delivery Guy With Tip of a Lifetime

Princess Diana - January 13, 2015 - Business, Experiences

This is a story of how small acts of kindness can change someone’s life in an enormous way.

During a company retreat of Wymer Brownlee, a financial firm based in Enid, Oklahoma, its CEO Kyle Brownlee asked his employees if they wanted to participate in a random act of kindness by expressing their gratitude to the pizza delivery guy who would be arriving at lunch. Together they could give him words of encouragement and appreciation and the tip of a lifetime.

All 72 employees agreed this was a great idea.

They spent part of their morning writing positive messages to this man they had never met before letting him know that he was important and that his job mattered. Then they pooled their cash together. Those who didn’t carry cash made trips to the ATM just so they could contribute.

Automatic Snack & Treat Dispenser

Queen Darlene - December 18, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Father's Day, Food & Drinks, Gifts for Him, Host, Housewarming

httpvh://youtu.be/ovOZhEJTW0s

I love magic! Who doesn’t? With a wave of the hand – out pops a snack!

When I saw the SnackMan Motion-Activated Dispenser that makes healthy munching easy-peasy, I knew it would be the right gift for my husband’s sister and her spouse for Christmas.

They always try to eat healthy and this fun gadget creates a smart way to have portion control. The SnackMan Motion-Activated Dispenser features three settings: Small Handful, Large Handful or Bowlful. Once set, the same perfect portion is dispensed every time.

It looks like magic because with a simple wave of the hand, out pours your tasty snack treat. Continue Reading

Drive a Lamborghini | Experience Gift

Queen Darlene - December 4, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Experiences, Gifts for Him

Dennis, our boss, always enjoys experience gifts so for a Christmas present, his staff gave him a gift certificate to drive a Lamborghini. Varoom! Varoom!

drive-a-lamborghini-christmas-gift-thoughtful-gift-idea

Dennis drove three laps in a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder worth $214,000

We got the idea from Gotham Dream Cars which had a Groupon to drive premier exotic cars such as a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. They were going to be in Oklahoma City during the early part of December. This would work perfectly as it would not interfere with his holiday travel plans.

For that “thoughtful twist” we gave him a gift box to open which contained a remote control race car replica of a Lamborghini. It was charged up, ready to go, and as soon as he took it out of the box and set it on the floor, he quickly learned to “drive” it.

We told him he did such a marvelous job driving the toy race car that we thought he would like to drive a real Lamborghini.

A Private Music Concert | Unique & Thoughtful Gift

Princess Diana - November 18, 2014 - Anniversary, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Experiences, Gifts for Him, Valentine's Day

When my mother Robyn turned 50 years old, her six children wanted to show her just how much we love her. Our gift needed to leave a mark on her memory as big as the mark she had made in our hearts and lives.

Private Music Concert Meaningful Gift Idea

My mother and grandfather sing and clap along to the music Edgar Cruz plays on his guitar.

Instead of having her children one at a time, our mother pretty much had us all at once. My parents adopted my two brothers (Garry and Kevin), my two sisters (Jeny and Julia) and me so my siblings and I could stay together. A few years later, we added Ochi to our family.

That still blows my mind because I didn’t have Aiden until I was 30. My parents were in their late 20s when they opened their hearts and home to five kids ranging from ages five to 18! God bless them!

My brothers and sisters and I decided to DOUBLE surprise our mother on her birthday.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Queen Darlene - October 2, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Experiences, Gifts for Me

httpvh://youtu.be/fyInDD3uT7c

I love my birthdays. Always have. I really never worried about turning a year older. Well… maybe once. When I turned from 16 to 17 years old. I would never again be 16 and never been kissed!

My mother made sure my brothers and I had a birthday cake, a gift, and that we always celebrated birthdays together as a family. We had very few birthday parties where we invited our friends. I’m not sure why other than it was kind of the norm back then.

As I got older, I would celebrate with friends and co-workers by going out to dinner, a movie or even dancing.

Now I celebrate birthdays for an entire week!

It happened quite by accident. During a week of my birthday, my best friend from grade school who lives in Texas mailed a birthday package to my office. She was not the only one. A friend from Albuquerque also sent a package. One of my dear friends who I work with presented me with a gift. You see a pattern here? My mother showed up with a gift on another day and on the last day of the week, my actual birthday, my husband took me to lunch.

Thus, the Birthday Week was born!

The following year I declared Birthday Week and for that thoughtful twist, instead of receiving gifts I give gifts to my co-workers. No gifts for me! Period! Because my co-workers thought it was weird not to give birthday gifts, I relented by saying, “OK… you can get me a birthday card.” Continue Reading

Gift for Him | Personalized Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls

Princess Diana - June 12, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Valentine's Day

personalized-titleist-pro-v1-golf-balls2-sunburst-gifts

Personalize golf balls with someone’s last name, initials, or a special message.

When it comes to golfing, Titleist Pro V1 golf balls are the best brand out there.

I know this because my husband plays golf. But they do cost a pretty penny so my husband doesn’t buy them for himself even though he’s a better than average golfer.

(I’m pretty much the same way with massages and pedicures. I love getting them, but I don’t like paying for them.)

Kevin has a few Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls in his golf bag though because his friends have given him some of theirs or he happened to find some on the golf course. (He says it’s amazing how many really bad golfers play with expensive golf balls that they just end up losing.)

A box of a dozen Titleist Pro V1 golf balls costs about $50 bucks – which comes out to more than $4 per ball. That’s expensive if you’re just going to hit them into the woods!

Hand Prints on Canvas Best Friends Gift Idea

Queen Darlene - March 11, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Christmas, Experiences, Kids

I am blessed to have life long friends. It’s a trait I copied from my mom. She attended the Oklahoma School for the Deaf and stayed in contact with many of her friends throughout her lifetime. While growing up, I watched her write and receive mail from her friends from all across America.

I moved to Oklahoma from Texas on my 12th birthday. Mother enrolled us in school and instructed us to “go and make lots of best friends.” We did and she encouraged us to stay in contact with our old friends in Texas. I am forever grateful for her wisdom in keeping and making new friends. You can never have too many!

Nancy is my Oldest BFF (Best Friend Forever)! We met in second grade and have known each other for 54 years. WOW! That’s a long time. We have been exchanging birthday gifts for most of those years.

This year, I came up with the idea to have our hand prints together on a canvas. One problem – I live in Oklahoma and she lives in Texas. Continue Reading

Thoughtful Business Appreciation Gift – Calendar

Queen Darlene - March 4, 2014 - Business, Host, Thank You

Appreciation. The dictionary defines appreciation as gratitude and thankful recognition. Recently my boss was selected to be on a national executive committee and yet I was the one being recognized. What a wonderful surprise when an envelope arrived at the office for ME! It truly made my day!

My counterpart in the national organization in Washington, D.C. sent me a lovely See America and our National Parks calendar as an appreciation gift.

In all of my working years, I have never received a gift from an organization that my boss served on so this was quite a memorable surprise. The note was very thoughtful too!

Darlene,
Just a token in advance of my appreciation for our work together in the coming year with Dennis on NCSHA’s Executive Committee.

Best,
Cary

A thoughtful business appreciation gift for work I had yet to do. Now, that is unique!

This is going to be one of those “pass it forward” ideas to use not only within my own work place, but with others who work in other organizations when I want to show my appreciation for their help – whether in advance or afterwards!

Thank you, Cary! Your thoughtful, heartful gift of appreciation is the best!

We must stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. – John F. Kennedy

Sign With Favorite Saying or Quote

Princess Diana - January 9, 2014 - Anniversary, Baby Shower, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Condolence, Congratulations, Gifts for Him, Graduation, Housewarming, Kids, Valentine's Day, Wedding

Starting www.SunburstGifts.org from scratch has been such an exciting and rewarding project. It’s like I’ve given birth to a second child without the nine month wait and the whole alien-taking-over-my-body thing.

I definitely get even less sleep now because I stay up writing blog posts but I’m having a blast watching our subscribership grow each day!

Joining me on this incredible journey is my blogging partner Queen Darlene (Darlene Drew). We seriously go together like chips and salsa (my favorite snack btw!).

We have so much fun sharing our passion of giving thoughtful gifts with the world that working with her on our blog is not “work” at all. I wanted to celebrate our new blog and partnership by surprising her with a – you guessed it! – thoughtful gift.

Homemade Roasted Pecans | Edible Gifts

Princess Diana - December 23, 2013 - Business, Christmas, Family, Food & Drinks, Host, Party Favors, Thank You

I love it when it’s pecan pickin’ time and this year is one of them! Right in the middle of my front yard is a pecan tree, and I’ve collected close to 100 pounds of pecans. I feel so proud – like a farmer who’s had a bountiful harvest. Except I didn’t have to sweat or toil or wear overalls or really do any work at all to make it grow and produce.

But I do have to put in some labor of love when it comes to collecting them, shelling them, and roasting them in the oven. But I enjoy that whole process because at the end I have pounds and pounds of roasted pecans to give as edible gifts!