We hope your December was filled with plenty of holiday joy, parties and fun. We’re so thrilled a number of news media sources and bloggers featured our fabulous party ideas. Here is a sampling of some of the coverage that Celebrations.com received:

No-Fuss Holiday Decorating

• LXTV

Ring In ‘09 With The Right Drinks

• amNewYork

Consult an Expert: Restaurant Staff Can Help Find the Right Selection

• The Vancouver Sun

Mint Idea

• Toronto Sun

Party of the Month

• t&T News

Celebrate Good Times and a Career Switch!

• CollegeSurfing Insider

Celebrations.com: Here to Help

• The Glamorous Bee

Site Review: Celebrations.com

• Viva La Feminista

Christmas Party

• The Dillard Family

Candy Cane Relay

• Be Different… Act Normal

Happy Holidays from Celebrations.com!

We hope our party planning tips and advice have helped you this holidays season. We’re so excited to be able to help you connect with loved ones and express your own creativity, especially during the most wonderful time of year!

Here are some articles that highlight last minute tips and fun facts:

Santa Clues On Christmas Eve

Christmas Nostalgia

Christmas Hors d’Oeuvres

Santa: Getting to Know the Man Behind the Beard

Christmas Traditions from Around the World

Christmas Fun Facts

So

Santa

Claus is coming to town

and there are still stockings to be hung-

the Celebrations Elves have Notes from the North Pole:

If your neighbors asking,

“Do they know its Christmas time?“

Wow them with Jeanne Benedict’s easy decor.

10 Last Minute Ways to Spruce Up Your Holiday Home

teaches you how to create a beautiful Winter Display using only

a few vases, sticks, and salt, now even Good Ol’ Charlie Brown can do that.

Afraid Santa will skip on another boring

biscuit- Make Jenna’s Almost Gourmet Cookies*

take ordinary cookies to extraordinary desserts. The kids

might even catch mommy kissing Santa Claus after he gets a taste

of these. Only you and the elves need to  know how easy they are to make.

The weather outside might

be frightful, but that doesn’t mean you

need to go out in the storm, see how Lara Shriftman

hosted a  Last Minute Holiday Party at Home stress-free, by

ordering in. Delicious, freshly made appetizers, entrees, sides, desserts

and even wine delivered right to your door. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,

white snow,  bright lights, and  a lot less cash in

your wallet. Read Karen Perkin’s Christmas Party on a Budget

for tips on how to be a true Recessionista. Host a buffet instead of

a sit down, and set up a coffee bar instead of one for cocktails- and you’ll be

“Rockin’ Around the

Christmas Tree

in the New Old

Fashioned Way”.

*Jenna’s Almost Gourmet Cookies were Celebration’s Team tested and approved.

Celebrations has just announced its partnership with SmileBooks. To kick off this partnership, Celebrations users can try the award winning SmileBooks software and get a 33% discount on their first order until the end of the year. For more details you can go to www.celebrations.com/smilebooks

Information about the awards that CeWe / SmileBooks has won for the photo book software can be found at: http://www.smilebooks.com/photo-album-software-reviews.php

Below is our Press Release announcing the partnership.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

_________________________________________________________________

Celebrations.com, the premier online destination for party planning, and Cewe Color, announced today the launch of a new, exclusive version of the popular SmileBooks PhotoBooks software.

Now, the Celebrations SmileBooks free software can be downloaded at: http://www.celebrations.com/smilebooks.

Special features of the unique software will allow Celebrations.com users to:

- Become an author – turn your children’s stories, cook books, travel journals and more into a professionally published books

- Create books anywhere – without connecting to the Internet

- Personalize every page – use existing templates or create your own

- Save digital photos forever

- Give the gift of memories

SmileBooks are fun and easy to create and share life’s most important moments through beautiful, personalized photo books. From birthdays to holidays, vacations to anniversaries, SmileBooks transforms most-cherished memories into professional-quality albums made for sharing with friends and family.

“We are thrilled about the opportunity to offer SmileBooks to the Celebrations.com community. The SmileBooks Photo Books go beyond the traditional photo booking tools in the market by offering users unlimited opportunities to express themselves. Some of our Celebrations.com users have had the opportunity to test-drive SmileBooks and have nothing but great things to say” says Seth Lasser, General Manager of Celebrations.com. “Offering the ability to capture and preserve the memories from all of life’s great celebrations in a unique and creative new way, is a perfect product for our audience.”

About Celebrations.com

Celebrations.com, a subsidiary of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., is the new premier online destination for party planning, offering expert advice, and fun, simple planning tools. Whether looking for Super Bowl recipes, creative birthday party ideas or a chic holiday cocktail party — get expert advice from the most knowledgeable experts in the party planning industry. And, you can share your own party ideas, recipes, photos and videos. From sophisticated Christmas party games to wine and cheese pairings, Celebrations offers expert advice and fun, simple planning tools for life’s most important celebrations!

About CeWe Color:

Photofinishing company CeWe Color, with 15 highly-technical production operations and a staff of more than 2,800 employees in 24 European countries and the United States is represented as both market and technological leader. The company supplied around 2.8 billion photos, more than 1 million CEWE PHOTO BOOKS and photo gift articles to more than 50,000 retail partners in 2007. In 2007 turnover amounted to EUR 413.5 million. CeWe Color is “first mover” in the launch of new digital technologies, for example ordering digital photos in the Internet or with the help of order terminals (DigiFoto Makers) in retail stores. Sales of personalised CEWE PHOTO BOOKS are developing extremely well. In 1961, CeWe Color was founded by Senator h.c. Heinz Neumüller. The company went public under the leadership of Hubert Rothärmel. CeWe Color Holding AG is listed on the Prime Standard.

About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM

The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. “Gift Shop” also includes gourmet gifts such as popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory^® (1-800-541-2676 or www.thepopcornfactory.com); cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl&Co.^® (1-800-443-8124 or www.cherylandco.com); premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May Confections Brands^® (www.fanniemay.com and www.harrylondon.com); gourmet foods from Greatfood.com^® (www.greatfood.com); wine gifts from Ambrosia^® (www.ambrosia.com); gift baskets from1-800-BASKETS.COM^® (www.1800baskets.com) and DesignPac Gifts™ (www.designpac.com) as well as Home Decor and Children’s Gifts from Plow & Hearth^® (1-800-627-1712 or www.plowandhearth.com), Wind & Weather® (www.windandweather.com), HearthSong^® (www.hearthsong.com) and Magic Cabin^® (www.magiccabin.com). Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under ticker symbol FLWS.

Hello all.

The holidays are upon us, and boy, there’s no better time to prepare for the parties and activities that go with them!

Read up on our favorite holiday articles and get inspired! ‘Tis the season to be jolly, so spread the joy with a holiday party.

1. I’m a sucker for crafts, and Jeanne Benedict’s “Christmas Crafts for Kids” is a wonderful article full of tips on how to make everything from marshmallow snow men to cookie ornaments (Mmm…).

2. Who says Christmas isn’t for hipsters? Karen Perkin’s “Modern Christmas Cocktail Party” is a treat for those who are gathering with friends.

3. Nothing shouts “It’s the Holidays!” quite like delicious recipes. Check out “Three Holiday Hors d’Oeuvres” by Andrea Correale for delicious hors d’oeuvres to fill you up.

4. While I personally don’t celebrate Hannukah, I do love latkes. Check out our article, “Happy Hannukah Latkes” for two timeless recipes.

5. The holidays are not complete without drinks! Feast your eyes on “Christmas Cocktails and Mocktails” by Jeanne Benedict for drinks that you and your kids can enjoy!

Enjoy your season’s readings.

November was a big month for us at Celebrations.com. In addition to our launch party for bloggers, we issued a press release.

Here is a roundup of Celebrations.com press coverage:

Easy and Inexpensive Decorating Fun for Kids This Thanksgiving

• Examiner.com

Wanderin’ Woman

• SelfishMom.com

Reinvent Leftovers for Memorable Meal

• Post-Gazette.com

Celebrations.com: A Reason to Celebrate (& a Giveaway Too!)

• MomInTheCity.com

Give Leftovers a Makeover

• amNew York

Celebrations.com Gets You In a Party Mood

• AdviceSisters.net

This morning our press release went live. We wanted to share it with you here:

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Fabulous parties made easy for everyone with insider tips from top experts such as Preston Bailey, Jeanne Benedict, Amy Berman, Lara Shriftman, Julie Mulligan, among others -

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (Nasdaq: FLWS), the world’s largest Florist and Gift Shop, announced today Celebrations.com, the new premier online destination for party planning, offering expert advice, and fun, simple planning tools. Whether planning an intimate bridal shower, creative kid’s birthday party or a chic holiday cocktail party — Celebrations.com is designed to help create the best event with exclusive tips, recipes, theme and decor ideas.

“Celebrations.com marks an important step in our evolution as a company,” said Jim McCann publisher of Celebrations.com, and CEO and founder of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. “1-800-FLOWERS.COM helps consumers connect with the important people in their lives by providing the most thoughtful selection of flowers and gifts. With Celebrations.com, we are taking our relationship with consumers one step further, allowing us to help them plan their celebratory occasions. More importantly, we are encouraging an open dialogue and community among our consumers where they can share their ideas to enhance all of the special events in their lives.”

From top event planners to pastry chefs, floral experts, cocktail therapists and food stylists — the Celebrations.com Contributing Editors provide the “know-how” to throw a fabulous party. Celebrations.com visitors will learn and share insider party ideas, decorating advice, and food and drink recipes from the Contributing Editors and from members of the Celebrations.com community. In addition, Celebrations.com provides an insider blog on celebrity bashes from the pros who are in attendance.

Once a Celebrations.com member, there is a dashboard for all the party planning needs at every step of the way. For any event, the Celebrations.com invitation tool can easily create and personalize an online invitation to fit a unique party style. Celebrations.com members can use their own photos or choose from Celebrations.com’s pre-designed photo invitations. Once the invitation is sent, guests can interact on the RSVP page.

Once the party is over, guests can continue celebrating on Celebrations.com by uploading and sharing their photos and stories.

Get Unique Party Ideas for All Occasions here:

http://www.celebrations.com/party-ideas

Begin Planning your Celebration here:

http://www.celebrations.com/register

Check out the Celebrations.com Expert Panel here:

http://www.celebrations.com/experts

About Celebrations.com

Celebrations.com is the premier online destination and resource for party planning and party ideas. From sophisticated Christmas party games to wine and cheese pairings, Celebrations offers expert advice and fun, simple planning tools for life’s most important celebrations!

Celebrations.com experts — trendsetters in their industries — will help make each of life’s celebrations more unique and memorable occasions. Celebrations.com is proud member of the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM family of brands.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM(R) and the other brands in the family — Cheryl & Co.(R), Fannie May(R), Plow & Hearth(R), The Popcorn Factory(R), Ambrosia(R), and HearthSong(R) — help our customers connect and express themselves with the important people in their lives.

About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is the world’s leading florist and gift shop. For more than 30 years, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. has been providing customers with fresh flowers and the finest selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods, confections, balloons and plush stuffed animals perfect for every occasion. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM(R) (1-800-356-9377 or www.1800flowers.com), is one of the top 50 online retailers by Internet Retailer, as well as 2008 Laureate Honoree by the Computerworld Honors Program and the recipient of ICMI’s 2006 Global Call Center of the Year Award. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM offers the best of both worlds: exquisite arrangements created by some of the nation’s top floral artists and hand-delivered the same day, and spectacular flowers shipped overnight “Fresh From Our Growers(SM).” As always, 100% satisfaction and freshness are guaranteed. The Company’s BloomNet(R) international floral wire service provides (www.mybloomnet.net) a broad range of quality products and value-added services designed to help professional florists grow their businesses profitably.

The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. “Gift Shop” also includes gourmet gifts such as popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory(R) (1-800-541-2676 or www.thepopcornfactory.com); cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl&Co.(R) (1-800-443-8124 or www.cherylandco.com); premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May Confections Brands(R) (www.fanniemay.com and www.harrylondon.com); gourmet foods from Greatfood.com(R) (www.greatfood.com); wine gifts from Ambrosia(R) (www.ambrosia.com); gift baskets from 1-800-BASKETS.COM(R) (www.1800baskets.com) and DesignPac Gifts(TM) (www.designpac.com) as well as Home Decor and Children’s Gifts from Plow & Hearth(R) (1-800-627-1712 or www.plowandhearth.com), Wind & Weather(R) (www.windandweather.com), HearthSong(R) (www.hearthsong.com) and Magic Cabin(R) (www.magiccabin.com). Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under ticker symbol FLWS.

Sitting down after a long and exciting day – we had our kickoff event today and everything went perfectly.

This seems like the right time and place for a few quick thank yous:

• Sari and team at For Your Party, who designed the napkins, coasters, and helped make the gift bags look celebratory
• Chris and Matt at Wine Tasting who made sure our guests had something delicious to drink – from California of course – during the holidays
• Our experts - Julie Mulligan, Karen DiPeri, Andrea Correale, and the dynamic Cocktail Therapy duo of Tracey Toomey and Leanne Shear – who showed our guests how to prepare for the holidays in style
• Last, and certainly not least, the Celebrations.com, Coburn Communications, and 1-800-Flowers PR team for making it look easy

Look for more professional pictures shortly!

Just got back from our Celebrations.com Press Parties and wanted to share some photos of the events.

Celebrations.com Blogger Party

Floral Arrangements by Celebrations expert, Julie Mulligan

Brunch Hors d'Oeuvres by Celebrations expert, Andrea Correale

Celebrations' Senior Editor, Diana Heather

Celebrations Expert, Andrea Correale

Celebrations Expert, Julie Mulligan; Senior Editor, Diana Heather; Celebrations Expert, Karen DePeri

Press Brunch

Evening Cocktail Party Buffet

It’s party time!

Now that our Celebrations.com corporate blog is live, I thought this was the perfect time to introduce myself. I’m Jon Mandell and I handle business development and product management at Celebrations.com. For those of you who don’t know what that means (don’t worry, sometimes I don’t know either), I am responsible for bringing great sponsors into the Celebrations site experience. There are lots of great brands we feel you should know about when planning a party. Whether it is food, drinks, gifts, decorations and everything in between, we take pride in showing you the best there is.

In my product management role, I am the guy who brings you new site features. We just launched ‘plan you party’, which enables users to create and send online invitations to your friends and family. We even manage the RSVPs!

In a couple of weeks we will be enabling ‘Share Your Memories,’ which will allow our users to upload photos of their party. Party guests and friends can even add their own pictures to the album. We are very excited about this, as we know what a pain it is to have multiple albums floating around the Internet for the same party! And if that wasn’t good enough, you can then select the pictures you like best and buy prints, create unique gifts and make your own calendars and greeting cards.

As you can tell, I am very excited about Celebrations.com and all of our great products. I love to attend parties and entertain friends. My favorite types of celebrations are cocktails with friends, the holidays with my family and just about every type of celebration revolving around the BBQ. Iam also passionate about the Internet and online media. Prior to joining the Celebrations team, I worked for a number of early-stage Internet companies.

Be sure to stop by regularly as I’ll be updating the blog with information about our great sponsors and new features coming down the pipeline.