New Year baskets in Al Fujairah: an ancient craft for the winter holidays
Baskets found in Egypt's Faiyum are 10,000 to 12,000 years old, older than any archaeological find of pottery. New Year baskets in Al Fujairah need no vase: a soaked sponge inside a waterproof liner holds the stems, so the basket can go straight onto a table in the festive rush.
Christmas, New Year or 7 January: timing the basket
Winter is festive on different dates depending on the household:
- 25 December — Western Christmas
- 31 December – 1 January — the main winter holiday across Russia and other post-Soviet countries
- 7 January — Orthodox Christmas
- Night of 14 January — the old New Year
A basket can be booked for any of these dates in any zone; ordering earlier leaves more slots open. The delivery slot itself shows on the basket's product page.
Keeping a New Year basket fresh through the holidays
The floral foam is watered in a thin stream over its whole surface every day, without tilting the basket. Watered like this, it lasts about as long as a bouquet in a vase; a dried-out sponge barely absorbs water. Keep it away from radiators, direct sun and ripe fruit. A basket ages as one whole, so its shortest-lived flower sets the pace for the rest.
For anything beyond one basket, New Year compositions cover the rest of the range, and flower baskets work all year round. A photo of the finished basket arrives before the courier leaves, so changes still fit in. Slots and zones are on the delivery page.