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Gifts to go with bouquets in Berlin, starting with a school-start Saturday
Berlin celebrates its first-graders at a party on the Saturday before the first lesson: the child gets a Schultüte and presents, and the teacher gets flowers. Gifts to go with bouquets in Berlin are picked around who opens the door and what will still be there once the flowers are gone.
A first-grader's Saturday: a bear and balloons beside the flowers
In most Berlin schools the party starts between 9 and 11 in the morning, so whatever travels with the flowers has to last the whole way through. A latex balloon filled with helium stays afloat for around half a day, which sees the party out, while a foil balloon holds for several days and can stay in the child's room afterwards. The plush bear beside the flowers carries its own history: Steiff in Germany first put its teddy bear into production in 1902, from a design by Richard Steiff. For a gift matched to whoever opens the door, gifts chosen by recipient sort presents by who will receive them. An entertainer for the children's party can be added to the same order. Delivery on a chosen date and time slot is accepted for any zone in the city.
The chocolate beside a bouquet here comes from German makers: Ritter Sport, Milka and merci. Ritter Sport Schokowürfel Danke Schön fits a thank-you to the teacher, Milka Alles Gute suits a simple ‘well done’, and merci Finest Selection comes as a box meant for sharing round the class rather than for one person. For a sweeter stand-in for the flowers themselves, a bouquet of marshmallow uses zefir, whipped fruit purée, usually apple, with sugar and egg white, instead of stems.
Gift and flower delivery in Berlin: a note on a card or a pick
Gift and flower delivery in Berlin bundles a card, a topper or a toy together with the bouquet, so the words arrive at the same moment as the flowers. A card with your own text costs nothing extra, and ready-made greeting cards are also on offer. A topper carries the same message on a small stick that sits right among the stems rather than beside them; a topper works well where the message matters as much as the bouquet does. The courier hands the whole gift over in person, card included, and whether that card carries a name is up to the sender, since the courier is told only the recipient's name and address. Balloons, sweets, a toy or a vase go into the same basket as the bouquet at checkout.
An Advent candle, a reed diffuser and a vase for the flat
A decorative candle has a German root worth knowing: the Advent wreath with its candles was first put together in Hamburg in 1839 and spread from there through the country's Protestant churches, which is why a candle beside a December bouquet feels at home here. Decorative candles and vases cover that pairing in one place. A reed diffuser works differently: rattan reeds pull the scented oil upward along their length, and turning them every few days brings a fresh end into the air. One bottle from the reed diffusers range can scent a room for weeks or months, far longer than a rose lasts in its vase, which is about a week. A vase travelling in the same order as the flowers means there is somewhere to stand them the moment the courier leaves.
A good place to start is the recipient: gifts chosen by recipient sort presents by who will receive them, ready-made greeting cards cover the words, and a bouquet of marshmallow stands in for the flowers on a sweeter note.