Due to the extreme heat today and through the weekend we will not be shipping any orders on 6/29/18. Even with insulated boxes and cold packs, things will still melt in the extreme heat.

Monday, 7/2/18, looks to be a little bit cooler and hopefully it will be okay to ship gift baskets and gift boxes at that time. We will keep a close eye on the weather to make sure your gifts arrive intact and tasty!

~ Andrew Norton, Owner

1. Cool, crisp air means sweatshirt weather.
2. Apple picking (and eating in pie, applesauce, apple crisp, etc.)
3. Cider season (and my favorite cider donuts from Corey Lake Orchards!)
4. I feel like making chili, pot roast, and turkey with all the fixings
5. Last, but not least – The Beautiful Fall Colors

Put on a sweatshirt, grab a glass of cider, and dunk a donut while you watch this beautiful video of the fall colors in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. See if you can spot the locations – Pictured Rocks, Grand Marais, Au Train, and Kingston Lake.

Now you can celebrate Pi Day (3.14) in style with our new MI (My) Pie Crate. This birch wood crate with lid will hold most 9″ pies. The style and flavor is up to you!

We offer two options for the MI Pie Crate. You can get the basic crate with a metal-stamped pie tin for a special price of $25 here.

We also offer a kind of “pie kit” where you get the MI Pie Crate along with nearly everything you need to make a delicious Michigan cherry pie!

Whatever you do, wherever you go, please be sure and celebrate Pi Day with a slice or two of pie. Preferably pie made with Michigan ingredients :).

Like you, we have noticed a significant increase in shipping fees these days when shopping online.

We don’t want our customers to experience sticker shock when they see the shipping rates at our store. Also, we want to make our online shopping experience straightforward and having a $10 Flat Rate Shipping charge lets customers quickly calculate their costs. That can’t be a bad thing, right?

We had a trial run of $10 Flat Rate Shipping over Cyber Monday last November and it was a huge success. Customers loved it and we did, too.

Our $10 Flat Rate Shipping no longer has a time limit – this is Everyday $10 Flat Rate Shipping. No coupon codes. No limits. No problem.

Have a Wonderful Day!

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Detroit skyline circa 1929 as seen from Windsor, Canada. If you view the larger version you can see a Vernors sign, Boblo Island sign and boats, and the Hudson’s department store sign on the old Hudson’s building.

Detroit Gift Basket

It seemed like every year around Michigan Week (does anyone remember Michigan Week?) we would focus on Michigan history and geography which inevitably lead to studying the Great Lakes. I believe it was in the 4th grade when we watched this 1968 film (yes, it was on a film reel!). Funny, how the image of the man in the midst of the polluted waters has stuck with me all these years later.

Just watched this again for the first time in over 30 years and it was a real nostalgic treat. Amidst the schmaltzy music and humor you do get a good overview of how The Great Lakes formed.

Probably around this same time period in elementary school, we also watched this Canadian classic – Paddle to the Sea. The possibility that you could send a little boat down a stream in the woods and it would flow all the way through the Great Lakes to the ocean always intrigued me as a child.

Does anyone else remember watching these films back in the day? How about Michigan Week?

Here’s a short video of a few different deliveries being made. You can see how much skill and coordination is needed to make these transfers.

The J.W. Westcott II doesn’t just deliver the mail. Here they are making a captain delivery:

Want to learn more about the J.W. Westcott company? Read this New York Times article.

There is also a great little children’s book about the J.W. Westcott II, Mail by the Pail (Great Lakes Books Series).

Michigan became the 26th state on January 26, 1837. To celebrate Michigan’s 180th Birthday we are having a sale on all of our Michigan-shaped wooden gift basket crates! You won’t see prices this low on these gift baskets again any time soon.

The sale runs January 26th through January 29, 2017. Check out the discounts!

20 years later and WMU had a perfect regular season (13-0) and played in the Cotton Bowl against a very good Wisconsin team. This was definitely a season to make any alumni proud.

We were so pumped up about Western’s football season that I even helped my son 3D print a WMU ‘W’ cookie cutter for my wife this Christmas.

1st 3D printed cookie cutter is a 'W' for @westernmichu #rtb I am helping my son make his Christmas presents for mom. He is 3D printing custom cookie cutters that he designed #wmu #westernmichigan #westernmichiganuniversity #rowtheboat #kalamazoo #michigan

A photo posted by Andrew Norton (@allthingsmichigan) on Dec 23, 2016 at 8:54am PST

Row The Boat 🙂

Today, November 28th, 2016, you can ship our gift baskets and boxes anywhere in the United States for only $10!

Load up your online shopping cart and if you are sending gifts to more than one address make sure you click the checkout link that says “Checkout With Multiple Addresses” so you can add the addresses and gift card messages for each recipient.

When checking out, simply select the “Flat Rate Cyber Monday” option for $10 shipping.

Remember, you can order today and choose a delivery date closer to Christmas.

Take advantage of our $10 Flat Rate Shipping today!