I got your picture!

One of my responsibilities at work is to receive the pictures that our customers want to use on their personalized wrappers. Even though the process of receiving and saving every photograph is the same, this task never becomes boring because every picture tells you a different story.

The most popular pictures during this time of the year are for First Communion, Graduation, and Weddings.  It is wonderful to see the proud and happy expressions on the faces of people who are celebrating such important moments in their lives. Some of the best pictures are the newborn babies; they always give me a smile because they are full of tenderness. On a few occasions, I have received images of pets whose owners wanted them to be used on wrappers for occasions such as Halloween, Birthday Parties and Christmas…definitely something different!  And the truth is that every single picture is great.

However, I must say that my favorites are the Anniversary wrappers. These pictures are proof of a life full of love; and it is wonderful to see the faces of two people who 25 or 50 years ago started a life together, and are still living happily next to each other after such a long time.

Para ver Version en Español >>

My First Easter Basket

On Friday, March 21st, some of my workmates gave me as a surprise gift: an Easter Basket! It was a nice surprise and a very special gift for me because I have never received a gift like that before. In Costa Rica, my country of origin, it is not a tradition to give Easter Baskets to your family and friends. Easter in Costa Rica is mainly a religious event and is focused in the Catholic traditions. For example, most people don’t eat red meat during the entire week; every neighborhood has parades where there are actors representing every stage of Easter; most businesses are closed from Wednesday until Sunday; and many people go to church during those days.

Para ver Version en Español >>

¡La Familia Carson!The Carson Family!

¡La Familia Carson!

El 2007 será mi primer año en el cual desde Enero a Diciembre he trabajado para la compañía Carson, y pensé que esta es una gran oportunidad para agradecerle a todas las personas que trabajan conmigo y especialmente a Scott and Sharon Frederick, quienes día a día me hacen sentir que soy una persona especial y que mi trabajo es importante. Estoy segura que todos las personas que forman parte de Carson opinan de la misma manera, en Carson no solo somos compañeros de trabajo, somos Familia. Para mi es una bendición inmensa trabajar en un ambiente donde cada persona me ofrece una sonrisa, y donde yo puedo trabajar con una sonrisa en mi rostro, porque sé que lo que hago cada día ayuda a La Familia Carson a crecer y a extender nuestra dulzura a muchas bocas y corazones alrededor del mundo.

Carola Stiver

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The Carson Family!

2007 will be the first full calendar year that I have worked for Carson, and I thought  this is a great opportunity to say thank you to every person that works with me, especially to Scott and Sharon Frederick, who every day make me feel special and that what I do is important. I am sure that every person that is part of Carson thinks the same way, at Carson we are not only workmates, we are Family. It is an immense blessing for me to be able to work in a place where every person gives me a smile, and where I have a smile on my face because I know that what I do helps the Carson Family to grow, and to expand our sweetness to many mouths and hearts around the world.

Carola Stiver

¡Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo!Happy Holidays!

¡Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo!

Ya casi se acaba el 2007 y eso significa que pronto será Navidad, ese tiempo del año que nos da una razón extra para compartir y disfrutar con nuestra familia y amigos. Y la verdad es que no importa a donde estemos, o de donde seamos, la Navidad llena nuestros corazones de esperanza e ilusión de tener un Año Nuevo mejor. Nos hace apreciar aún más a las personas que están a nuestros alrededor… y permite que nuestro corazón se conecte con aquellas personas que se encuentra lejos… no importa la distancia.

Quizás te preguntas ¿como es la Navidad en Costa Rica? Al igual que en Estados Unidos, en Costa Rica la Navidad y el Año Nuevo es un tiempo muy especial, cada familia decora su Árbol de Navidad y cada niño espera ansioso la llegada de Santa que traerá su añorado regalo. Las familias se reúnen e intercambian regalos, y siempre hay una amplia variedad de deliciosas comidas. Algo que es muy diferente es el clima… la temperatura promedio durante el mes de Diciembre en Costa Rica es 70 grados Fahrenheit, por su puesto no hay nieve, y no hay chimeneas… yo recuerdo que de niña me preguntaba como Santa podía entrar en la casa si no teníamos una chimenea y me papá me dijo que él dejaba la puerta abierta para que Santa pudiera entrar para poner los regalos bajo el árbol... 

Happy Holidays!

2007 is almost over and that means soon it will be Christmas time! This is a very special time of year that gives us an additional reason to share and enjoy the time spent with our family and friends. The truth is, that no matter where you are or where you are from, the Holidays fill our hearts with dreams and hopes of having a better new year. It makes us appreciate even more the people that are around us, and allows us to connect our hearts with those who are not next to us… no matter how far away they are…

Perhaps you are wondering what Christmas in Costa Rica is like? As in the U.S, Costa Rican families decorate the Christmas tree and every child waits anxiously for Santa to bring their most wanted gifts. The families get together to exchange presents and there is always a big variety of delicious meals. However, there is something that is very different... the weather!  The average temperature in Costa Rica during the month of December is 70 degrees with no snow and little need for a chimney. I remember as a child asking my dad how Santa could get into the house if we didn’t have a chimney, and he told me that he would leave the door open so that Santa could get in the house and put the gifts under the tree…

Quinceañera

La celebración de los 15 años en la cultura Latina es un evento muy especial. Esta es la edad en la que oficialmente se reconoce el cambio de niñez a madurez. 

Durante los últimos meses Carson ha notado que cada vez más personas se muestran interesadas en nuestros diseños de Quinceañera, y para nosotros es extremadamente importante ofrecer a nuestros Clientes Hispanos chocolates personalizados que endulcen este momento tan especial. Actualmente estamos trabajando en crear diseños para Quinceañera, que se ajusten apropiadamente a este evento tan especial. Así que si tú te estás preparando para celebrar tus 15 años… nos encantaría conocer tu opinión sobre cuál es el diseño perfecto para tus chocolates personalizados. Escríbenos un comentario… de seguro lo tomaremos en cuenta! Nosotros queremos ser parte de tu sueño.

Carola Stiver
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In the Latino Culture the celebration of the 15th Birthday is a very special event. This is the time where the change from childhood to maturity is officially recognized.

Over the last months Carson has noticed that more people are interested in our Quinceañera’s wrapper design, and it is very important for us to be able to offer personalized candy bars for this special occasion to our Hispanic Customers. Currently we are working on new Quinceañera’s designs that sweetly compliment this important celebration. So, if you are about to celebrate your 15th Birthday, we would love to know your opinion about the perfect wrapper design. Send us your comments… we will take it in consideration! We want to be apart of your dreamed day!

Carola Stiver

Feliz Cumpleaños Papi!

Feliz Cumpleaños Papi!

Todos los cumpleaños son especiales, pero todos sabemos que cuando alguien celebra 50 Años de vida es aun más especial. Y en esta ocasión fue mi Padre quien el pasado 3 de junio celebró sus 50 años. Yo tuve la oportunidad de viajar a mi querida Costa Rica, para asistir a su fiesta de cumpleaños. Esta fue una perfecta ocasión para compartir con mi familia algunos de nuestros chocolates personalizados.

Yo seleccione el diseño llamado POPARTY; este es uno de mis diseños favoritos, porque está lleno de color, además la línea que dice “Original desde 1957” es la descripción perfecta de su personalidad. También le llevé chocolates a mi mami (¡no se fuera a poner celosa!), su cumpleaños será en julio y aunque yo no podré estar presente, mi dulce obsequio, así como mi espíritu y buenos deseos serán parte de su celebración.

Carola Stiver

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Happy Birthday Dad!

Every birthday is a very special occasion.  However, everyone knows that it is even more special when somebody celebrates their 50th birthday. Last June 3rd was my dad's 50th birthday and I had the opportunity to travel to my beloved Costa Rica to attend his party. That was a perfect occasion for me to share some of our personalized candy bars with my family.

I selected the design named POPARTY for my dad.  This design is one of my favorites because it is colorful and I like that it has“Original since 1957!” on the wrapper.  It is the perfect description of his personality.  I also took some chocolates for my mom (otherwise she would have been jealous!).  Her 49th birthday will be in July.  Although I will not be able to attend her party, my “sweet” gift as well as my heart and best wishes will be part of her celebration.

Carola Stiver

 

Mi mundo en Español

Mi mundo en Español

Mi nombre es Carola, mi país de origen es Costa Rica. Yo soy la representante Bilingüe de Carson. La cantidad de personas que solicitan nuestros diseños en español crece día a día; es verdaderamente satisfactorio para mí poder brindar nuestro producto en mi idioma de origen, y saber que nuestros chocolates endulzarán el paladar y el corazón de alguien en otro lugar del mundo. Ejemplo de esto es la orden de la Sra. Martín, ella iba de vacaciones a visitar a su familia en América de Sur y ordenó varios de nuestros chocolates en Español para el bautizo y fiesta de cumpleaños de sus sobrinos. Yo realmente disfruto la posibilidad de ayudar a nuestros clientes en crear un producto personalizado, especialmente las personas que comparten mi misma cultura e idioma de origen. Es una dulce bendición saber que ellos pueden obtener y disfrutar nuestros chocolates en Español!

My Spanish World

My name is Carola, I am from Costa Rica. I am the Bilingual Customer Service Representative of Carson. Our demand for wrapper designs in Spanish is growing every day and it has become very satisfying for me to know that I am able to provide our product in my native language. It is also pleasing to know that our chocolates will make sweet the taste as well as the heart of someone… somewhere else in the world. An example of this would be an order that I recently placed for a woman by the name of Mrs. Martín. She was traveling to South America to attend the christening and birthday party of her nephews. She ordered several designs in Spanish and was able to share them with her family overseas. I really enjoy the possibility of assisting people to create a personalized item, especially helping those who share my same culture and language of origin. It is a sweet blessing to know that it is now possible for them to enjoy our chocolates “en español!”