With the Black Friday officially kicking off the beginning of the holiday shopping season, lists are being made (often checked twice) and seasoned shoppers are hunting for the best gifts for him, or gifts for her, or gifts for them, or even one’s self (wink wink)!

We like to think we can lend a helping hand in finding the perfect gift for the perfect person. We present Part 1 of the TRAY6 Gift Guide: a gift guide for gifts for him, gifts for her or gifts for them!

Stocking Stuffers

TRAY6 Reusable Shoppers 
Who’s It A Good Gift For: Anyone!
What Makes It Great: Reusable shoppers are the growing trend for going ‘green’. More and more stores are offering discounts to those who bring their own bags (Target, Trader Joe’s, etc) and these fashionable bags can go anywhere with anyone! They make the perfect stocking stuffer because they’re compact when folded and come in tons of fun and festive colors!

When rolled up, a TRAY6 Reusable Shopper fits in the palm of your hand!

Record Coasters
Who’s It A Good Gift For: The Music Lover
What Makes It Great: When inviting friends over to enjoy listening to some tunes what better place to set your drink than on these record coasters! They make the perfect table top decoration for the music lover and they can be great conversation starters.

Fortune Cookie Baby Booties
Who’s It A Good Gift For: The New Mommy (or Daddy!)
What Makes It Great: The little booties are not only adorable, but they roll up like little fortune cookies when not in use. With 2 fun ‘fortunes’ for the new little one – these slippers will be a great gift for the new parents!

Yummy Pocket Peanut Butter & Jelly Wallet
Who’s It A Good Gift For: The Kid At Heart
What Makes It Great: Whether you’re looking for a good gift idea for a child, or the child within, this PB&J wallet is sure to bring out the laughs. With two zipper closures it’s the perfect size for a few credit cards and a small phone, as well as some spending cash.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the TRAY6 Gift Guide!

This week officially kicks off the beginning of the highly anticipated holiday party season. Whether you’re gathering around with your friends to celebrate reconnecting after a busy year or you’re congregating at a relatives to tell family stories and catch up, this is officially the season for gathering together. There are often block parties, office parties, friend’s parties and even reunions. And as any good party guest knows – you should always be prepared with the perfect host or hostess gift!

We also believe in thinking outside the box of the same old giant tin of popcorn or the infamous fruit cake. Those just won’t do any longer. This year we want to share with our fans some festive holiday hostess gifts that will really ‘wow’ your hosts (& your friends)!

Here are a few of our favorites of the season:

1. Holiday Inspired TRAY6  umbrellas

Umbrellas are a gift that come in handy again and again. You never regret having an umbrella on you, but the minute you’re caught without one you do regret leaving it at home. Impress your hostess with these festive colored holiday inspired umbrellas! And see our special deal below!!

2. Wine Cork Spreaders by Z Gallerie

These little spreaders will go a long way. The perfect addition to any party tray – spreaders come in handy more than once. In this set of four, you’re sure to bring a smile to your host’s face.

3.  Mini Glass Bottle Set by Pier 1

Not just for oil & vinegar anymore, cruets like colorful Mini Glass Bottles have endless creative uses from holding soy sauce to hot sauce to maple syrup. They also look great lined up on a windowsill with the light shining through.

It’s never too early to stock up on these fabulous gifts and to help you get started – TRAY6 wants to offer our readers a special holiday deal! Shop Small Business Saturday (November 26th, 2011) with us and we’ll be giving everyone 25% off their entire order when you enter ‘smallbiz’ at checkout!

Can’t wait that long? Check our store locator to find a store near you!

Do rainy days get you down? Make you feel like you have cabin fever because the rain is keeping you locked inside? Do your little ones think it’s a free pass to park themselves in front of the TV? Well have no fear, we have the answer to your rainy day blues! Below are some fun activities that actually require a rainy day!

1. Host a splash contest. Now, you’ll need a fairly big rain for this – but grab your raincoats, rain boots and an umbrella and head outdoors. You’ll need to pick some judges for the contest who will judge the splash. Then let each competitor perform their best splash! You can even create categories of splashes; big, dainty, messy, etc. Have some cool prizes picked out for the winners (water guns, pool toys, beach balls, fun umbrellas).

2. Create a Wet N’ Wild obstacle course! Use things you have around the house to create a series of fun activities for team members to challenge themselves with. Examples include; hula hooping 5 times, kicking a beach ball through plastic cones, spinning around with an umbrella, or tossing water balloons back and forth between team members! The wetter the activity the better! The goal is to have your whole team cross the finish line soaking wet! Remember, rain is the theme of the day!

3. Try out some crazy hair colors! Now, you’ll definitely want a rainy day for this, but this one is often fun for the kiddos. Stop by your local Party City or costume store and get some color hair spray (the kind that washes out in 1 wash) in crazy colors like blue, pink or lime green! Then have your own at home beauty salon. Allow the kiddos to pick out some crazy hair colors or mix and match multiple colors and then take some fun crazy photos before running outside into the rain and allowing the rain to start the process of washing out the color!

With all these fun rainy day activities, you’ll be counting down the days until the storm clouds start gathering! Have fun!

You know the holidays are approaching when you’ve just begun unpacking from one holiday trip and you’re already packing for another. We often spend the majority of November through January in airports across the globe jetting off to see friends and family and when you’re seasoned travelers like us, you know a few tricks of traveling – like the 10 MUST HAVE’s in your carry on bag. We never leave home (or the airplane) without them!

TRAY6′s Top 10 Travel Tips:

1. A Hard Copy Of Your Travel Plans – smart phones are great, but when the battery dies or you can’t find a place to charge it or, heaven forbid, you’ve lost it, it’s reassuring to reach in your carry on and find a hard copy of flight numbers, departure times, etc.

2. A Stylish and Reliable Travel Sized Umbrella – You never know how much you’ll miss it until you find yourself having to change terminals in a downpour and there are no shuttles…

3. A Sweater (or Sweatshirt) – airplanes & airports can get chilly, and there’s no reason to suffer in chilly air… along with the person next to you who doesn’t understand how to share an armrest.

4. Cash – there will be times when you find yourself in a situation that plastic cannot solve, so we make it a rule of thumb to carry enough cash to catch a cab if the need ever arises.

5. A Book – whether it’s on your iPad or the good ole fashion hard copy a book can help you get through those 4 hour flights, or worse, layovers when all the stores in the airport have already closed.

6. A Toothbrush – you may be on the red-eye or you may just want to freshen up before you greet family and friends in baggage claim, but a toothbrush comes in handy more often than you’d think (just remember if you’re bringing toothpaste or mouthwash, it must be less than 3oz if it’s in your carry-on). It can also be your best friend when you arrive in a foreign city (or get stuck in one) and your checked bag doesn’t make it.

7. A fresh pair of …uhh…. unmentionables. Why? See Tip 6. You’ll thank us one day.

8. A Neck Roll Pillow – hey…you’ll laugh at the people that have them, but when you’re trying to get some shut eye in the middle seat, you’ll be able to snooze without fear of waking up to find you’ve drooled on your neighbors shoulder. And plus, most airlines no longer hand out pillows due to sanitary concerns.

9. Chargers – Everything electronic will die. Whether it’s that beloved laptop or that iPod or even your cell phone…batteries can only last so long. And why is that you always have to make the most important calls when you have 0 battery left?!

10. Snacks – although you can’t bring your own water bottles on the plane, you can bring your own snacks. With more and more airlines charging for food and those packets of peanuts getting smaller and smaller, it’s so easy to just reach in your bag and pull out your very own bag of almonds or crackers. It can be super helpful when you’re looking at a 4+ hour flight.

So when we find ourselves knee deep in the travel season, we’re always carrying these things in our carry-on. Whether it’s an umbrella or a book, we never leave home without them!

Safe travels!

What can we say? We love compact items. We love compact umbrellas, compact makeup cases, compact phones…you name it, we like it! We wanted to share a few of our favorite compact treasures!

1. The iPod Shuffle – this little gadget is compact enough that it can go anywhere with you. No muss, no fuss – it’s all about the music. And that’s it! Heart! Currently available in 5 fun colors for $49.

2. Compact Umbrellas – yes, it’s a bit of a given as they are part of our line, but compact umbrellas are pretty fantastic. They can go in your car, your purse, your carryon, basically any small space is the perfect place to store these compact fellas! One of our current favorites from the line is our Compact Blue Bloom Umbrella. Available for just $35! With the rainiest months headed our way, you always can’t afford not to have a compact umbrella with you at all times!

3. Compact Mirrors – we cannot put into words how many jams our compact mirror has gotten us out of. Whether its needing to touch up our lip gloss or making sure there’s no food in our teeth (embarrassing!) a handy little compact mirror is the perfect sidekick. Right now there are a ton of adorable compacts popping up all over Etsy! Here’s one of our favorites by bumblebooHandmades! Their compact mirrors start at $18.

At TRAY6, we’re all about inspiration. We draw our inspiration from anything and everything. It could be something that an adorable child says or it could be the sunset on the beaches of California. Our bags and umbrellas draw their designs from things that inspire us. And in this (slightly) chilly autumn season, we’re inspired by a few different things…

1. Deep oranges, deep purples and deep reds. We could be drawing on this because these fabulous colors are often associated with Halloween, Thanksgiving and fall in general…but right now, they’re just hot, hot, hot and they’re on our mind! We’re looking to weave these fabulous colors into some future umbrella designs.

2. Feathers, twigs and autumn leaves. This is what’s happening in nature right now. Leaves are crunching underfoot, twigs are bare as they wave in the wind and feathers are often found fluttering down from the branches. We’ve seen these fabulous pieces being added into many everyday items, such as feathers being worn on earrings or in the hair, twigs being turned into fabulous cuff bracelets or adorable headbands (just check Etsy!).  Speaking of autumn leaves, our holiday Harvest Compact Rain Umbrella definitely inspired by the changing leaves.

3. And finally, we’re being inspired by the holidays. This time of year is full of festive occasions for everyone. It is also during this time of year that you see communities, families and friends really coming together and celebrating. We love the thought of strong communities and strong ties to those who are important to you. It’s also a fantastic time to get a little dressed up and get some great family photos!

And while we bask in this delicious inspiration – we’re looking towards drawing on these things to create a few new designs to add into the TRAY6 family…you’ll just have to stay tuned to see what they are!