Shopping To Celebrate

Yesterday Janet, Bob and I went to the Celebrate Shop, held at the Curtis Hotel in Denver. Celebrate is an organization that is dedicated to providing entrepreneurial education to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the U.S. Celebrate believes that every person, regardless of ability or disability, should have the chance to build a meaningful life. [They] believe that thinking outside the box is the only way to push things forward. The Celebrate Shop was founded in 2022 to give our entrepreneurs a platform to share their incredible talents and skills—and an accessible outlet to sell their products. The in-person event[s] bring together the community to shop one-of-a-kind gifts made by entrepreneurs with disabilities and the chance to meet the makers to celebrate their creativity, talent, and entrepreneurial spirit.

We met and spoke with the entrepreneurs who were there. They had some amazing products for sale. Janet and I were Christmas shopping and both came home with some beautiful, fun one-of-a-kind gifts. Everything was hand-crafted and made with lots of dedication and love. Here is our combined bounty.

The gifts Janet bought.

I have a feeling one of these beautifully unique ornaments will find its way to our annual ornament exchange party. 🙂

Collette was quite the saleswoman. I did not buy cookies from her, but she was hard to resist. I was forgiven when I told her I was a chef and showed her a picture with me in my chef’s uniform. 🙂

And my bounty of gifts.

We actually learned about this through Sweet Heat jams a few years ago. Janet introduced them to me and here we are today.

As you can see, there was a wide variety of gifts and handmade crafts. The young entrepreneurs did an excellent job and were proudly displaying their goods. It was a win/win celebration for all.

If you are interested in learning more about Celebrate, you can find them online at hello@celebrateedu.org.

Our day did not end when the shopping ended. The four of us all went out for a Thai dinner after Larry got home from work too.

Life is a celebration that we should celebrate everyday. Life is short. Live life to the fullest and enjoy all the adventures and challenges that come your way while you can. Have a great day and make everyday greart. ‘Til next time.