1-800-FLOWERS.COM Wishes Happy Birthday to Over 950,000 Americans on October 5th

CARLE PLACE, N.Y., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- If it seems like October 5th is a popular date for celebrating a birthday, that's because it is! With October 5th falling approximately nine months after New Year's Eve, it's no wonder that the date is recognized as America's Most Common Birthday. On any given day, about 750,000 Americans celebrate a birthday, but on October 5th, approximately 968,000 people nationwide will be blowing out candles, unwrapping presents and receiving flowers.(1) To mark the occasion, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM INC. (FLWS), the world's leading florist and gift shop, is teaming up with MasterCard to host a mobile birthday bash in New York City, bringing a party on wheels to the Big Apple and recognition to everyone celebrating a birthday in October.

The festive parade-style float, adorned with a four foot tall Birthday Flower Cake, will travel throughout Manhattan recognizing anyone with an October birthday and reminding patrons that every birthday deserves a celebration.  As the float passes by notable New York City landmarks, entertainers aboard the float will make sure the party continues all day long by distributing favors and prizes to float visitors and encouraging consumers to send birthday smiles to friends and family across the country with a 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Birthday Flower Cake or a Cupcake in Bloom.  Those outside of New York can join the celebration virtually by visiting the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Facebook page at www.facebook.com/1800flowers.

"A birthday is a perfect time to make someone smile, and with our birthday collection, we are excited to offer our customers a great way to give a friend, family member or loved one a quality gift that reminds them just how special they truly are to them,"  said Jim McCann, CEO and Founder of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.  "By working with MasterCard to launch a Birthday Flower Cake on wheels, we are reminding everyone that birthdays are a time for gift giving, parties and celebrations, whether a birthday falls on October 5th or any other day of the year."

In keeping with the birthday spirit, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM is offering a variety of birthday-inspired floral arrangements, making it easy for customers to send their loved ones a beautiful floral bouquet or gourmet gift on their special day.  Some of the most popular selections from the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM birthday collection include:    

• Cupcake in Bloom™ – The original bouquet from the Everything Cupcake collection, this classic cupcake-shaped floral arrangement adorned with white carnations looks almost good enough to eat (also available in Green and Orange or Hot Pink).
• Birthday Flower Cake® – With choices such as the Bright Birthday Flower Cake or the Pastel Birthday Flower Cake, this masterful floral arrangement is a creation of mini carnations and poms (but no calories!) and is a crowd-pleaser, no matter how you slice it.  

Also, October 5th marks the launch of the Birthday Smiles Sweepstakes, which gives customers the chance to win a trip to the upcoming GRAMMY® Awards and other prizes from 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. MasterCard customers will be automatically entered into the sweepstakes when they purchase gifts from 1-800-FLOWERS.COM during the promotional period using their MasterCard card.  In addition, they will receive a code via e-mail to play the instant win game for a chance to win one of hundreds of prizes from 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.  Facebook fans of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM will have the opportunity to enter the instant win game, as 1-800-FLOWERS.COM will release instant win game codes periodically throughout the promotional period.

For additional birthday suggestions for America's Most Common Birthday please visit www.1800flowers.com, or www.facebook.com/1800flowers.

For more information regarding the Birthday Smiles Sweepstakes and the Official Rules, visit www.birthdaysmilesweepstakes.com.

About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is the world's leading florist and gift shop. For more than 30 years, 1-800-FLOWERS® (1-800-356-9377 or www.1800flowers.com) has been providing customers with fresh flowers and the finest selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods, confections, balloons and plush stuffed animals perfect for every occasion.  As always, 100% satisfaction is guaranteed.  The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Mobile Flower & Gift Center was named winner of the RIS (Retail Info Systems) 2010 Mobile App of the Year Award in the "Best Shopping" category. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM was also rated number one vs. competitors for customer service by STELLAService. The Company's BloomNet® international floral wire service (www.mybloomnet.net) provides a broad range of quality products and value-added services designed to help professional florists grow their businesses profitably. The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. "Gift Shop" also includes gourmet gifts such as popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory® (1-800-541-2676 or www.thepopcornfactory.com); cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl's(SM) (1-800-443-8124 or www.cheryls.com); premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May® confections brands (www.fanniemay.com and www.harrylondon.com); wine gifts from the Wine Tasting Network®  (www.winetasting.com) and Geerlings&Wade(SM)  (www.geerwade.com) and gift baskets from 1-800-BASKETS.COM® (www.1800baskets.com).  The Company's Celebrations® (www.celebrations.com) brand is a premier online destination for fabulous party ideas and planning tips. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is involved in a broad range of corporate social responsibility initiatives including continuous expansion and enhancement of its environmentally-friendly "green" programs as well as various philanthropic and charitable efforts. Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, ticker symbol: FLWS.

About MasterCard Worldwide

As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere.  MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide.  In 2009, $2.5 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world.  Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network – the fastest payment processing network in the world – MasterCard processes over 22 billion transactions each year,  has the capacity to handle 140 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 140 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability.  MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro®, and Cirrus®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass™ and MasterCard inControl™.  MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.

(1) http://anybirthday.com/

SOURCE 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.