I apologise for stranding this blog so soon after I started it up. I gave birth to my little boy earlier than anticipated and I didn't have a chance to write and pre-schedule the posts I was planning. For the past four months we've been wandering around in a fog of colic-induced exhaustion.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope to be blogging again soon.
02 July 2009
16 January 2009
Nuddle and Steakbrand - Gifts of the Month
Each month I'll be featuring a Gift of the Month. This month, however, has two gifts - one for the northern hemisphere and one for the southern hemisphere.
Nuddle Blanket
For those of you in the middle of chilly winter weather, the Nuddle Blanket will make an ideal gift. It is a cosy blanket that has a foot pocket so that your feet remain covered no matter how high you pull the blanket up around you. It also has hand openings so that you can have your hands out of the blanket to read a book, eat, or drink. A very simple idea, but very effective.
Steakbrand - Rare, Medium, and Well-Done Steak Branding Irons
Those of us enjoying lovely barbecue weather down south might be tempted by steak branding irons that you can use to indicate how a particular cut of meat has been cooked - rare, medium, or well-done. I think this is a great idea if you're having many guests over and each guest has a different meat cooking preference. Keep tabs of who gets what.
More Elegant Gift Ideas
Nuddle Blanket
For those of you in the middle of chilly winter weather, the Nuddle Blanket will make an ideal gift. It is a cosy blanket that has a foot pocket so that your feet remain covered no matter how high you pull the blanket up around you. It also has hand openings so that you can have your hands out of the blanket to read a book, eat, or drink. A very simple idea, but very effective.
Steakbrand - Rare, Medium, and Well-Done Steak Branding Irons
Those of us enjoying lovely barbecue weather down south might be tempted by steak branding irons that you can use to indicate how a particular cut of meat has been cooked - rare, medium, or well-done. I think this is a great idea if you're having many guests over and each guest has a different meat cooking preference. Keep tabs of who gets what.
More Elegant Gift Ideas
25 December 2008
Prepare Now for Next Year
The average family will spend almost two percent of their annual income on Christmas presents, some more than that. Unfortunately, much of the money spent between Halloween and Christmas Eve will be put on credit cards.
This means that many families will be paying off their Christmas spending throughout the year and possibly into the next holiday buying season, which will end up costing more than a gift bought for cash.
To help you avoid the same situation, you may want to start thinking about next year now.
Start Planning Early
The best way to avoid putting holiday spending on a credit card is to start saving money beginning with the pay cheque after Christmas. Determine how much money you spent on everything – gifts, wrapping paper, meals, cards, postage, clothing, decorations – and then divide that amount by twelve. This will give you an idea of how much money you need to save each month in order to pay cash the next year.
Some banks and credit unions have Christmas Club Accounts available so you can put money aside each week, month, or pay period to help keep Christmas costs in check. You may want to open an account as soon as you can and leave the money there until next year. In most cases, besides the money you place in your Christmas Club Account, you may also earn interest on your deposit. It may not be much extra money, but it’s much better to earn interest than having to pay it.
PLR
Gift Ideas for Ladies
Gift Ideas for Men
This means that many families will be paying off their Christmas spending throughout the year and possibly into the next holiday buying season, which will end up costing more than a gift bought for cash.
To help you avoid the same situation, you may want to start thinking about next year now.
Start Planning Early
The best way to avoid putting holiday spending on a credit card is to start saving money beginning with the pay cheque after Christmas. Determine how much money you spent on everything – gifts, wrapping paper, meals, cards, postage, clothing, decorations – and then divide that amount by twelve. This will give you an idea of how much money you need to save each month in order to pay cash the next year.
Some banks and credit unions have Christmas Club Accounts available so you can put money aside each week, month, or pay period to help keep Christmas costs in check. You may want to open an account as soon as you can and leave the money there until next year. In most cases, besides the money you place in your Christmas Club Account, you may also earn interest on your deposit. It may not be much extra money, but it’s much better to earn interest than having to pay it.
PLR
Gift Ideas for Ladies
Gift Ideas for Men
24 December 2008
The Gift of Lending a Hand
Get involved with your neighbours. There are often many opportunities to help someone who lives near you. Senior adult neighbours often need help whether they live alone or not. New mothers and single mothers with small children could also usually do with a hand.
Get your whole family involved too. Men and women often have different skills to offer others, such as maintaining a car, changing a light bulb, washing windows, sewing, or ironing. Teenagers and older children can learn a lot from the gift of giving of their time and energy to help others.
Meals and Food
One of the most practical and often needed gifts is preparing a cooked meal for someone, or doing some grocery shopping for perishables such as bread and milk. Your neighbours may appreciate your help with this for many reasons: a couple who have just had a baby; an elderly or ill person; or a neighbour returning from an overseas trip. A teenager could help a neighbour prepare a meal, and probably learn a great deal from seeing how other people cook - particularly if your neighbour is of a different culture.
Housework
Your neighbour may be unable to cope with doing their own housework at some stage, and this could be a lovely gesture of helping each other out when one neighbour is battling. New mums would probably love it if you or members of your family came over to help with the housework.
Gardening
Elderly neighbours or single mothers may not be able to get out and mow their lawn as often as it needs it. A teenager could do this task whether the neighbour has a push or riding lawn mower. You can also help with weeding, edging, and trimming bushes.
Snow season
If you live in a heavy snowfall area, you may be able to help older friends and neighbours clear their driveway of snow. Single mothers, unless they have older children of their own, would also appreciate any teen providing the muscle for this job.
Babysitting
Any working parents would be glad for an opportunity to go out without their children. Baby-sitting is generally thought of as a teenage girl’s job, but if your teenage son likes children, why shouldn’t he be able to baby-sit? Most new mothers would jump at the chance to have someone keep an eye on a newborn while Mum takes a much-needed shower and nap.
Pet care
If your children love animals, they may want to help care for a neighbour's pets while they’re away. They may also be willing to go over and take the dog for a walk every day.
Spreading holiday cheer
Did you notice a neighbour who didn’t decorate for the holidays last year? Is it because they didn’t want to or because they couldn’t? Quite often older neighbours aren’t interested in celebrating because they’ve lost a loved one or their children don’t live nearby. Think about inviting your neighbour to spend part of the holidays with you and your family.
PLR
Get your whole family involved too. Men and women often have different skills to offer others, such as maintaining a car, changing a light bulb, washing windows, sewing, or ironing. Teenagers and older children can learn a lot from the gift of giving of their time and energy to help others.
Meals and Food
One of the most practical and often needed gifts is preparing a cooked meal for someone, or doing some grocery shopping for perishables such as bread and milk. Your neighbours may appreciate your help with this for many reasons: a couple who have just had a baby; an elderly or ill person; or a neighbour returning from an overseas trip. A teenager could help a neighbour prepare a meal, and probably learn a great deal from seeing how other people cook - particularly if your neighbour is of a different culture.
Housework
Your neighbour may be unable to cope with doing their own housework at some stage, and this could be a lovely gesture of helping each other out when one neighbour is battling. New mums would probably love it if you or members of your family came over to help with the housework.
Gardening
Elderly neighbours or single mothers may not be able to get out and mow their lawn as often as it needs it. A teenager could do this task whether the neighbour has a push or riding lawn mower. You can also help with weeding, edging, and trimming bushes.
Snow season
If you live in a heavy snowfall area, you may be able to help older friends and neighbours clear their driveway of snow. Single mothers, unless they have older children of their own, would also appreciate any teen providing the muscle for this job.
Babysitting
Any working parents would be glad for an opportunity to go out without their children. Baby-sitting is generally thought of as a teenage girl’s job, but if your teenage son likes children, why shouldn’t he be able to baby-sit? Most new mothers would jump at the chance to have someone keep an eye on a newborn while Mum takes a much-needed shower and nap.
Pet care
If your children love animals, they may want to help care for a neighbour's pets while they’re away. They may also be willing to go over and take the dog for a walk every day.
Spreading holiday cheer
Did you notice a neighbour who didn’t decorate for the holidays last year? Is it because they didn’t want to or because they couldn’t? Quite often older neighbours aren’t interested in celebrating because they’ve lost a loved one or their children don’t live nearby. Think about inviting your neighbour to spend part of the holidays with you and your family.
PLR
23 December 2008
4 Tips to Ensure Your Gift is Remembered
There is nothing more disappointing than putting a lot of thought and energy into a gift only to have it mislaid or the card lost. Here are some tips to ensure your gift will have the right effect and not be lost amongst other gifts.
- Choose a convenient time to deliver your gift. Make sure there will be enough time for the recipient to accept the gift and acknowledge it with their full attention.
A gift is less likely to be remembered if it is the one shoved into already full arms when the person is distracted by something else. - Don't insist that the gift be opened immediately in front of you. Some people are uncomfortable doing so. Respect this, no matter how excited you are.
- Wrap the card inside the gift wrap, especially for wedding gifts. Cards can so easily become detached.
- Mention the details of the gift when you next meet. Catching out someone who has a bad memory for who gave them which gift does nothing to promote the abundant feeling the gift was intended to evoke. If they did forget, their gratitude at your subtle reminder will ensure it sticks in their memory after all.
22 December 2008
A Donation Has Been Made in Your Name
Is it a good idea to make a donation in lieu of a gift?
There are many differing opinions on this trend of combining charity and gift-giving. Generally, if a gift is expected, as for special events such as weddings, it is poor etiquette to organise a charitible donation instead of a gift without discussing the issue with the recipient. If a gift is not expected, though, a well-chosen and well-presented donation can be a pleasant gesture, but can still lead to disappointment if not handled with sensitivity.
However, a donation made in addition to a thoughtful gift is a far better option - as long as the charity you choose does not include elements that may contradict the recipient's own principles.
A donation may be an easy and obvious choice if the recipient already has a favourite charity that they have mentioned to you previously. Some charities offer gift certificates.
When presenting a donation, always include a personal card or note. Use nice stationery - just because you're giving to charity doesn't mean you can stick a label on a second-hand envelope. Good quality environmentally friendly stationery also makes a favourable impression, whether or not the charity is enviroment-related.
Present your donation together with your actual gift, or afterwards, but not beforehand.
In the event that you are making an unexpected donation when a gift is not anticipated, state clearly before presenting the details that you have made a donation on the other person's behalf.
There are many differing opinions on this trend of combining charity and gift-giving. Generally, if a gift is expected, as for special events such as weddings, it is poor etiquette to organise a charitible donation instead of a gift without discussing the issue with the recipient. If a gift is not expected, though, a well-chosen and well-presented donation can be a pleasant gesture, but can still lead to disappointment if not handled with sensitivity.
However, a donation made in addition to a thoughtful gift is a far better option - as long as the charity you choose does not include elements that may contradict the recipient's own principles.
A donation may be an easy and obvious choice if the recipient already has a favourite charity that they have mentioned to you previously. Some charities offer gift certificates.
When presenting a donation, always include a personal card or note. Use nice stationery - just because you're giving to charity doesn't mean you can stick a label on a second-hand envelope. Good quality environmentally friendly stationery also makes a favourable impression, whether or not the charity is enviroment-related.
Present your donation together with your actual gift, or afterwards, but not beforehand.
In the event that you are making an unexpected donation when a gift is not anticipated, state clearly before presenting the details that you have made a donation on the other person's behalf.
Kiva.org
Acumen Fund
17 December 2008
Combining Gift Purchases to Save Your Wallet
Rather than each person giving gifts to every other member of your family, draw names so each person has fewer gifts to give - but with the potential of spending more effort on the particular gift they are responsible for. This is particularly helpful if you have a large family.
Or, instead of individual gifts, you could give a family gift. Within your own family, each individual could receive a larger gift (or gifts up to an agreed value) organised collectively by the other members. When giving to another family, your family can give one item that would suit the entire family.
You could also use this concept at work and with other friends and neighbours to whom you may be planning on giving a gift. Perhaps you can buy a family of movie lovers a book of certificates for a free movie every month at their favourite movie store.
Does someone on your list like going to museums? You can buy family memberships at museums for much less than you would spend on individual gifts. In many cases, a family membership will also allow you to use your ticket for reciprocating museums within a certain driving distance. This would give them free or reduced entry into other museums that are part of the program.
Another family-type gift you could give would be a membership to the local pool or recreation centre. Try to think of what it is that the people on your list enjoy and find something that could be for the whole family. It’s quite possible that a combined gift like these would reduce your gift spending dramatically.
PLR
Or, instead of individual gifts, you could give a family gift. Within your own family, each individual could receive a larger gift (or gifts up to an agreed value) organised collectively by the other members. When giving to another family, your family can give one item that would suit the entire family.
You could also use this concept at work and with other friends and neighbours to whom you may be planning on giving a gift. Perhaps you can buy a family of movie lovers a book of certificates for a free movie every month at their favourite movie store.
Does someone on your list like going to museums? You can buy family memberships at museums for much less than you would spend on individual gifts. In many cases, a family membership will also allow you to use your ticket for reciprocating museums within a certain driving distance. This would give them free or reduced entry into other museums that are part of the program.
Another family-type gift you could give would be a membership to the local pool or recreation centre. Try to think of what it is that the people on your list enjoy and find something that could be for the whole family. It’s quite possible that a combined gift like these would reduce your gift spending dramatically.
PLR
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