Design Crafters

To follow along with my post yesterday, I decided to help take the guesswork out of shopping for a lot of men, and list some neat gift ideas for women.  The key to buying a gift for a woman, is to understand who she is, and what she likes to do.  Purchase something meaningful, or something that will help make her life easier - however blenders and vacuums are not appropriate gifts.

Here are some of my top gift ideas:

• Spa gift certificate for a massage.  Almost every woman likes to be pampered, and if she doesn’t want a massage, she can exchange the certificate for a variety of other services.
• First class travel kit.  If the woman you love is always on the road, pick her up a luxury travel kit with a travel pillow, eye-mask, and hydrating skin care products.
• Beautiful laptop bag.  There are so many great options for this product, you are sure to find one that matches her personality.
• Flip Ultra USB Camcorder.  A fun gift that can be taken anywhere to record the good times together.
• Jewelry.  This gift is hard to get wrong, unless you are in a new relationship, or you don’t know the woman you are shopping for’s taste.  Either way, the key here is to pick out something special and unique.  It doesn’t have to be the most expensive piece in the store.
• iRobot Roomba Discovery Robotic Vacuum.  Ok, I know I said no vacuums, but this one doesn’t count.  It is a self-cleaning vacuum.  You set it on a timer, and it will clean your entire house.  I love mine!

The above ideas are great, and easy to buy for almost any woman, but here are a few of my not-so-generic ideas:

• Experiential Gift.  Take her on a hot air balloon ride, or up in a prop plane.  Do something exciting and new she has never done before.
• Wine Chiller Cabinet/Fridge.  If the woman you love loves wine, this could be a wonderful gift.  To up the wow factor, stock the fridge with a few bottles of her favorite wine or champagne to show her how much you love her.
• Gourmet Cooking Accessories. Rare spices, bamboo cutting boards, gourmet cooking pans, cookbook holder stands, induction burners - any of these are great ideas if your woman is a cullinare.

I hope these gift ideas helped.  Rememeber, the key to picking out any gift, is to do so with love, and thoughts of the person you are buying for.  The cards I recieve also mean a lot.  Pick out a card that is  and fits the woman you are giving it to.  It really is the thought that counts!

Every year, as the holidays approach, I see the same thing over and over with my clients and colleagues: They all scramble to get their business holiday cards signed and out the door in time for Christmas. Unfortunately, the results of all of their hard work is their card being added to the growing pile of “Holiday” cards that your clients/customers receive during the holiday season. Your card and efforts won’t stand out, and the business relationship won’t receive the kudos it deserves for your efforts.

What will catch your clients/customer’s attention however, is taking the time to send a Thanksgiving card before the rush of the holiday cards hits. Last year, I received over 30 Christmas and holiday cards from my partners/contractors, and to tell you the truth, I can’t remember who sent what. But, what I can remember is the three partners that sent me Thanksgiving cards and or gift baskets. I am sure they sent me holiday cards too, but sending the Thanksgiving card really made them stand out from the crowd, and prompted a return response from me, which should be a goal for any type of client/partner contact.

So the moral of this story? This year, send a Thanksgiving card or gift along with your traditional holiday greetings, and see for yourself the difference it makes.

Every year my father goes through the same battle with my mother. The topic: deciding whether they (he) should put up Christmas lights, and how many should he put up. You see, my mother makes it a point to turn the inside of the house into a “Winter Wonderland,” even though we live in Florida. She decorates the largest tree, hangs past christmas cards all around the house, buys dozens of poinsettias, and fills every open space with holiday cheer.

Despite my father’s struggles, my mother always wins, and my father always ends up on the roof with a trail of lights. After fining this photo of a family’s christmas display, however, my father should be happy that he gets away with the traditional display of lining the roof and winding around a few trees. The house in the picture really knows how to deck the halls – it is just amazing that they haven’t blown a fuse!
What do you think? Too over the top, or just right?

One of the best parts of the holiday season is all of the wonderful parties. If you are planning a holiday get-together this year, don’t let your event get swept in with the rest, here are some helpful tips to make your holiday party a memorable experience:

1. Set the date early. Weekends between Thanksgiving and New Years book up fast.
2. Think up a creative theme. Have a contest where you give away presents for the best dressed Santa or elf, or have an ornament decorating station where guests can design their own Christmas tree balls or even Christmas cards.
3. Don’t go overboard on decorations. A great option is to put all of the you have received so far this year (and if you have any from past years) on display throughout the house.
4. Center your energy on a do-able holiday menu. Don’t kill yourself on an over the top gourmet meal. It’s the atmosphere of the party that counts.
5. Make deserts that can be held in the hand. A desert bar, with bowls of chocolates or candy pieces is a simple way to add some fun and keep your guests moving around the room.
6. Don’t underestimate the importance of quality entertainment. A good DJ or band can make or break the party.
7. Lastly, think about adding the elegance of a coffee bar. Offer a variety of coffee flavors, along with a bowl of whipped cream, and a various liqueurs (Baileys, Kalhua, Brandy, Rum, & Whiskey)

By following the tips above, you will surely create a night to remember!

Personalizing Christmas greeting cards is a trend I just love to see.  Not that there is anything wrong with receiving cards that have lovely reproductions of wintertime scenes or christmas lights on the front of them, but there’s just something really wonderful about seeing our friends and families and their smiling faces on the front of the cards we receive.

This is just one of the many beauties of photo Christmas cards. You can add any picture and any phrase you’d like, with just about any sort of theme you could imagine.  It means a lot more to have a personalized card like that. Think about it…When you receive Christmas cards in the mail, which ones do you notice? Which ones mean more? A certain family member of mine saw me writing this blog post and answered “the ones with the money in them.” That’s not quite what I meant, but had to laugh anyhow. Somebody’s getting a lump of coal in their stocking!

I’m sure I’m not alone in that when I receive Christmas cards with pictures and/or a personal note, those mean so much more to me than a pre-printed impersonal message.  I can also put the photo greeting cards in a photo album.  The recipients of your Christmas cards are likely to enjoy such cards from you, too.

If you are someone who loves to save old letters and Christmas cards, you already understand what a potential future treasure trove your old Christmas cards will be to you one day. Just think: if you can get such a kick out of looking at old photos and holiday greetings, your someday grandchildren and great-grandchildren might find it even more fun to see them.

A large part of why millions of people worldwide send Christmas cards to their family and friends is to stay in touch and to send out holiday greetings and well-wishes. After all, the “trend” of sending Christmas cards is now well into its second century…and still going strong.

Another reason that so many folks wouldn’t even consider not sending out Christmas cards one year is because the cards themselves are memories in the making. They make a fantastic snapshot of the times of the family who might be sending the cards For example, it’s rather likely that at one point or another, you’ve looked at old Christmas cards and said to someone,“oh look at this old family photo on the card; can you believe that little Susie Q hadn’t even been born yet?” Or perhaps your family is the kind who can date a photo on a Christmas card going by the house that the photo was taken in (“that’s definitely the house in Springfield. Oh, I haven’t thought of that house in years.”). And of course there’s the ever-popular past-time of being both amused and slightly embarrassed by the clothing choices you might’ve made 20 years ago, as in “wow, I wore some really big glasses back then. Those were very stylish at the time, if you can believe it.”

Would it be a true American family holiday card if the family pet wasn’t featured in it, front and center?  Okay, sure, we know…not every single American family has a family pet, let alone one that is photo-worthy come Christmastime.  But judging by the number of Christmas cards that flood through our lives that do indeed feature Man’s Best Friend in festive holiday garb right next to the human members of the family, it’s not that unusual.

Looking at the statistics, it’s likely that you or someone you know might even take their children to see Santa each year, and to treasure the photographs they take there each year.  And many pet families are the same way, so there are pet dogs and cats who visit Santa each Christmas and have their photos taken there (often for use on the family’s Christmas card).  We say why not?  After all, even our four-legged friends should get to enjoy the joy and wonders of the Christmas season.  No one would argue with you if you said that the holidays are a time for enjoying the Christmas spirit with friends and family.  For many people (over 60% of American households, according to some sources), some very important members of their family are their pets.  As a result, it’s becoming more and more popular to include a family pet or pets in the family photo that often ends up on a Christmas card that’s mailed out far and wide.

More than ever before, in many cases, the family pets – be they cats, dogs, ferrets, birds, or whatever other furry or feathered friend – are treated as the family’s children, and indeed, many such households are childless but still consider themselves families.  As such, many households with beloved pets are going all out during the holiday season, much as proud parents of human children would do.  Special holiday taste treats, adorable cat-sized Santa hats or toy reindeer antlers for dogs to wear, and of course, their own special Christmas stocking to hang on the mantel that can be filled with pet toys and treats to be opened on Christmas morning.  They’ll be just as joyful as the children.

Everyone has a favorite; what’s yours?  Oil painting, watercolor painting, pen-and-ink sketches, collages, or even crayons.  No matter what kind of medium is your art of choice, artists all over the world have opportunities to enter their artwork in competitions to be featured on an organization’s Christmas card this coming holiday.  Entries are already arriving at the many different organizations that hold competitions to be the winner, featured on the front of their 2008 Christmas card. 

Once you’ve narrowed down your medium, you might be wondering what kind of art might be more favored by the judges.  Well, considering these are art competitions for Christmas cards, it’s probably safe to say that the subject matter should be some sort of holiday theme.  Snowmen, angels, Christmas trees, carolers, Christmas wreaths on front doors or windows, Christmas tree ornaments, and of course the perennial and timeless favorite:  Santa Claus.   All of these subjects (and more) would make fantastic Christmas cards.  Even those subjects that aren’t as obviously Christmasy would work, as well, including snowy landscapes, starry skys, peaceful still lifes, and simple, unadorned Christmas trees growing in the forest.  The list of potential subjects is truly endless.

Speaking as a non-artist who is not entering such competitions, I find that it’s interesting to see the wide range of artists that enter pieces of artwork in such Christmas card competitions.  It’s often a combination of seasoned, established professional artists and those more amateur, untrained artists who create art for the sheer joy of it.  You’ll also see many children enter their artwork in these competitions, and very often, their entries are among the most impressive and moving, in my opinion.

Enjoying your Labor Day, or are you feeling bad about the lack of holiday mail that goes out on this holiday weekend? Even when we’re talking about keeping the post office busy with our holiday mail, Christmas still ranks number one (Valentine’s, again, holds that number two spot). The United States Post Office estimates that, between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, it processes somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 million first-class cards (we’re assuming Christmas cards are a huge part of that number) in the mail. Americans keep our mailmen (and mailwomen) working hard delivering our Christmas cards.

One interesting thing we learned from Forbes Magazine, who recently ranked holidays that trigger the most consumer spending here in the United States and the top three.  Those holidays are, in this order: Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day.   Are you shocked that Labor Day isn’t on that list?  Actually, probably not, as more people celebrate this particular holiday with picnics and barbeques and an unofficial farewell to summer kind of party than in other ways.  Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day this year and we look forward to seeing all those Christmas cards in the mailbox very soon.

Something’s in the air.  These days, you can’t go more than a day or two without hearing a lot about going green (or, environmentally friendly).  It sure makes sense to go green with houses, with cars, with your family’s food, and even with cleaning supplies, but have you ever wondered if you can you go green with Christmas cards?  Sure, you can!  It’s actually rather easy to go green with Christmas cards.  To begin with, you can select cards or envelopes made with recycled paper.  That’s a fantastic way to make it a green holiday.

But once the season is over, you can still make it a green Christmas.  How?  Well, when you’re taking down your decorations, your Christmas tree, or Christmas lights, there’s one more thing you probably take down that you don’t even realize could be recycled.  That’s right:  your Christmas cards that you’ve received from faraway friends and family, that you’ve perhaps put on your mantel or in your entryway, to enjoy the entire season.  They can be recycled, just like newspapers, cardboard, magazines, or old notebooks from your college economics classes.

Many times, many places you go today you’ll hear many people talk about the wisdom of recycling Christmas cards, of giving new life to the cards that would otherwise end up boxed in the attic or in a trash bin somewhere.  Personally, I like that idea very much, but only if I can still keep the cards with family photos on them.  I consider those ones to be simply too precious to recycle.

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