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Avoid Chirstmas Gift Giving Stress

It may be hard to believe, but Christmas is right around the corner. It feels like only a few weeks ago we were roasting hotdogs and hamburgers, and donning our swimsuits for a weekend at the beach. The crisp chill of autumn flew by and now it is time to celebrate and sing Silent Night. If the busy holidays have you wanting to hide under your down comforter until next July, relax. A few simple tips can ensure you have a happy, stress-free holiday season.

Everyone knows the hustle and bustle of the holiday brings with it the need to shop for gifts. It can be overwhelming finding just the right item for everyone on your list.  The stress and frustration may be enough to make you want to give up. However, if you still want to spread the joy of Christmas through unique, one-of-a-kind items, consider creating a present filled with things the recipient will love.

Exchanging gifts for Christmas is a longheld tradition that helps to spread the joy of the holiday. Presents are appropriate for a variety of situations. During gatherings, you should bring a token of your appreciation to the home of the host. You may also have people in your life like teachers, co-workers, and service providers who would appreciate the thought of a small present. While they may be expecting a run-of-the-mill item, appropriate for just about anyone in your life, you could surprise them with something especially chosen for them. You will need to take time to think of their likes and dislikes, but they will notice your effort.

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Secretary’s Day in Canada

One of the most important holidays or events for any business is Administrative Professionals Day. Why? Because office support staff ensures that your operation runs smoothly! Business owners and managers have enough to do these days in the competitive business environment and staying organized and on top of everything requires assistance. Administrative professionals often receive Secretary’s Day gifts to acknowledge their contribution to the workplace but this specific event is set aside to provide a clear focus on these valuable members of the team. The term Secretary’s Day was changed in 2000 to Administrative Professional’s Day to acknowledge the wide range of skills and responsibilities that today’s office staff has taken on… regardless of which name choice, remember the importance of recognizing their immense value! Have a peak at our new Administrative Professionals Day Gift Baskets category to see the types of gifts that may be suitable for your special recipients!

New Candy Bouquets Online!

Our candy bouquets category has been revamped. We are in the process of creating an additional 5-7 new designs that’ll be suitable for birthdays, get well, congratulations or just to say your ‘thinking of them’. Check back often as we re-design the majority of our gift baskets with new and exciting products in the coming weeks/months!

The Perfect Halloween Office Party

Fall is that time of year when everyone, at home and at work, are planning the holiday season. Many companies plan a holiday office party. Usually this is in late November or early December. Often a company will overlook Halloween, except to allow employees the opportunity to dress up on Oct 31st. They miss out on the perfect opportunity to create extra excitement in their employee’s often boring work life.  A Halloween office party is the perfect opportunity to spice up the otherwise dull Autumn. The fall foliage may be beautiful, but the cold and rainy weather can be a tad depressing. If your company needs an excuse to party, Halloween may do the trick!

Food Gift Baskets – Updating Tradition

At GrenvilleStation.com, we try to design unique and attractive food gift baskets. The process extends beyond just the contents. The container can sometimes be the most important part of the design. It can be a keepsake that the recipient keeps for months, maybe years. It’s important to remember that the recipient always be kept in mind when selecting unique gourmet food baskets. Their likes and dislikes can definitely help in deciding exactly which gift would best suit them for their special event or holiday.

A Baby Gift to Remember…

So many gifts these days are throwaways.  By throwaway, I mean the items in the basket are consummed or refuse.  The food is eaten, but the packaging and enhancements are tossed once the gift is ripped apart for it’s primary intention (e.g. chocolate for the tummy).  With baby baskets, it’s nice that a large percentage of these gifts contain items that are retained.  Keepsakes that can be cherished years later.  A rattle that sits on the bookshelf for display purposes - babies often get more than 1 so some can be stolen away for their remembrance value.  Another item that can kept away is plush animals.  A soft plush pig (Pretty in Pink baby gift basket) or a colourful plush puppy (Little Boy Blue baby basket) are two examples of designs that not only can provide immediate visual satisfaction but they can also provide lasting memories…if Mom can keep baby away from the pig and puppy!

Sympathy – Condolences can be difficult…

Condolences can be difficult!

 

Before I started working here, I never really knew what to do for someone when they had lost a loved one.  Sure you show up at the funeral home, maybe give a donation, or send flowers, but I never got any response from any of the recipients, so I never knew whether or not it was an appropriate gift for the occasion.  You go to a funeral and there are so many flowers, sometimes they can’t even fit them all.  So just after I started working here, I began sending sympathy gift baskets anytime there was the need for it.  I not only started to get feedback from my recipients, but most, if not all said that it actually brightened their day, if only for a few moments in their time of mourning.  Some even told me that they were so impressed with the gift, they waited a week or two after the funeral, that way they could enjoy it that much more.  Any one of our gourmet gift baskets are suitable to send to someone who has lost someone special in their life, but my favourite to send it the Golden Moments gift basket.  I have received the best feedback from this gift and hopefully have been able to spread a bit of cheer to those I have sent it to.

Rich

National Teacher’s Day – Part 2

Other than close family members, teachers are often the most influential people in a person’s life.  Surely their time, energy and efforts deserve some recognition!  So how will you recognize the teachers who had such an impact on your life or on the life of your child(ren)?  It doesn’t take much time, money or effort to give a “World’s Greatest Teacher” or “Teachers Have Class” coffee mug but unless the teacher is fresh out of college or fairly new to the profession I would suggest that you skip these type of gifts (most teachers have more than they know what to do with) and put a little more thought into how you express your appreciation.

 

A thoughtful card or handwritten letter would surely bring a warm feeling to a teacher’s heart, as would a small token, but personal, gift.  As a former teacher myself, I can honestly say that a gift need not cost a lot of money to be appreciated.  Most teachers that I know talk a lot and they need to stay hydrated throughout the day!  Skip the mugs mentioned above but consider what the teacher may enjoy drinking instead.  Gourmet coffee or herbal teas make a fine choice, as would reusable water bottles or lidded travel mugs.  Another suggestion would be some fine chocolate, cookies or other sweets for days when their flagging energy could really use a sugar boost! A small gift basket may be ideal.

 

Non-food items could include a stash of stickers or rubber stamps for primary grade teachers; books for classroom libraries; or gift certificates to local book stores, teaching supply, craft or office supply stores.  You would be surprised how much money an elementary school teacher spends out-of-pocket on motivational and educational items for their classroom to supplement what the school boards provide.  Any gift that enhances what they do in the classroom will be sure to be appreciated! 

 

If you happen to be lucky enough to know some of the teacher’s personal interests (such as gardening, crafting, involvement in a particular sport) then by all means tailor your gift along those lines!  As long as a gift is well thought out and useful or personal in nature you’re sure to receive an A+ for your efforts!

 

Laurie

Mother’s Day – The Annual Gift Giving Dilemma

“My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being.  I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.”  ~Graycie Harmon

 

Here we go again. Mother’s Day is fast approaching and I have to do the impossible: buy my Mother a gift. Seriously, someone page Tom Cruise because it truly is Mission: Impossible – Mother’s Day style!

 

Making matters worse is the fact that I work in a seasonal retail type of business. What happens is that I get so busy making gifts for other people’s mothers that I forget to brainstorm about my own mother. That makes for a last minute decision. Smooth, right?

 

So I go through the list of typical presents…do I get her another unicorn knick-knack? No, her curio cabinet is absolutely full. What about another plant? No, her living room already looks like a jungle! Clothes? No, she’s extremely picky…gee I wonder which of her children got that gene?! Spa gift certificates? No, they’ll just go unused. See what I mean? This woman is impossible to buy for!

 

Finally I remember the way into her heart: chocolate! So simple.

 

So I’ll wrap up my favourite Mother’s Day gift basket, full of chocolates and other goodies, and tie on a beautiful bow. I will be sure to put some scratch tickets into the envelope as well – they are almost as important as the chocolate!

 

On May 11th, when I present the gift basket to my Mother, along with a hug, I’ll say to myself those two precious words: Mission Accomplished!

Birthday Blues…

We all have at least one – you know, the person who is hard to buy for…  Personally, I have two of those people in my life and today just happens to be the 35th birthday of one of those individuals – my husband (and Grenville Station Inc. co-owner), James.  Why is James so difficult to buy for?  Well, for starters he doesn’t have any hobbies, participate in any clubs or play sports.  Not to say that he’s a couch potato by any means, he simply doesn’t have time for these activities.  We are the proud parents of a beautiful six year old girl and we own and operate our own business.  When you’re a small business owner and father of a young child you tend to wear a lot of hats and this keeps him quite busy.

“So, what about his interests?”, you might be thinking.  Well, his main interests involve technical IT kind of stuff that I know nothing about, and improving and growing our business.  So he’s constantly educating himself by reading, researching, networking and “tinkering” on the computer.  Buying him anything electronic or related to technology of any kind is out of the question – I simply wouldn’t know where to begin!  Music is out – he listens to talk radio in the van and seminars, lectures or other educational type of things on his ipod while exercising.  Books or other resource media are out too for obvious reasons.

So what does that leave me with?  You would think that someone whose business is ”gifting” wouldn’t have a problem coming up with a gift for their own spouse, but I do.  I certainly can’t give him a gift basket after being in the basket business together for eight years!  I have access to a wide range of gourmet & specialty foods and giftware but it just doesn’t feel like a genuine gift when you handle these products on a daily basis.  He’s not a plant or flower type of guy and gift cards seem impersonal to me.  I could make him a nice meal but let’s face it, I’m not much of a cook!  What is a girl to do?

James, if you’re reading this, our daughter and I will have a lovely store bought cake and a heartfelt birthday card or two waiting for you when you get home.  The rest of it will be a surprise because I obviously haven’t a clue what to give you for a present!