|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
People who do business with people know the value of a thoughtful gift, whether received or given. And a well-chosen gift makes a client, customer, business contact or loved one feel valued and appreciated.
At this time of the year, we get many phone calls and emails asking for our advice on holiday gift-giving. Here is our `MAPP’ showing you a pain-free way to get to your destination!
M – Make a list. A good way to start is by asking a list of the people you want to send gifts to. Decide which ones will be individual gifts, and which ones will be group gifts. Families, employees, clients, or a department at the office would be good examples of group gift-giving.
A – Allocate a budget for the different groups that you have. You may find it easier to categorize them into small, medium and large budgets. Decide what each of these budget categories should be.
P – Pick a theme for your gifts. For example, for the environmentally conscious, how about an eco-friendly or Fair Trade gift? For the fan of the outdoors, consider a grill set, stadium seat & blanket or a gardening tote. For the international traveler, a cool globe set or mini travel bar would be great. For the group at the office, how about a gourmet gift basket brimming with a selection of sweet and savory food items for sharing.
P– Pick the date of delivery. If these gifts need to be sent out of town, send them early to avoid any delays like the weather or the mad crush of the holiday season. Also remember that some people may leave for their year-end vacation a little early, so check with them and schedule your gifts to arrive a little earlier.
For your holiday gift-giving or customer appreciation gesture, call Green & Green 604-689-5027, the professional gift-giving specialists. We can help you customize to suit your budget and theme; we can even incorporate your logo or promotional material. We are here to make your gift giving easy and hassle free.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Will you be decorating your office for Christmas this year with an artificial tree, a wreath on your front door, maybe even string lights around your office doors and windows? You’ll almost certainly be sending Christmas cards or e-cards to valued clients. And your most prized clients will receive a thoughtful, unique gift to thank them for their business throughout the year. Some companies are arranging Christmas parties, where staff and customers will mingle to celebrate the season and perhaps sing Christmas carols, like the popular 12 Days of Christmas.
We have found a very special corporate gift to impress your most discerning clients while supporting a specialized training program for disadvantaged women living in the Downtown Eastside. Each stunning 12 Days of Christmas ornament is made from pine beetle-infested wood, helping our logging industry to recoup from the devastation caused by the pine beetles and reducing the chance for deadly forest fires.
Each of these beautiful ornaments represents an opportunity for a better life for women who are recovering from substance abuse or other personal trauma. The women complete a 10-week program in woodworking skills at Tradeworks Training Society and, upon graduation, Tradeworks helps them find a job to sustain their new lifestyle.
This holiday season we are offering creative ways of presenting your corporate gifts. You can choose to give a boxed gift set of 3 ornaments each year for four years in our exclusive wooden boxes engraved with your logo. Or you may choose to present a complete gift set of the 12 Days of Christmas ornaments in a beautiful wooden box engraved with your logo.
Either way you approach it – boxed gifts sets of three for four years or a boxed gift set of 12 – these ornaments represent more than a thoughtful gift to your best customers; they also represent hope for women who are striving to improve their lives through training, hard work and dedication.
|
||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
 |
“Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus
For me, September is equivalent to a new year. It’s the beginning of a school year and also the time when most of us return from our summer vacations, rejuvenated and ready to get down to business.
While our friends in the southern hemisphere look forward to the end of winter, we enjoy the best of Indian summer filled with beautiful crisp mornings, hot days and cool nights. With the start of fall, we expect change all around us as nature brings forth its wondrous bounty. There is so much to look forward to in the coming months. Kids and adults alike will be busy and excited with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year. And as if that wasn’t enough, we also have Grandparents’ Day (1st Sunday after Labor Day), Children’s Day (October 2), and Boss’s Day (October 16) added to this mix of celebrations. I look forward to my son having a good school year as this will mark his final year in Elementary School. And as always with your kind support, we at Green & Green will be busy preparing for the Holiday season. Look out for lots of exciting news, products and changes ahead!
Preparing for the Fall Season As summer slowly comes to a close, this is the perfect time to start preparing for fall. Depending on where you live, the fall season may be too late to prepare if it gets cold quickly. Start these helpful tips now to save money and get a jump on the season.
2) Prepare Your Home - Make sure gutters are secure and clean. In your home, install smoke or carbon monoxide detectors if you haven’t already done so. Have your furnace inspected and cleaned before cold weather hits. It will not only save you from a chilly night with a broken furnace, it will be less expensive to have it done before the height of furnace season. Make sure the cap on the top of your chimney is secure. You really don’t want critters climbing down and making your house their home. Order or cut your firewood. 3) Prepare Your Car – Is it time for a tune-up yet? If so, get a thorough one to make sure everything is running well. Change out the oil. In the cooler months, thinner oil is recommended. Get new wiper blades and an emergency kit for the car – dry food, water, blanket, jumper cables, flat tire kit, flares and a first aid kit. And if you live up where it gets super cold and snows or have a lot of ice, get your season tires ready!
4) Test out your heat – We know everyone is trying to save energy, but make sure you crank on your heat early in the fall season. This way, you know if you’ll have any problems once the real cold weather hits. If you use natural gas, make sure the pilot light works.
5) Prepare Personal Items – Start packing up or donating your summer clothes. Take your flannel sheets out and give them a good wash. Toss out those summer nail polish colors and get the new fall nail colors. If you have kids in the house, it may be a good idea to stock up on common cold medicines, tissues, Vaseline, and skin moisturizers. Take advantage of any fall sale clearances and stock up on what you’ll need next year.
Before you know it we will be getting ready for the year-end holidays. So enjoy what’s left of summer.
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
We were heading to Southern BC to my husband, Steve’s family’s 3rd annual camping trip, It was a cool and wet drive and the weather improved as the annual camp began. Three generations of family had gathered for a weekend of camping, cook outs, games, swimming, and the sounds and smells of everything wonderful. Ah, yes… summer had begun for me. It was during this weekend that I met Steve’s Aunt Catherine Anne, the great grand-niece of the famous artist Emily Carr. Although I had heard about Catherine Anne and met her briefly at previous family events, I had never had the opportunity to learn about her paintings and her art. When I asked her when she became an artist, she simply answered “I did not know I was an artist.” I soon learnt she had a great sense of humor and bucket loads of humility. I asked Catherine Anne if she remembered her own great aunt, Emily Carr. Catherine Anne recalls at the age of five, she, along with her sister and mother, went to visit Great Aunt Emily Carr. “I do remember being there at her home in Victoria. Aunt Emily’s monkey, Woo, had passed away, but there were chipmunks in a cage. When you are five, it is an amazing thing to see, real live “outdoor pets” in the house! Although Aunt Em, was known to be a little strange, she was kindly to my sister and me. My mother always told the story that while we were visiting and having tea and cookies, Aunt Emily had said to Mom, `Thank goodness you had the good sense to have girls’!” said Catherine Anne animatedly. I saw some of Catherine Anne’s paintings and was amazed at how the talent of her great Aunt Emily had somehow influenced and seeped into Catherine Anne’s paintings. One of the most talked about things during this camping trip was the spectacular black T-shirt that Catherine Anne was wearing. I asked if I could share this with our readers and she generously agreed. Catherine Anne calls this her `Bleach Bottle T-shirt’. So enjoy the fun summer project below, with the compliments of Catherine Anne, grand niece of Emily Carr. Have a wonderful summer, Sincerely,
Instructions: 1) Lay your black T-shirt flat. Dip the brush into the bleach and paint freehand onto the front of the black t-shirt. This will give you a bleached out design on the front of your t-shirt.
2) When you are done with your design, leave t-shirt to dry. 3) Wash t-shirt in washing machine. 4) Enjoy your creative t-shirt. (Catherine Anne had images of flowers at the back her t-shirt not shown).
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
I am excited about the upcoming Rotary Bike-a-thon, a fund raiser to benefit the hearing impaired. Many think that hearing impairment only occurs in one’s senior years. Infectious diseases such as meningitis, measles and mumps, as well as common causes like exposure to excessive noise, head & ear injury and chronic ear infections are some of the causes of hearing impairment. Only a small percentage is actually caused by ageing. The good news is that half of all cases of deafness and hearing impairment are avoidable through prevention, early diagnoses and management. What really got me passionate about this cause were stories of Janella Milne (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uooglW0sbT8). Profoundly deaf, 10-year old Janelle can only hear with a cochlear implant and is completely dependent on it for communication. With the newly upgraded processor tucked behind her ear, Janella can play sports and participate in everyday activities without having to worry about cords, wires or a large machine getting in her way. It is also waterproof so she can wear it in the rain, run through sprinklers, take a bath – all without worrying about damaging the new implant. The implant has really changed the way she experiences the world. If you would like to make a difference to someone’s life, join our team, ‘Go Dog Go’, and be a part of this fantastic cause. Last year we had two riders on our team who met on the ride and got married this year. Congratulations to Judith and Larry! For more details on how to participate: www.rotaryvancouver.org/BikeAThon. Make a difference this summer and enjoy the time with your friends and family. Here’s to a fantastic summer before it disappears! Sincerely,
P.S. Be sure to check our Facebook page for our contests where you can win fantastic gifts.
Five Ways to Have a Memorable Summer Summer is a great time to relax and enjoy new experiences. Take some time off for yourself and make this summer one of your more memorable ones.
2) Get cooking: Whether you’re a nervous beginner or an experienced cook wanting to expand your repertoire, there’ll be the right cooking class for you. Some classes focus on certain cuisines or cooking techniques, while others center on topics like desserts or holidays. Learn to cook and wow your family and friends.
3) Learn a new language: Fire up those neurons! Sign up for a class at the community center, get yourself one of those interactive CDs, or make friends with that Italian guy who just moved in downstairs. A whole new world will open up to you.
4) Get some retail therapy: Studies have shown that folks who spend on their friends are happier than those who don’t. So if you have the means, go ahead and spoil your friends. For some of us, bargain hunting often produces a thrill greater than earning a promotion at work, or even eating chocolate. So go ahead and stimulate the local economy with some retail therapy! 5) Get into shape: There is no big secret method about getting into shape. Despite what those TV infomercials tell us, there really is no magic pill to get us thin quickly and easily. Exercise regularly, eat healthy, cut down your salt intake and drink lots of water. Be patient; you will see results and feel better in no time.
You’ve worked hard all year so give yourself a break this summer. Take a breather to smell the roses; pick up a new skill or hobby; enjoy the company of your friends. Just be!
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
