Corporate gift baskets are a great idea for presents in the work place. Without being too personal, you can design your own hampers to suit each company and their employees. With budget cutbacks now happening with many businesses, the difference between losing and gaining a client could be determined by the act of generosity. By putting together gift hampers, you can stand with an advantage over your competitors and make a good impression while advertising your business at the same time.

Sending a hamper for a gift as a good-will gesture can help to foster a decent working relationship with the receiver. Whether it is for potential clients or for new clients, expressing your gratitude for their business can be highlighted through this generous gesture. Considering the tightened economy and lack of personal attention in the corporate world, a hamper can show that the client is valued and can help to secure a deal or sustain existing business.

In addition to this, the baskets can be used as corporate holiday gifts which can be used as an end of year or congratulatory presents for employees. They can provide a variation of products suited to the individual giving them the benefit to enjoy a range of different gift baskets rather than one.

The key to making the basket successful is to ensure that the items are ones that will be used frequently and are desired. Incorporating some personalized gifts can also show that thought has been put into the hamper, making people appreciate what they have received so much more. If the items are well chosen they will be used often and will increase the company’s visibility. The items can range from low to high prices – just as long as they are practical.

Corporate gift hampers can bring positive attention to a company and increase the company’s face within an industry. They are a simple and effective way to help distinguish a company from its competitors and are a gift that can be directed to a number of staff rather than just one.

For more on gift hampers check out www.charityhampers.com.au

Why Gift Baskets Can Help Seal That Deal is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

Choosing a charity to support can be extremely difficult, as there are so many fantastic groups out there doing amazing work. However, most people can’t afford to support more than one charity, so you may have to make some tough decisions. It is great that you want to help, but choose your charity carefully so your support can be of the maximum help. The following is a look at some of the things to consider when deciding on a charity to support.

It the charity local?

It is always a good idea to try to support your local community, so if there is a charity doing good work in your area, supporting it will be helping to support your community as a whole. Not only will you then be helping contribute to assistance and solutions in your area, but you will also personally benefit from having a healthier, happier community in which to live. Supporting a local charity will give you the opportunity to become far more involved in the community too, and allow you to support in ways other than by just giving money.

Does the charity have personal meaning to you?

Choosing a charity that you have some personal association with is a common way to make the choice, and obviously it makes sense that you would want to support a charity that has personal meaning.

Could the charity use your skills?

If you don’t have money to donate to a charity but still want to help out and show support, you will need to choose your charity based on those that need skills or help that you are able to offer. If you are an artist, creating designs for charity Christmas cards might be the perfect fit. By the same token, if you are a talented cook and the local soup kitchen is in need of help, your decision may be easy. Take a good look at which charities need what, because helping out could be as simple as donating items you don’t need anymore, or changing where you buy your greeting cards.

Is the charity’s work effective?

It is a good idea to look into any charity you are considering supporting to make sure they are actually doing a decent job, as you won’t want to donate your hard earned money to a charity that is just going to waste it. Most charities will be able to tell you exactly what they have accomplished with their donated moneys, so make sure any charity you are considering has a track record of being effective.

Which charities are most in need?

A lot of people give money to the bigger and better-established charities, which makes sense because these are likely the ones people are most familiar with. However, often these aren’t the charities that need money the most. The larger charities don’t cover every possible type of need, so take a look at what isn’t being covered, because the smaller charities provide vital services too, and your donation may make a far bigger difference to them.

How to Choose a Charity to Support is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

If you don’t live with your family any more, whether you have moved to the other side of the city, the country or the world, it is important that you find ways to keep in touch, because your bonds with your family should be able to overcome any distance. The following is a look at some of the ways you can keep in touch with your family, no matter where you are.

Visit

The more often you are able to see your family the better, and even though it might be difficult if you live on the other side of the world, whenever you get the chance, you should do your best to visit. Even though you can keep in touch in a lot of other ways as well, nothing compares to spending some time together in person.

Phone

Talking on the phone is a great way to stay in touch with your family, as this is far less impersonal than just sending messages. Being able to hear each other’s voices will feel like a far more personal connection and make even brief catch-ups feel like quality time with your family.

Send gifts and cards

There is nothing like receiving an item in the mail, which is what makes sending gifts and greeting cards such a great way to keep in touch with your family. You can include things in your packages to help give a sense of the place you now live, and your family will be excited being able to know more about what is happening with you by way of those long greeting card messages. One of the hardest things about being away from your family is missing all of those important birthdays and big occasions, but by sending gifts and cards you can at least be a small part of the celebration.

Email

While email is nowhere near as quality a level of interaction via as the phone or in person, email can play a fantastic role in helping you and your family to stay in touch. Most people have access to the Internet these days, so it can be easy to fire off a quick email and make sure your family know you are doing okay and are thinking of them. Also, with email, you can take your time and write out a nice, long message, allowing you to properly update everyone on everything that’s been going on.

Skype

This relatively new innovation has become extremely popular, as it allows you to talk to your family via a video feed between your computers. While not quite the same as an in-person meeting, Skype can be particularly effective if you are trying to stay in touch with your especially-young members of the family, or even just really miss the sight of your loved one’s face.

Blogs

If you have a lot to tell everyone about, starting your own blog can be a fun way to keep your family and friends up to date on your life. With a blog you can include pictures, music videos and as much detail as you’d like, making it a fun way to keep in touch.

Great Ways to Stay in Touch With Your Family is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

Christmas is generally a fun time, as people gather together with family and friends around delicious food, and both give and receive presents. However, if you have ever hosted a Christmas party, you know well the stress and hard work that goes into ensuring everything is in place and there is enough entertainment to keep your guests happy. Below are some fun games that are appropriate for most ages, and best of all, they are easy to set up and extremely cheap too.

A-Carolling We Go

Have everyone write down their favourite Christmas carol on a piece of paper. It can be any song except for ‘Jingle Bells’. Then, have everyone write down five different numbers between one and 20. Start calling out numbers, and the people who have that number have to sing the carol they wrote down. After someone has all five numbers they wrote down called, they win. To claim their prize, the winner must sing one more song — none other than ‘Jingle Bells’. If it’s a shy group, you can keep the torture to a minimum and give your prizes throughout the game, and they can be for talents such as most enthusiastic singing, best solo, most original song, most off-key, etc.

Lost Reindeer

This is a great game for kids. Before the party, get a number of small, plastic or stuffed reindeer and hide them throughout the house. Make some of them easy to find and others more difficult. Tell the children that Santa’s reindeer have been lost somewhere in the house, and it is their job to find them. Each reindeer that is found can be exchanged for a small party favour.

Card crafts

This is another great activity for the kids, but is best done before Christmas. It is ideal if you are having a pre-Christmas gathering with friends and family where there will be a lot of children running around. To keep the little ones busy and out of everyone’s way, bust out the art supplies and have them make their own Christmas cards. Have plenty of crafty materials on hand to use, such as magazines, old greeting cards, fancy paper, stickers, etc., and this will keep the kids occupied while the adults are having fun with their own games.

Re-gift Lottery

This is a fun game and everyone leaves with something, although no one knows for sure what they will eventually get. Let every guest know that they should bring a gift item from previous years that they did not want. Have everyone place their gift on a table. Make enough raffle tickets for every guest and number them sequentially. Have everyone pick a ticket out of a hat. The person who has the ticket with the number one gets to go first and pick a gift from the table.

Here are the rules: 1) No unwrapping gifts before you choose it; 2) Instead of choosing a gift on the table, you may choose to “steal” another person’s gift; 3) A gift cannot be stolen more than two times; 4) The first person who goes gets a chance to “steal” another’s gift at the end, forcing them to trade gifts. The re-gift lottery is a sure way to get your crowd animated and involved at your Christmas celebrations.

Fun Party Games to Add to Your Christmas Celebration is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

A Fun Introduction to Charity Greeting Cards is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

The concept of philanthropy goes back thousands of years and is present in every culture, but the western concept of charity goes back to almost a thousand years.

Fall of the Roman Empire

In the Dark Ages, following the collapse of the Roman Empire, the work of caring for the poor and needy in European society fell exclusively to the monasteries and the monks who ran them. It was widely believed that caring for the less fortunate was God’s work.

Medieval charity

As European civilisation slowly emerged from the Dark Ages, a feudal system developed in which a small class of wealthy nobles presided over tracts of land deeded to them by a ruling monarch. Charitable work was still largely in the hands of monasteries, but under the influence of the Catholic Church, those of the nobility who were concerned about the destination of their souls made generous donations to the Church for the care of the orphaned, the sick and the destitute.

As society became more urban and less rural, charitable members of the ruling elite opened their own schools and centres dedicated to the “improvement” of the needy, or bequeathed a portion of their wealth upon their death to existing charitable works. As before, notions of charity were driven by the Christian belief that it was the duty of the rich to provide for the poor. A large part of this conviction was the belief that it benefited the soul of the giver more than it did those on the receiving end.

Charity in the Enlightenment

Concepts of charity gradually underwent a change during the period of the Enlightenment, from the 14th century onward. This coincided with the rise of mercantile capitalism, the belief in the individual’s capacity to shape his destiny, the enclosures of common land, the mass movement of landless peasants to the cities and the rise of industry.

These momentous changes to European, especially English, society created a huge underclass of the desperately poor, giving rise to increasing rates of crime that greatly concerned the ruling elite. In England, “poor laws” were enacted that were aimed at managing the numbers of the “idle”. At the same time, the state organised and enacted various charitable measures, signalling the start of a more secular approach to charity as well as notions of a “deserving” poor versus an “undeserving” poor — concepts that are still prevalent in modern society under different guises.

However, even with the entry of the state into charitable work, charity was still largely a private endeavour of the well off, now dominated by women of the wealthy classes. Charitable work was virtually the only avenue for women to actively engage in meaningful and socially acceptable activities beyond the home, giving them a sense of confidence and achievement as well as a means to “contribute” to society.

Charity today

These days, charity is largely characterised by the work of nonprofit organisations, as well as churches, and large foundations often established by wealthy executives. Charitable giving is still for the most part a private affair, with the majority of donations coming from individuals, but the range of modern donors encompasses most classes of society. The types of charitable giving are also much more diverse these days, ranging from charity Christmas cards and greeting cards through to bottle drives and the Kidney Foundation’s clever solicitation of used cars.

Giving Hope: A History of Modern Charity is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

The Christmas card has been around for almost 170 years, first making its appearance in England thanks to Sir Henry Cole.

Cole was desperate to tell everyone he knew that they should be supporting those less fortunate around Christmas and so had a card commissioned which depicted the feeding and clothing of the poor. The card also had a centre panel depicting a happy family drinking wine together, which caused a scandal as the children were also drinking. Following the scandal, Sir Henry reportedly didn’t send cards the next year, but he had started a tradition that continues to this day.

As the Christmas card tradition slowly took hold in the late 1800s and early 1900s, cards made by artists Kate Greenaway, Frances Brundage and Ellen Clapsaddle proved extremely popular. Cards at this time were ultra-elaborate, and often featured silk fringes, a wide array of shapes, and even pop-up designs of tiny mangers or images of children skating on frozen ponds. Receiving a Christmas card in this era was a real gift in itself.

People in the United States had to import their Christmas cards from England until 1875, when Louis Prang set up the first lithographic shop in the country. By 1881, he was selling over 5 million Christmas cards each year, with most depicting scenes of winter, nativity, carolling, Christmas trees, gifts, children, fireplaces and the so on. These cards are considered collectors items due to their impeccable craftsmanship.

Christmas cards today are far less fancy than those in the days of Sir Henry Cole and Prang, though there is certainly still a market for the higher end items. The imagery has changed over the years and there has been a definite shift towards light-hearted and humorous cards — something that would have been considered highly inappropriate back in Cole’s day.

Otherwise, there has been a steady increase over the past few generations of people putting photos of themselves on cards along with a Christmas message. This style was made popular by politicians, but has taken hold as a trend among regular people to some extent now too. Cards that are handmade are becoming increasingly popular as well.

Regardless of whether you are Christian or not, Christmas should be a time to celebrate your friends, family, and all of those things you have to feel thankful for, and sending a season’s greeting to your people is a nice touch. Sending Christmas cards isn’t just for old school people like your Granny either, as you can use the imagery of the card to reflect your style and your thoughts on Christmas. It is also great excuse to keep in touch with some of your most important people.

While Christmas card imagery has changed a lot over the years, and even the formal tone has dropped away from the act itself, Christmas cards remain a fun way to reflect on and get involved in the season. Though the celebration itself has become extremely commercial, ideas like charity Christmas cards are really helping bring it back to what Christmas is all about.

A Concise History of Christmas Card Imagery is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

It wouldn’t be Christmas without Santa — even though, in fact, he has nothing whatsoever to do with the birth of Jesus. So before you start telling your kids all about Santa, and where he comes from, make sure you have your facts in order. You may have seen his face on Christmas cards at the charity card shop, but you may be surprised at how little you know about the jolly big fella.

Saint Nicholas

The origin of modern Santa goes back to the 4th Century AD, and a man who was at the time the Bishop of Myra. This Bishop was reported to have performed a number of miracles involving both children and sailors, and due to his massive popularity, he was given his own “feast day” celebration, marked for December 6 each year.

Pope Julius I

Shortly after the death of Saint Nicholas, Pope Julius was trying to come up with a date for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, as none had been established. There was a large pagan festival that would take place around December 25 each year, and so he decided to mark that as the date of Jesus’ birth, as a way of trying to Christianise the celebrations.

Somehow Saint Nicholas’ feast day was combined with the celebration on the 25th, and the legend was that he would visit children at their homes on Christmas Eve, where they would leave sweets and nuts to welcome him. After the Reformation, the popularity of Saint Nicholas waned — except in Holland, where the tradition was kept alive as “Sinter Klaas”, which would grow to become Santa Claus.

America

Some say that the Dutch brought the tradition of Sinter Klaas to America, but it seems it had more to do with John Pintard, the founder of the New York Historical Society. Following the American Revolutionary War, there was a wave of interest in Dutch traditions and customs, which is likely what sparked Pintard’s initial interest. Having taken an interest in the tradition, Pintard led the Society in holding its first ever Saint Nicholas Anniversary Dinner in 1810. A painting produced for the dinner by Alexander Anderson showed a religious looking Saint Nicholas next to what are clearly socks stuffed with gifts by the fire.

The Night Before Christmas

In 1822, Clement Moore wrote a poem to entertain his family that would come to define both Santa and Christmas. Initially entitled A Visit From Saint Nicholas, it later became known as the classic The Night Before Christmas, and for the first time introduced the idea of Santa being transported around by flying reindeer, and reinforced Anderson’s idea of Santa stuffing socks full of gifts and toys.

Thomas Nast

This 19th Century cartoonist played a large role in identifying Santa through a series of cartoons he drew for Harper’s Weekly, in which he showed Santa living in the North Pole, having a workshop for making toys and a list of all the children who’ve been naughty or nice.

Santa’s threads

The origin of the colours of Santa’s outfit has been the source of much debate over the years, and despite popular opinion, it seems that the classic red and white strip was introduced by way of artwork like Norman Rockwell’s 1921 piece A Drum For Tommy. The popular legend is that the colours were introduced by Coca-Cola’s 1940s advertising, however the company simply took full advantage of the red and white of Santa’s outfit matching the Coke colours.

Where Does Santa Come From? is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

Cooking Christmas treats with your kids can be one of the highlights of the season, especially when the recipes are simple, easy and virtually guaranteed to work out. The following recipes are great ones to try with your kids this Christmas.

Gingerbread people recipe

Ingredients

• 3-½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1-½ teaspoons ground ginger
• 1-½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup shortening
• 1 egg
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-½ teaspoons warm water
• Raisins, M&Ms, icing, etc., for decoration.

Directions

1) Combine sugar, cream, egg and molasses in a large bowl. Dissolve baking soda in the warm water and then combine with the rest of the egg mixture, beating until smooth.

2) Mix in flour, spice, salt, and blend until smooth. Once blended, cover and set aside for 24 hours to chill.

3) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets.

4) Roll out dough to a thickness of approximately 6.35mm, then cut out into person shapes with your gingerbread cookie cutter.

5) Bake for 10-12 minutes then leave to cook on a wire rack.

6) Use icing, and anything else you’d like to decorate your people.

This simple and easy recipe makes roughly four dozen gingerbread people.

White Christmas slice

This is one of Australia’s most popular Christmas treats, and is the perfect item to make with the kids as there is almost nothing that can go wrong.

Ingredients

• 500 grams white chocolate
• 1 ½ cups Rice Bubbles
• 100 grams halved red glace cherries
• 150 grams halved, roasted almonds
• 150 grams sultanas
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1) Line a large rectangular baking pan with greaseproof paper, preferably a pan 30 cm by 20 cm.

2) Melt the chocolate and then slowly combine the rest of the ingredients. Fold until smooth.

3) Pour the mixture into the pan that you have prepared and then refrigerate for a minimum of four hours.

4) Cut into slices and serve.

Both of these recipes are pretty much foolproof, so if you are looking for a fun way to get your kids involved in the action this Christmas, these two treats are both well and truly doable.

Getting your kids involved in helping to get desserts taken care of this Christmas is sure to have them feeling like a key part of the plan, as they’ll be helping to make some of the more delicious and delightful of the Christmas goodies. You can never have too many sweets at Christmas either, so pick out a few favourites and stock up big time, because you can always bring some sweets with you to some of the dozens of social engagements you will be attending throughout the festive season. Make a day of it and have your kids help you create some customized Christmas cards too, or pick up some charity Christmas cards and fill them out with the kids. By the end of the day your family will be miles ahead with your Christmas preparations with the baking and cards taken care of.

Christmas Dessert Recipes to Cook With Kids is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards

Even though we celebrate it every single year, there are still a surprising amount of supplies that need to be bought for Christmas each time around. When it comes to getting your Christmas supplies in a timely fashion, you can’t organise yourself too early; if you have ever been shopping on Christmas eve and seen the desperation in people’s eyes, you’ll now that you can certainly leave it too late. The following looks at the strategy behind shopping for Christmas supplies.

Buy for next year, this year

When you are buying your Christmas supplies for this year you should already be thinking about next year, so if you come across some particularly awesome supplies that you want to have stock up on, feel free to do so. You’ll be so impressed with yourself this time next year when you realise you have already covered yourself through last year’s preparations. Christmas cards and decorations are both easy items to load up on.

Whenever there is a sale

Sales are perfect opportunities to pick up some Christmas supplies, so if possible make up a master list of all the supplies you think you may need for this year and cross them off as you come across them throughout the year. This way you may get to a month out from Christmas and already have all of your supplies bought and taken care of.

If you see something you know you’ll need, buy it now!

Even if it’s not on sale, when you see that perfect Christmas item, now is the time to buy it, no matter what time of year you see it. You will regret it if you don’t buy it, so give yourself one less item to look for later by picking up those things you know you’ll need as soon as you see them. It can be a shame to have to buy low-quality Christmas cards at the last minute because you passed up on getting those awesome charity Xmas cards a month ago, so make life easy on yourself and take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.

Get your food sooner rather than later

A lot of the food you will need for your Christmas feast and celebration are non-perishable items, and you should slowly pick them up each time you go shopping throughout the year. Ideally, you will have all of your non-perishable food shopping done well before December. Perishable items, on the other hand, should be left until the last possible minute to purchase, which means you’ll have to do at least some shopping at the last minute, just before the chaos.

After Halloween

Now that Halloween has become such a big deal, it seems that it isn’t possible to zero in on Christmas until at least November. If you slowly start to prepare for Christmas from November 1, you may still be able to be largely done by the time December 1 rolls around, putting you light years ahead of most other people.

Alcohol — all year round

It definitely won’t go bad, so start picking up your Christmas alcohol as early as you can afford, and store it away for year’s end. By picking up that extra six-pack or bottle of wine here and there throughout the year, by the time Christmas rolls around you won’t have to buy a thing.

When Should You Start Buying Christmas Supplies? is a post from: Charity Greeting Cards