Candybar Wrapper Favors & Gifts

When it came to my first son’s first birthday party I was so stumped and when I look back was I really thinking of him or myself.  Sure we all want to celebrate our childs birthday and we want to do it with a bang and at times I find myself thinking of how to “keep up with the Jones’ “.  When our kids get invited to birthday parties some are extremely elaborate and catered, held at some all-in-one place with a themed party down to the games and activities.  After having kids and having a few parties and observing at other parties what works and what doesn’t or what isn’t necessary from 1-6 yr olds I’ve learned and observed that less is so much more! And less makes for a happier more satisfied kid in most cases.

I think the most important thing to remember is the only way your child will even know about a party are the pictures and video you show them much later in life.  I’m not saying it’s silly to have a party, on the contrary, I think some kind of party is very important.  It’s a celebration of their life and gives them a special, all about them holiday.  To have a happy toddler, happy parents and smooth party I do think there are certain guidelines to follow and you can tweak them to fit you and your child’s personality.

Here are some things to keep in mind: 

The birthday time–Have the party after nap time when they are completely fresh and make sure you give them a small snack before the party starts.  If you are hosting at home then naptime is the best time to get the house ready for the party. 

The best times for a party are 1-2:30pm or 2-3:30 pm.  It’s also best to keep the party short since too much activity for too long will overstimulate your child and they will become fussy which could result in the cake being missed by the birthday boy or girl as they will need another nap.  The time frame that has worked best for my boys is 1-1/2 hours for the party even at the age of 6.  We all need downtime, so do our kids no matter how much fun they seem to be having..as you know that can change in a second with a toddler.  Another great reason for these times of day is that they are after a typical lunch time and before supper so you only need to worry about serving a small snack, cake and chips.  This saves you tons of frustration, time and money!

How many to invite to the party:  The childs age plus one more (so for a 1 yr old you’d invite 2 kids).  Obviously that doesn’t seem like a lot but that will depend on what you think your child can handle.  Think of it this way, 1 yr olds don’t actually play together yet, they usually play side by side and the more kids you have at that age the more likely you are to have kids fighting over new toys.  If they are in daycare and you want to have some kids over and family then I’d suggest having 2 separate small gatherings, one for friends and one for family.

What to serve:  If you have an off peak eating time party such as listed above it’s still good to have a few snacks sitting out.  My personal favorite is fruit and chips/pretzels with dip.  Both my boys, at a very young age, have loved french onion dip with chips and pretzels. 

Don’t forget the cake!  For the 1st birthday get 2 cakes.  One to serve to everyone and one for the birthday boy or girl to have fun with, this makes for some of the best pictures and video.  Oh, and don’t forget a change of clothes and an extra vinyl table cloth to put under the child’s chair so when they make a mess witht he cake you can clean the chair up, move it and ball up the trash in the table cloth and throw it away.

Party Favors:  It’s hard to find something decent to send home with one year olds and most parents don’t want a cake filled child to be sent home with more sugar and candy or small toys that they can possibly choke on so here’s an alternative solution for a party favor that doubles as party decorations.  Tie helium balloons to bottles of bubbles and place around the party area.  You can even personalize the bubble bottles to the birthday theme with a bottle label.  As guests leave the party have them take one balloon attached to bubbles for each child they have with them!  You’ll save on those balloons weights and clean up because as guests leave they are taking a part of the deco that you’d be left with otherwise. 

Other party ideas to save you time, money and frustration:  Find a friend or relative that loves taking pictures and video to take the pictures at the party.  That way you don’t miss a shot and you’ll also be in the pictures with your little one.  You may even get some great candid family shots!  Only video tape the birthday song, and candle blowing.  I can’t tell you how much disk space has been wasted the first couple of years at our boy’s parties.  When deciding on the party theme consider having only a few items in the actual theme such as the cake and then coordinate balloons, table clothes, plates, etc in solid colors.  You can buy those in bulk saving you tons of money plus you won’t be wandering around town looking for everything in that theme saving you time.

Games:  One year olds aren’t going to play games.  My suggestion is to set up two areas of play such as a play table that plays songs or big soft blocks making sure to use age appropriate toys you already own.  This will give kids several options to play while adults are socializing and getting ready for the cake and gifts. 

When opening gifts it’s a good idea to find a volunteer in the group to get the new toys after they’ve been opened and take them out of the box, install batteries, put them together so they are ready to play with.  The tools they’ll need will probably be 1 flat head screw driver, 1 phillips screwdriver, wire cutters for those dreaded twisty ties, AA batteries and AAA batteries.  Toys are so hard to get into now, it seems to take 1o minutes just to get a small truck out of it’s package!

What things do you do at your child’s birthday party to make the party easier and smoother?

Father’s Day is just 6 days away!  Man it’s hard to believe that we are almost half way through 2010.  I remember thinking in January and February when is the warm weather going to get here.  In NC, it’s here and now it’s so hot you can barely stand it. 

Ok, so now that Father’s day is just around the corner are you still struggling with what to get dad?  Personally, I think it’s harder to buy for men.  Why?  I don’t know, I guess because men like expensive toys like new power tools or cars, motorcycles, golf clubs etc and frankly they can be rather picky about the selection as well.  Wait, we’re supposed to be honoring our fathers and husbands for being great fathers, sounds like I’m on a turn to bash.  I’m turning back now, LOL!  So we’ve established that men are typically hard to buy for so what do you get dad and husband for Fathers day? 

When you have younger children it’s a little easier because anything from them is rather cute and dad usually loves the gift from “Joe and Sue” even if it is a crazy lookin’ tie or funky lookin’ homemade frame with a goofy picture in it.  Kids especially love making homemade gifts because they get to use all the fun art and craft materials that us moms usually hide from them.  So here are some ideas I found at www.familyfun.go.com:

• BBQ Apron
• Father’s Day Outdoor Throne
• Wallet-Sized Collage
• Father’s Day Crown
• Father’s Day Frame

Other ideas that are not craft items are:

• Golf tees, golf balls, new golf glove, Golf GC for 18 holes
• Coupon to wash dads car inside and out
• Fix favorite meal
• DVD movie
• Car magazine and chocolate bar (my dad’s favorite)
• Magazine subscription for 1 year (purchase online then buy the latest issue at the store and get a card with a message that lets him know his next issue will arrive in the mail at his house)
• Gifts Certificates to favorite store even if it’s hardware store (that’s always a winner for the hard to buy for but add a card and a little chocolate for the chocolate lover!)

This year my Father-in-law will be getting some “Happy Father’s Day” golf tees and golf balls in personalized packaging as well as a Gift certificate for a round of golf.  My husband is taking him golfing this weekend!  My daddy is one of those harder to buy for, he doesn’t golf so I’m still stuck.  Hmm, although I do have an idea.  He loves popcorn and my parents have a hard time finding the popcorn they like in their area.  Where I’m at I can now buy a box of 32 bags so that may be what he gets this year!!  Whew, I’m glad I just thought of that.  I better make a list and get on the ball and get that shipped out. 

Here is a picture of the golf tees and golf ball:

Father's Day Golf Ball and Tees

What is Memorial Day and why do we recognize it as a National holiday?  (many people know this answer, so not to insult your intelligence) Memorial Day is a day to commemorate US men and women who died while in the military service. 

Here is an excerpt from the online Wikipedia and to read the entire article go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day:

“Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. local time. Another tradition is to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers often place American flags on each grave site at National Cemeteries.

Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars take donations for poppies in the days leading up to Memorial Day; the poppy’s significance to Memorial Day is the result of the John McCrae poem “In Flanders Fields.”

In addition to remembrance, Memorial Day is also used as a time for picnics, barbecues, family gatherings, and sporting events. One of the longest-standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, an auto race which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.”

I know several families that have their annual Memorial weekend picnic and it seems that in the air on that weekend and day you can smell the grills cooking it up.  Three years ago my son was born on Memorial Day so we are usually celebrating his birthday with family that weekend and it’s usually at the beach.  Doesn’t hurt that’s where my in-laws live!  So he gets to have a little family birthday party at their house with a cookout, cake, icecream, and his 3 cousins.  Not to mention the beach time he gets and just loves. 

What traditions do you carry out each year at Memorial Day?

I know it’s graduation month but since we’ll be celebrating my son’s 3rd birthday this weekend I have birthdays on my mind.  It’s actually a sad little story but we were going to have a birthday for Connor with his friends this Saturday and I sent out the evite invitations and do you know not one family could make it!  I’m sure I am more bummed about it than little Connor.  Of course his day will be super special and I did decide to host a playdate during the day at the park with the moms group I’m a member of so Connor will get plently of friends and cupcakes and juice boxes to have a grand ole time.  Since he was born on actual Memorial day 3 yrs ago that holiday holds an extra special place in my heart and we are taking him to the beach where he’ll see one set of grandparents and cousins and we’ll be celebrating AGAIN with cake and icecream I’m sure.  Not sure why I feel so bummed out about the house birthday party since after typing all that it seems like he’s getting a pretty good deal!!

You know I think us as parents and maybe it’s just us mommas but I think we get more wrapped up the perfect birthday for our kids and when it doesn’t turn out just the way we want we tend to get a little upset.  (okay, maybe it’s just me..LOL)  So what happens when you just can’t get a party together and have no other options?  What do you do?  My husband made a very good point and said well since he’s just turning 3 he’ll be happy with a cake and a juice box and taking him somewhere to ride small kid’s rides and play games.  (no, not Chuckee Cheese…not on your life!!)

This is what we’ve decided to do:  Now normally I make my kids whatever character cake they want but when I’m pregnant my feet and hands tend to swell quickly and hurt so I decided it’s just not worth the back pain so they’ll have to go with store bought this year.  Anyway, today I took Connor to the store and let him pick out the cake he wanted (a cake that was already made so we could take it home), let him pick out the icecream he wanted and his other favorite snack which is chips and dip.  (Dean’s Dip is the best!!) We already have the juice boxes, plates and other goodies.  Oh, and I let him pick out a balloon.  Now the only problem with this is that he wants it today and we’re not celebrating until tomorrow, cruel I know.  Tomorrow after he’s had his nap we’ll have a little family party, take him to the store and let him pick out a small birthday gift from his brother (we’re giving him a bubble mower), then we are going to take him somewhere that has small kid’s rides and a game room and let him and his brother have a blast while I take picture after picture!  It was funny while we were at the store today it has a small game room in it and Connor knows we are taking him to one and he asked to go in there today which is something he usually doesn’t ask since he knows what the answer will be.  Sorry, when I go grocery shopping I’m only there for one thing…groceries!   

Sometimes as parents we have to let go what we want and think about what will truly make our kids happy and certainly for his age I think this will make him the happiest 3 yr old on earth!! 

Keeping it Unique,

Kristal

With scrapbooking, craft making and memory keeping are all the craze this decade we try to think of unique ways to commemorate and put memories to paper for our kids to one day grow up and see in a book all about them.  I have to admit I’ve saved lots of stuff and some is organized, some is not.  I’ve started the baby scrapbooks but with moving and having kids it’s hard to keep up.  If you’re having a hard time keeping up as well that’s okay just save the stuff you want to scrapbook in folders or envelopes and label them so you know exactly where those things should go.  If you have digital pictures that go with a particular event when you upload them to your computer be sure you label that folder as well so when you get to that event for the scrapbook you’ll know exactly where to look.  When you upload your pictures always make a backup copy  to an external hard drive or to a disc.  At the very least upload them to a service like kodakgallery.com that will save them for you! 

Now that my oldest is in school I definitely want to keep an on-going memory for him of each school year so this year for kindergarten I have saved his papers he brings home and put them in one of those memory boxes you can buy at the craft store or in the craft section.  He’s also gotten some awards and progress reports that I’ve saved with pictures to go with them and I’ll add those to the scrap book.  As it gets closer to the end of the school year I will take a scrapbook page to school and get his teachers to write a little note to Zack and ask his class mates to write their names on a blank piece of paper that I can scan, “redesign”,  then print and place in the scrapbook as a border around the class picture.  (don’t want the 5 and 6 yr olds to actually have the scrapbook page in their hands..LOL) 

I’m gonna get Zack to write a little something each year about that grade so he can see how his handwriting changes from year to year.  His last day is the end of June so I guess I better get to creating this so I have it ready! 

What creative ways have you captured your child’s life?

Kindergarten Memory Box

I’ve always been entriqued by the proper etiquette of gift giving and parties, etc.  When I got married I had this huge book on wedding etiquette and I wish I would have kept it.  I used it, then got married and said what the heck do I need with this again, I only plan to get married once.  Right now it would be a great book to have in my “library” of books as a resource to share with others.  I guess that’s something else I need to add to my list of some day…LOL

Since I don’t have any books myself about gift giving etiquette I did a search online and found a great website to help me help you in the mean time.  It’s the Emily Post Institute and can be found at www.emilypost.com.  You can visit there when you have a unique etiquette challenge and need an answer right away.  I’m going to be taking gift etiquette holiday by holiday starting with graduation since this is the season of the Graduations and celebrating our fine graduates.  Now when we think graduations I think most of us first and automatically think high school because that is the most celebrated and the most triumphant, or it was for me.  There’s nothing like the feeling of getting through highschool and never going back to the campus as a student.  It’s bitter sweet because you do tend to lose touch with friend, although the Facebook era has brought us back together!  I can honestly say that there are times in my life I’d like to rewind to and have a redo…highschool is NOT one of them

I digress, back to what I was saying.  So we think highschool graduation when we hear the word graduation but there are many graduating or being promoted so a graduation can be celebrated from preschool to college.  I have a 5yr old that will be promoted from kindergarten to first grade.  Now do I think there should be a cap and gown?  No, I disagree with cap and gowns for a promotion from kindergarten through 11th grade but certainly recognize the achievement and celebrate.  Kids love getting litte gifts of achievement and it doesn’t take much to make a 5 or 6 year old happy.  So for my sons class I plan to make them some little graduation style gifts using mechanical pencils and mintbooks.

Graduation Etiquette

Should you send a gift?

If you were invited to the ceremony or a grad party, yes you should send or take a gift. 

If you only received an announcement of the graduation that does not warrant a gift however most of us usually send one.

What is an appropriate gift?

Money or gift cards are probably the No.1 gift to give graduates of highschool and college and that’s usually what they prefer.  Another traditional gift, from a parent, is a car or a computer especially for those that will be away from home in college.  Flowers are a thoughtful choice such as a bouquet for after the ceremony to give to the girls or a corsage before and a boutonnière for the guys.  If you can’t be there send a beautiful arrangement such as a personalized chocolate bouquet from Sweet Expressions…wink wink.  I’m not sure you can really go wrong with a gift and some more idea are a digital camera, books, jewelry, and watches.

When do you give the gift?

This will depend on your situation but either at the graduation ceremony/party or send it near the date but certainly before the graduation date.

We are only given so many graduation ceremony tickets how do we tell family members or friends they can’t go to the ceremony?

This is simple, just explain to family and friends that you must have a ticket to enter and each graduating family is only alloted  let’s say 6 and these are reserved for parents, siblings, and perhaps a significant other.  If you still have all sets of grandparents that are willing and able to go but not enough tickets for everyone remember you don’t have to use all the tickets you received so remember to be fair.  The best solution here is to offer a celebration party after the ceremony so that everyone can see the graduate on thier graduating day and no one gets left out.

Do I need to send thank you notes?

Absolutely!  This is actually something the graduate should be doing not the parent (when we are talking about highschool and college).  Make sure it’s handwritten note, not a text, not an email, not a voicemail.  To make it easier on your teen provide them with the tools they need to send out thank yous such as the thank you cards, a pen, the envelopes, and stamps.  Even help them if that will get them to sit down and write them.

If you have one graduating or being promoted don’t forget to recognize their hardwork for the year.  They’ve all accomplished so much and deserve a little something to commemorate the occasion!

For more graduate gift ideas visit this page!  Graduate Must Haves

Keeping it Unique,

Kristal

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, I hope you had a good one, and I received an issue of “Cooking with Paula Deen”. The cover of the May issue reads at the top “Dinner in 25 minutes or Less” it was probably a hint since I cook very little! This came from the May/June 2010 issue and can be found online at www.cookingwithpauladeen.com. Like most other magazines there is a section where people write to Pauls and ask her cooking related questions. One question really stood out to me because it was gift related.

The question someone asked Paula was about giving a wedding gift. The friend was having a kitchen shower and this lady wanted to give the one having the shower a gift card yet didn’t want the gift card to be so impersonal and asked how she could make the gift card more thoughtful and more fun to receive.
Paula’s answer to this was really a great one she suggested that the gift card be placed in a plain white box and then use kitchen wrapping paper such as parchment paper, waxed paper, plastic wrap, or even aluminum foil to wrap the box and give it a bow using natural cotton twine. Then Paula suggested to finish it off with a simple gift tap made from recycled greeting cards and write “Get Cooking” on the front and a personal message on the back.

Now I thought that was a really unique idea for a wedding shower since so many people these days do have a kitchen party of some kind. The part I like the most of course was the recycled greeting card to be used for the gift tag.  Now I usually keep the cards my kids pick out and the ones my husband gives me and put them in a scrapbook, okay so they are all in a box waiting to be put in a scrapbook but the intention is there..LOL.  I usually just throw the other small count I get in the trash but I will definitely be removing the  unprinted parts from now on and saving them to use for things such as gift tags.  You could also use them as note cards and if you do any stamping you could put your last initial on them as you need them and write your own thank you cards when needed!  The scrap pieces would be great for die cut machines, scrapbooking (provided the greeting card is safe for scrap books).  This actually opens up so many possibilities as you could cut them into 4×6 cards and personalize them for yourself or friends by sending them through your home printer and making them into recipe cards, stationary post cards, invitations.  Man this list could go on and on!

Will you start recycling the next greeting cards you get?  If so, what’s the first thing you’d like to use them for?

If you are already recycling your greeting cards what creations have you made with them?

Keeping it Unique,

Kristal

Last Gift Station post I mentioned we’d cover shipping for the items that you need to mail out and require more than just a stamp.  Well, speaking of stamps if you go through them like I do (for business) then this is a great option.  At USPS.com you can enroll to have your stamps sent to you each month there are actually more than one option and then several subscription options for each type of stamp (100 coil, book of 20 or for postcards).  I choose the book of 20 stamps and have them sent monthly and for the most part I’m good all month until I get my next 20.  Since I use them for business mostly some months I run out and some months I have some left over.  Here is a direct link to the USPS stamp subscriptions USPS Stamps  (if for some reason that does not work for you just go to usps.com and then click on buy stamps and you should see a link/icon for stamps and then stamp subscriptions.)  Unless you send a ton of mail I’d choose the book of 20 Forever stamps as your subscription especially since stamps seem to go up in price each year and sometimes every 6 months.  These forever stamps will be good no matter what increase takes place!

Now to the option for those boxed items.  If you watch any tv at all and pay attention to the commercials you’ve probably seen the commercials for USPS.com and the flat rate shipping.  I’m here to tell you this is an awesome feature they added several years ago and I use it ALL THE TIME!  I love it…all you have to do is go to usps.com and register for an online account (totally free) and then you can use the click and ship.  Now the first thing you’ll want to do after you get an online account is order some boxes (totally free as well).  Get some of each size of the flat rate shipping boxes as well as the flat rate envelopes.  When you use these with an online account you save a little money by doing it at home online as opposed to taking your items to the post office.  You honestly don’t need any fancy equipment or lavels.  You can print the labels on regular printer paper and tape it to your box.  When you’re done online you can then request a carrier pickup (again, totally free for priority mail/flat rate is priority mail).  I’ve found the flat rate delivery to be efficient and very cost effective!  With the flat rate you don’t really need to weigh your items because anything 70lbs or less will ship in a flat rate box (their motto is, “If it fits, it ships”).  This method also gives you the option to track it by email so you know when someone’s package has been delivered to their house, yet another free option when using an online account.  So far, knock on wood, I’ve never lost a package using this service and many times I’ve compared the flat rate prices to that of UPS and FedEx and USPS, believe it or not, beats the price 99% of the time! 

Once you sign up for an account it really is pretty simple and it’s like a shipping wizard that takes you through each step. 

To get an online account with USPS go here:

Online Account Registration (choose “sign up ” under new users to the right)

Once you are ready to ship after you’ve signed in you will click on “Click and Ship” under to Prepare to Ship heading.  Pick the US if that’s where you’re sending your package make sure you fill in all the boxes for your return address, add the recipient’s address and you can check to add them to the online address book so you don’t have to type it again.  When using flat rate boxes just guesstimate your box weight (it doesn’t seem to really matter) as long as you know it’s under 70lbs it’ll ship regardless of the weight you enter, then just follow the rest of the instructions as you continue. 

Make sure you have your shipping supplies such as bubble wrap or other packing materials, box tape and of course your boxes. 

Keeping it Unique,

Kristal

Do you have  gift you look for each year?  Is there something you’ve gotten before that you just loved and you’d like a repeat?  Do you have preschoolers or elementary children that make you the cutest little things? 

I’m not sure if this is true or not but I’ve heard, statistically, that Mother’s Day is the busiest phone day of the year.  That’s not hard to believe that’s for sure.  Since I don’t live in the same town as my momma and now that my oldest is in school we can’t just pick up and go visit I have to call my momma.  I even think once on Mother’s day I’ve gotten an all circuits busy on my cell phone and had to try again.

This year, once again, I must send my momma something in the mail and give her a call on Sunday.  My Momma (that’s a southern phrase that’s always said together in case you didn’t know..hahahah..ever heard anyone say My momma said..)  anyway, so my momma chews lots of gum and her favorite is Juicy Fruit so this year I made her a paint can filled with some double bubble gum 12 small packs of Juicy Fruit.  I also included a picture of each of the grandkids as well as a personalized wrapper card (that’s what I like to call them…it’s a candy bar wrapper but I filled it with a gift card since chocolate will melt in this weather and volunteered my daddy to take her out to eat for Mother’s Day.  Of course she can use it anyway she likes since I chose a generic gift card that can be used anywhere!  My mom is rather hard to buy for.  She doesn’t really wear makeup, or perfume or any smelly lotions, and she doesn’t even really wear jewelry.  I decided on something practical this year.  She’s always buying gum so now she won’t have to buy any for a while, it comes in it’s own cute container and when all the gum is gone she’ll have a cool one gallon paint can to use for craft or other storage. 

Mother's Day Paint Can

There are tons of options for moms on Mother’s day and I’m sure you’ve thought of many yourself.  Remember when you get down to the last minute you can always grab a bouquet of flowers, a card and fill it with a gift card of choice.

Here’s another quick option get a standard size Hershey’s chocolate bar or any 1.55oz chocolate bar and a gift card or cash and download this free Mother’s Day wrapper.  All you need to do is print the wrapper on your color printer using regular paper cut all the white border and then wrap the chocolate bar like you would any other gift and don’t forget to include the gift card or money or even some movie tickets if that’s your momma’s thing. 

Download and Print Now

As a mother myself here are some great options and I’m sure most of your moms would love them too!

• Professional massage
• GC to favorite hair salon
• Day out with girls–mani/pedis
• Breakfast out with family
• A day of no cooking and cleaning (you volunteer to do it)
• New spring outfit
• Any piece of jewelry
• Anything Mickey Mouse (tee hee)
• Handmade card
• GC to a Day spa
• a day of uninterrupted scrapbooking
• gift basket filled with bath stuff (bath and body works is my fav)

As you’ve notice many of these you can make at home or do yourself so you save yourself a little driving time and some money.  Sometimes what mothers want most is to just spend some quality time with just you, so maybe just take her for lunch or dinner and if she likes to shop do that too!

• If you want to give mom the downloadable candy bar wrapper and would like to get her a gift card but you’re pressed for time you can always click HERE to get a virtual visa gift card.  It works just like any other visa credit card but the virtual ones only work online since you don’t get an actual card.  When ordering you enter the amount you want mom to have (there is a $4 service charge) and it will email it to her.  If you want to include it in your wrapped candy bar just enter your email address and then print it out, fold it and put it in with the wrapped candy bar!  Voila…makes a great gift huh?

Keeping it Unique,

Kristal

Next Wednesday don’t forget your office professionals that support you and your team! 

As a former Admin Assistant I loved being appreciated and getting a little gift here and there…even without a “thank you for setting up the presentation” goes a long way!  There is a joke in the Admin world that if you want to talk to someone at the top whether you are looking for a job, selling a service or product you have to be able to get past his/her Admin Asst because the best Admins have a relationship much like that of a mother or wife (now don’t think about that too much..the tv is spoiling your brain…I mean a good admin knows how they like their coffee, what their favorite lunch is, what items they need to get through an entire day, etc) they work together like a well oiled machine and they will screen who the “boss” talks to and who they see. I was in a position once where I gave insight to employment applications and many times was a deciding participant who got a n interview and who didn’t. 

You want your office professionals on your side. Even if you don’t work directly in an office you may need to visit one so remember that the next time you get stumped at the front desk..compliments and a little candy may get you in the door!

Gift ideas for Administrative Assistants:

I can only speak for myself here but I always loved getting any cool office supply so…

• colorful pens
• colorful notepads (sticky)
• desk organizer
• office mug
• flowers
• CHOCOLATE!
• spa kit
• gift cert to Starbucks (this was a def fav!)
• anything Mickey Mouse (maybe that’s just me teehee)