How to Create Festive Thanksgiving Decorations
Thanksgiving is a time of year when the evenings are getting dark earlier, the chill is beginning to set in, and the lovely autumn leaves of October are off the trees. The fairs and festivals of summer are over, and people are spending more time indoors. Beautiful and inviting decorations can help make this a festive, inviting time. Here are some ideas on how to create festive Thanksgiving decorations. 1. Candle Wreaths Candles are a perfect decoration for the darker days of late fall. They bring a cozy light indoors and provide a festive atmosphere. Remember never to leave a candle unattended, and keep all flammable objects and decorations well away from the flame. These are fun because you can make them in all kinds of sizes and put them in bay windows, on sideboards, tables, and wherever it's safe to have a candle. To make candle wreaths, you'll need: * Floral foam rings of various sizes * Dried or silk flowers and/or leaves * Pillar candles and votive candles * Clear glass holders such as hurricane shades for the pillar candles and clear glass holders for the votives Cut the silk or dried flowers and leaves so that you have a stiff stem to press into the foam rings. Use a hot glue gun if you need to reinforce the flowers or if you don't have a stem to push into the foam. Then place the candle holders and candles in the center, and place wherever you like. You could even place one at each guest's place at the table and let them take the wreath and candle home. 2. Pumpkin Vase For an unusual Thanksgiving centerpiece, use a pumpkin for a vase. Here's how. Cut the top off of a pumpkin and hollow it out as you would for a Halloween jack-o-lantern. Inside, place a large plastic container full of water or floral foam (it doesn't matter what the container looks like since it will be covered by the pumpkin). Place cut flowers such as mums and other seasonal plants into the floral foam or container until you have a nice arrangement. 3. Platter of Plenty Many households have more platters than they can use. Pull one out to use as a centerpiece or a decoration on a bay window or mantle. On the platter, arrange colorful gourds, decorative field corn, and fall squash on the platter. Put the tallest, largest objects in the center and work outward. Fill in with ivy, mums, and pretty seed pods and branches from outdoors. This is a great time to use all those acorns that are crunching under your feet outdoors! 4. Fall Fruit Basket Place this in a prominent place in your home and encourage family members and guests to partake, then replenish! It's healthy and beautiful. All you need is a pretty basket, dried or silk flowers, a hot glue gun, brown and green tissue paper, and some plastic wrap. First, line the inside of the basket with plastic, then with the brown and green tissue. This is where your fruit will go. Then, hot glue dried or silk flowers to the outside of the basket, grouping similar flowers together. Fill the middle with fruit and set out for everyone to enjoy.
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Homemade Wreaths
Have you ever looked at lovely holiday wreaths and then experienced sticker shock? Or maybe you've seen homemade wreaths and wished you could do that. Luckily, there are so many possibilities for wreath designs and materials that you're bound to create something beautiful once you find the right idea! Here are some ideas and how-to advice on homemade wreaths. 1. Acorn Wreath The look of acorns is so festive, and it's such a versatile look - you can embellish this wreath with sprigs of holly, pinecones, or ribbon, or simply leave it as-is. First, gather your acorns and place them in a paper bag. Freeze them for 24 to 48 hours to make sure no bugs are hiding out in the acorns. Once they're frozen, you will have better results if you dry them in an oven on a cookie sheet for an hour or so at 200 degrees F. That way, the acorns won't be as likely to shrink after you've placed them on the wreath. To make the wreath, simply hot glue the acorns to a wreath frame. Foam, grapevine, or hay wreath frames work well, but anything flat, sturdy, and circular will do. 2. Cardboard Tube Wreath For the eco-minded among you, make a wreath out of cardboard tubes (such as toilet paper and paper towel tubes). Cut the tubes into various lengths to add variety, then paint them. Use several different seasonal colors if you can. Next, arrange the tubes with the open ends facing you in a ring shape. When you're happy with the arrangement, hot glue the tubes together. The handy hollow tubes leave the perfect place to hang the wreath, and you can glue all sorts of interesting miniatures inside the tubes - small ornaments, acorns, figurines, or whatever you like. 3. Traditional Greens If you have access to fresh-cut greens such as juniper, hemlock, or holly, you can weave your own traditional wreath. Be sure to wear sturdy gloves when you gather the greens into bunches of the same approximate size and wire them together. Then take the wired bunches (still wearing gloves) and wire them onto a wreath frame - it will also need to be wire. Tuck the wired ends of the greens under the branches of the bunch before it. You can even do this without a wreath frame; just wire the bunches into a ring. 4. Fruit Wreath Citrus fruits and apples make a lovely wreath. For a base, you can use a basic greens wreath, grapevine wreath, twigs, or other natural frame. Use thick floral wire to pierce the fruit and wire it to the frame. Alternatively, you could use a large sewing needle and upholstery thread to attach the fruit to the wreath. When you're finished, you can hot glue some bay leaves around the fruit to fill in any unfinished or open areas. Homemade Christmas Tree Decorations
Homemade Christmas tree decorations can make for some fond holiday memories with your family. Special ornaments can bring back memories of holidays past and remind family members of fun times and ages. And in these frugal times, homemade Christmas tree decorations can help stretch the holiday budget. Here are some ideas for making your own ornaments and decorations for your Christmas tree. 1. Popcorn Chain Use some air-popped popcorn and red beads to make a pretty popcorn chain. You can also do this without the beads. Thread a sewing needle with upholstery thread. Push the needle through the popcorn kernels one at a time and push them onto the thread. Don't cut off the length just yet; unwind the thread as you go until you reach the desired length. Then cut it off and tie in a knot at both ends to keep the corn from slipping off. 2. Cinnamon-Scented Dough You can make cinnamon-scented, permanent, non-edible ornaments out of dough. They last for years and look lovely. Here's how you make the dough: In a bowl, mix together: * 1 cup cinnamon powder (ground cinnamon) * 1/4 cup applesauce Then add: * 1/2 cup white craft glue This mixture forms a stiff dough which smells wonderful and looks like brown gingerbread. All that's left is to roll out the dough and cut out the desired shapes. When dough is still soft, decorate with dried cloves, buttons, beads, etc. After they dry, you can paint them. Don't forget to leave a hole at the top for the hanger. 3. Buttons Do you have a button collection sitting around? There are several kinds of ornaments that can be made with buttons. Here are some ideas. * Wreaths - String buttons on wire pieces about 9 inches long. You can use floral wire or thin copper wire. Use needle-nose pliers to make a small loop at one end of the wire before you string on the buttons. Then bend the button-covered wire around into a circle and use the pliers to attach the straight end of the wire to the loop. To hang, tie a ribbon to the juncture where the wires meet, and use another ribbon to make a bow where the ribbon tie is. * Garland - Buttons can simply be strung on string to make a garland, or used to augment a popcorn garland. * Decorative balls - Glue buttons to plain Styrofoam balls or worn-out commercial Christmas balls. 4. Cards Use holiday cards to make ornaments. You can simply punch a hole in the upper folded corner and hang with ribbon, or you can get more elaborate. Try cutting out two circles from the card, and cut a slit halfway across the middle of each circle. Push the slits together to create a 3-dimensional ornament. Punch a hole at the top for a hanger. Homemade Centerpiece Ideas for Your Thanksgiving Table
Thanksgiving centers around the table. Therefore, the centerpiece you have for your table says a great deal to your guests and family members. When it's a homemade centerpiece, it can be a conversation starter, and it shows your guests you care enough to invest some time in them. Here are some homemade centerpiece ideas for your Thanksgiving table. 1. Winter Squash Vases Think beyond the pumpkin for these lovely vases made from butternut squash. Cut the top inch or so off of a butternut squash, and use a paring knife to dig/cut out the insides. Beware: butternut squash flesh is rather hard. So the best way to accomplish this is to use the paring knife to cut progressively-deeper circles around the inside edge of the squash neck. Once you get down to the bulbous seed chamber, you can scoop those out with a spoon. Then add water and seasonal flowers such as mums, straw flowers, and berry sprays. If you make several of these, choose squash of various sizes and/or cut the squash so that you have an arrangement of different heights. 2. Three Little Pumpkins Have you ever been at the farmer's market or grocery store, and wanted an excuse to buy those little pumpkins? Now you have one! You'll need three small pumpkins (about the size of a cantaloupe) for this project. You'll also need: * Hot glue * Buttons * Fabric ribbon in holiday colors, about half an inch wide * Curly ribbon in holiday colors * Hat pins with pearl heads * White glue or decoupage medium * Fabric scraps in holiday colors You can take these basic supplies and make three pumpkins that are the same, or three pumpkins that vary in design. Here are some general guidelines for the decorations, and you can apply them how you wish. Attach ribbons vertically to each pumpkin using white glue or decoupage medium. Coat the ribbon strips with glue, running your finger along the ribbon to scrape off excess. Attach strips from the base of the stem to the bottom center of the pumpkin. Cut squares of fabric and attach to the pumpkin with decoupage medium. Arrange another square on top of the first in a sideways fashion, so the corners of the first piece are showing. Then attach a button to the center of this arrangement using one of the pearl-top pins. Decorate the pumpkin stems (and cover up your fabric ribbon ends) with curly ribbon. 3. Swan Gourds Look at the market for long, thin-necked gourds in various sizes. Make sure they have the stems attached - these will be the swans' bills. In addition to these, you'll need: * Grapevine wreath (the swans' nest) * Craft paint and/or permanent marker * Pine cones, acorns, berries, and other "nest-like" decorations from nature * Raffia * Hot glue All you need to do is use a little craft paint or even a permanent marker to create eyes on the swans on the stem end. You can do some with eye lashes, others with colorful eyes - however you wish. Tie raffia ribbons around the swans' necks and nestle them in the grapevine wreath (which you will need to lay sideways). Arrange acorns, twigs, and so forth around them and attach with hot glue. Holiday Decorations Your Kids Can Make
Involving your kids in the holiday decorating can be a lot of fun. Holiday decorating crafts are also a great way to spend time during the bad weather that sometimes comes with the holidays. Here are some ideas for holiday decorations your kids can make. 1. Turkey Bouquet This edible bouquet will look fun and whimsical in your home at Thanksgiving. You'll need: * Lollipops (the spherical, wrapped variety) * Brown and tan felt * Small rubber bands * Wiggly eyes * Red and yellow craft foam * Hot glue gun First, cut the felt into circles about 8 inches across. Then, fold each circle in half twice (fourths) and snip off the pointy end to make a small hole (this will be for the lollipop stick). Starting at the bottom of the lollipop, push the stick through the hole in the felt and draw the felt up over the lollipop. Using the rubber band, secure the felt at the top of the lollipop and fan out the remaining felt. Use the hot glue gun to attach the wiggly eyes, red wattle, and yellow beak cut from the craft foam. Place these in a small vase or bowl for a fun bouquet. 2. Button Corn Hang this creative corn craft on your front door to welcome guests. You'll need: * Craft foam in seasonal colors (red, yellow, orange, blue, brown, etc.) * Scissors * Buttons * Raffia * Hot glue gun or white glue Cut 3 or 4 corn cob shapes from the craft foam, each about 12 inches long. Punch a hole in the top of each one. Then use glue to attach buttons to the cobs. Choose colors that are reminiscent of decorative field corn. When you're finished, attach them with a raffia bow. 3. Wrapping Paper Chains There are always scraps of wrapping paper about at holiday time. Cut them into strips about 8 inches long and 3/4 inch wide, and make them into interlocking loops. This makes a colorful and festive paper chain that fits the season. You could also use holiday cards for this. 4. Sock Snowmen This is a fun craft with no sewing. For one snowman, you'll need: * A white sock * Small dried beans or rice * Rubber bands * Yarn * Fabric paint or markers * Wiggly eyes * Cloth scraps Put the rice or beans into the sock until it's about 2/3 full. Close off the top with the rubber band, leaving 1 to 2 inches of sock at the top. Then move the filling apart so that the top (where the rubber band is) has less filling than the bottom. Secure the division with another rubber band. Now roll down the excess sock at the top to make a hat. Set the snowman upright and you shouldn't be able to see the rubber bands. Decorate your snowman however you like. You can use fabric scraps to make scarves, buttons for the front of the snowman, and pom-poms for the top of the hat. Use markers and fabric paint to decorate as well. Green and Eco-Friendly Decorating Ideas for the Holidays
One of the wonderful things about holiday decorations is that so many of them can be made from recyclables. Just making ornaments and decorations instead of buying them is green in itself, even if you don't use a plastic water bottle in the making of it! Put the "green" in "evergreen" this holiday season with these green and eco-friendly decorating ideas for the holidays. 1. Christmas Trees There are eco-friendly arguments for artificial trees as well as natural ones, but it's generally agreed that a live tree with a root ball is the most environmentally-friendly choice for live trees. However, you can bypass the dilemma by making your own tree. Here are some ideas. * Choose a wall and run strings of lights downward in a tree shape (use LEDs if you can). You can use a recycled paper star for the top, and even attach lightweight ornaments to the light strands. * Use embroidery hoops of varying sizes covered in green cloth, and arrange them on a wall in a tree shape - large ones along the bottom, for example, then smaller toward the top. You can insert most ornament hooks right into the fabric to decorate. * Use wooden boards of gradually shorter lengths to make a tree shape. Nail them to a sturdy stand such as a 2x4 mounted to a wood X shape. Nail the longest board horizontally near the bottom, then follow with the next-longest board, and so on until you reach the top. Leave space between each board. Then you can paint the tree and/or attach screw eyes to the boards to hang the ornaments. 2. Nature's Bounty There are so many ways to use nature's bounty to make holiday decorations. For example, you can make frozen luminaries using two different plastic containers (maybe one small and one large yogurt container?). Place autumn leaves in the large one and fill it 2/3 full of water, and then put a few rocks in the small container and put it in the middle. When you freeze this arrangement and unmold it, you end up with frozen autumn leaves in a block of ice that has a hollow at the top from where you removed the small, rock-filled container. You put a candle in this hollow and light it up. You can also fill clear glass containers with pine cones, acorns, and holly berries. Alternatively, you can fill clear glass containers with greens like ivy, then pour water over them and float disc-shaped candles or tealights on top. Cut natural evergreens and bring them in to your home to decorate, creating a lovely smell and look. 3. Twigs and Branches Make a lovely tabletop tree by inserting curvy, interesting branches into a vase or cup. Then hang eco-friendly ornaments from it, such as painted (or unpainted) toilet paper tubes, old CDs (cut into interesting shapes if you have the tools), and even beverage cans in seasonal colors. You can also paint acorns and use those to brighten up your twig tree. Fall Harvest Decorating
Fall has been a traditional time of harvest celebration since the days when farming was commonplace, and this theme continues today even in urban communities. Decorating for the fall harvest means celebrating the plenty of the season and heralding the change from summer to winter. It can also be a festive time to usher in the holiday season. Here are some tips and ideas for your fall harvest decorating this year. 1. Charming Frames Chances are, you have picture frames stored away in various places in your home. They make popular gifts, and many of us end up with more than we need. If not, you can often find them for very little money at second-hand stores and even some major retailers. You can make fall harvest decorations from these ordinary frames. Lightly glue pressed leaves and/or flowers onto a blank white background, such as a piece of card stock, and insert it into the frame. If you are lucky enough to have frames with two pieces of glass, you can achieve a floating leaf look by sandwiching it between the glass. These look nice on a table, mantel, wall, or anywhere you want to bring the autumn in. Another note on frames - using a hot glue gun, you can attach acorns, seed pods, and other autumn odds and ends to the frame itself. 2. Natural Vases for Fall Bouquets You may not have considered this before, but autumn brings all sorts of interesting fruits and vegetables that you can use as vases for fall arrangements. The best sorts of vegetables and fruits for this type of decoration are those with a long shelf life, such as squashes, gourds, and apples. But you can certainly think outside the box if you're only going to have the decoration up for a few hours. In that case, you can include citrus peel cups and even hollowed out pears. Basically, you slice the top off of the vegetable or fruit of your choice, and then dig out the flesh to the depth you need. You can then fill it with water and flowers, or use floral foam. 3. More with Gourds and Pumpkins All those inexpensive little gourds and pumpkins are readily available in the fall. Gather lots of them and make a wreath using hot glue and a circular base (such as grapevine or a foam craft ring). Another idea is to arrange gourds on a cake plate, or pile them in a tiered tray. You can even make a garland of small gourds, stringing them on fishing line or upholstery thread. Holiday Decorating DIY: Indoor and Outdoor
The holidays are a special time of year that is made all the more memorable by decorating. As you think about how you're going to decorate this season, consider making your own holiday decorations. Whether you want to decorate indoors or out (or both), there are DIY options that can save you money and be enjoyable projects. Here are some ideas for DIY holiday decorating indoors and out. Outdoors Outdoors can be fun to decorate. People driving by your home can enjoy looking at your innovative decorations. Try some of these outdoor decorating ideas. 1. Holiday cards for your lawn Raid your storage shed, garage, and basement and dig out the scrap wood! You can make large-scale greeting cards for your lawn or, alternatively, vintage-look signs to hang in your porch entry or on your front door. For greeting cards, you'll need two pieces of same-size scrap wood. Paint them a solid background color using spray paint, and when that is dry, decorate them as you like. You will need to spray the cards with some clear coating after you're finished or cover them with a water-resistant, clear varnish so they can survive the weather. Then put them together with hinges and set them up on the lawn. Some spot lights or other illumination will add to the effect and make them visible after dark. Vintage-look signs can be made with only one board. Paint the board partially, using a dry brush with little paint for a distressed look. Then you can stencil a word like "Joy" or "Peace" down the board. 2. Speaking of doors... Wrap your front door to look like an enormous gift. You can buy these ready-made, but since we're talking about DIY, just use wrapping paper to cover your front door, and criss-cross with wide ribbon. Finish with a large bow. 3. Icy-hot luminaries Once you get the principle behind making these, the possibilities are almost endless. The basic method is to freeze water in the bottom half of an empty 2-liter bottle that you've cut in two. Fill about 2/3 full with water and whatever lovely objects you want to freeze - cranberries, holly sprigs, poinsettia leaves, etc. - and then put a smaller plastic bottle filled with rocks in the center. When you freeze this arrangement, you'll have a hollow center where the rock-filled smaller bottle was. This is where you put the tealight to make the luminary. These are great for frosty nights - blow out the candles and you can keep them outside if it's cold enough. Indoors Don't forget to bring the holiday spirit inside with DIY decorations. Here are some clever DIY decorations. 1. Boughs of holly...and evergreens Bring in branches of greens and hang them on the wall using festive ribbon and a decorative wall hook. Use them as hangers for cards, stockings, or Christmas ornaments. 2. Wall tree Fabric trees make wonderful decorations: they solve the dilemma of what kind of Christmas tree to have, ornament hooks attach to them perfectly, and they take up far less space than a free-standing tree. Ideas for wall trees that you can hang ornaments on include: * Felt tree - use fabric glue to attach a large, felt cut-out of a holiday tree to a white cloth backing and use a dowel and ribbon to hang it. * Embroidery hoops covered with various shades of green fabric can be arranged in a triangle pattern on your wall (a brown fabric-covered hoop can be used for the "stump"). Hang ornaments on the cloth. Tips to get through Security Quickly
In this day and age getting thro9ugh security takes longer than ever. Ever since homeland security has become such an issue, moving through airport security has become more difficult. As a seasoned business traveler, this part of your business trip requires some savvy preparation and your knowledge of the system so you can sail through security at the airport as quickly as possible. But the ability to navigate airport security quickly is not something that comes easy or without some significant planning and training. The biggest problem of getting through security is not you, it’s the other people who did not come prepared for this process. If you get stuck behind someone who is completely stumped by what is expected of them, it can take forever to get through the system. So the first priority is to hit airport security when the crowds are low. The easiest way to accomplish this is to take the first flight of the day out of that airline. This will be the time when there are fewer people in the airport than anytime of the day. Usually it is only business travelers who are at the airport at six a.m. so they will be the ones that already know how to handle security and the lines will move much more quickly. Like them, you have already learned the most recent rules about what will pass through security and what will get you stopped. You will need your driver’s license and boarding pass several times as you move through the process. So have that out early on and ready to show it often. Don’t put that information away until you are on the other side of security and ready to go to the gate. That one-step alone moves you along quickly through the different checkpoints of airport security. Usually airport security uses a queuing system to handle the crowds. That means that usually it is one long line moving up to the gates and then that line splits into several gates where various teams work the travelers through the scanning stations. As you are standing in line to go through the gates, keep an eye on the different stations. Some stations will stop more people or their equipment is too sensitive so it is moving slower. You may notice that a new team has arrived and is preparing to open a new station. With a bit of maneuvering in line, you can hit that new station as it opens and move through fast before the lines accumulate there. This is also a place to do a bit of profiling. While it is not ok for police to profile, you can look over the people ahead of you and profile those who will either be detained for scanning or will be a big problem when they are ready to put their stuff on the belts. Certain ethnic groups might get scanned more often. It’s sad but true. We all want racial equality but if you can avoid being behind that person, you might get through security faster. Also, avoid “amateur travelers” who have lots of kids, the elderly, people in wheelchairs or anyone who looks like they are confused by this process. You can be a hero and help someone out if you have plenty of time. But as the lines split up to go to the different stations, you can simply avoid being behind people who will slow up the process and go to the fast lines to get through more efficiently. You can cut down on how much you get scanned before you get to the airport. Wear slip-on shoes that you can get off quickly and back on quickly. Boots and tie shoes just slow you down. Keep the amount of “stuff” you are carrying through security to a minimum. Put your wallet, keys and other pocket material in your briefcase or purse before you even get in line. In that way you are down to shoes and that item to move through security and you can move more quickly. These tricks of the trade can make the beginning of your business trip much less of a problem and get you to the gate more quickly. And, this will reduce the stress of your trip and let your focus on the purpose of your business trip. Take a Walk in New York
Travel for business can be fun as well as productive. The steps you take to assure your meetings are a success are the same you will do back at your home office. But they are made more complex by the act of “taking your show on the road”. But sometimes the challenges of business travel involve how to handle your personal affairs efficiently and safely even as you focus on your business affairs. Business travel can take you to many different destination environments. In the same business travel year, you could find yourself on the beaches of Miami, in the exotic café’s of San Francisco or in a heavy urban center such as Philadelphia or New York. As a business traveler, your goal is to make your stay as uneventful as possible. But businesses travel can be dangerous. Just because you are on the corporate expense account, that doesn’t mean that those who would victimize travelers will pass you over. So it’s important you have a plan to assure your safety on your travels. Probably one of the most vulnerable experiences you may have is finding yourself on foot in an urban setting. Whether you are just taking a walk or you find yourself on foot to return to your hotel, if that short walk occurs after dark or in a setting where you feel there might be a risk, it can be a very disconcerting feeling. So it’s good to have some techniques to take yourself out of a risk category should you find yourself in that situation. In my travels, I found myself in New York quite often. New York is a town where walking from place to place is not that uncommon. So an experienced business traveler gave me some good advice on how to walk about in a town like New York and remove yourself from danger even before it befalls you. These tips can be useful in just about any urban city in the world. And when you have some good ideas about how to navigate such a situation, your confidence level goes up. Some of my friend’s tips included… * Don’t stare up. Don’t look like tourist by staring at the tall buildings. Walk like someone who has been here for years. * Don’t take out your wallet. Get to an indoor location to look at your wallet. Don’t give anyone a signal of where your valuables are on your person. * Walk with intention. Walk as if you are late for an appointment. Be in a hurry and impatient with others on the street. Look slightly irritated and in a hurry. Don’t look like a victim. * Don’t make eye contact. In an urban setting, the others on the street are not people to you. Don’t look at them or give them a chance to get your attention. Look bored. * Keep an escape route. If you are walking on a sidewalk, you can walk very close to the street. Keep an eye on the street itself. If you sense the rush of an assailant, you can dash right into traffic and disrupt moving vehicles. It is guaranteed that no mugger wants to carry out his crime in that situation. * Make a fuss. If you see a situation evolving that could be dangerous, create a stir on the street. Get in the middle of the biggest and noisiest situation you can find or create. Noise and crowds frighten off assailants every time. These are simple rules but they can be used in almost any urban setting you may encounter. So keep these guidelines tucked away. The moment when become useful won’t announce itself. So take a walk safely through the streets of New York and you will be prepared if anything threatens you. It is Easy to stay Healthy while on the Road
It is not hard to tell the difference between a seasoned business traveler and one who is new to the world of business travel. It is easy for someone new to business travel to participate in excesses on the road. As business traveler, you are an adult and you are trusted by your company to conduct yourself in a businesslike fashion during your time out representing the firm. But it is easy to let the idea of an expense account and free time in a far away town get the best of you and to let yourself go as you travel. These kinds of excesses are the types of behavior that you will see an experienced business traveler avoid. If you are setting out on a lengthy business trip perhaps lasting many weeks and traversing many cities, the road itself can take a toll on your health and well being. The disruption to your normal life patterns, the hard work and the stress of making connections and moving from town tot own can introduce levels of fatigue that can take a toll and even lead to illness on the road. And there is no more unpleasant experience than to be ill while traveling for business and to still have to do your duties despite your poor health. It is for this reason that observing some strict rules of good living on the road will pay off over the life of the trip and make the rigors of travel much less serious. Much of the discipline of business travel involves simply introducing a daily routine to your life that includes some healthy activities so you can keep your physical, mental and emotional state in good shape and ready for business each and every day. Some simple but effective rules to live by for a healthy business travel experience include… * Sleep routines. A good nights sleep is something we take for granted. And to get into a rested state takes more than just a bed and an alarm clock. You have routines at home that you use to cycle down toward rest. Adapt those to life on the road and allow yourself that hour before bed to get ready to rest as well as ample time to rest as well as sleep. Both are necessary for good health. * Regular exercise. Most hotels have an exercise room or pool you can use to get some motion into your muscles. Sitting in airplanes or conference rooms can cramp your muscles and keep you from maintaining good flexibility in your muscles. Even if it is nothing more than taking a walk after dinner or doing some simple exercises at night in the hotel, give your body some movement so stretch those muscles and get some fresh oxygen into your blood. * Time not working. For the sake of your mental health, take some time just for you. If you are in a town that has some fun things to see, get away from the business side of business travel and go to the zoo or a museum or see an attraction to give your mind a break from the stress of business. And take a few hours at night to relax in the hotel and read a book or watch your favorite TV show. You need that mental down time to recuperate and process all that is going on during your trip. * Good foods. Don’t cave into the temptation to eat fast food. Look for restaurants that will serve you well-rounded meals and make sure you eat fruits, dairy, vegetables, breads and good healthy proteins each day. * Don’t drink. Alcohol, while fun, is a huge drain on your body’s resources. The time drinking and recovering makes demands on your body that take away from the task of recovering your health each day. So avoid alcohol other than perhaps a glass of wine at night. You will survive the trip so much better if you are careful about your alcohol consumption. Some of these ideas seem almost ridiculously simple. But if you have done any business travel at all, you know that sometimes the simple requirement of a healthy diet and some time to yourself to exercise and rest can be elusive in a busy work schedule. All you have to do is eat the same way you do when at home to keep your life in good balance. How to Handle a Crisis when Traveling for Business
Business traveling can be a hassle relying on the reliability of public transport. That means you are going to have to deal with airports, security procedures, crowds of “non business” travelers around you at all times and the inevitable delay or canceled flight. As a business traveler, you have a mission to complete. This is not necessarily an adventure nor is it something you are doing for fun. Its business and you handle it as business. If you travel frequently on business, you have a standard process you go through to handle waiting for flights and how to store and retrieve travel documents when they are needed. Most of time we had handle the presence of large crowds around us. After all those families on vacation, groups of teenagers on spring break or young couples on honeymoon have as much right to the airways and the airports as you do. But everything changes when flights begin to get canceled, especially if you are in a situation where so many flights are canceled and large amounts of people are going to be stranded in that airport overnight. When such a situation begins to loom, it is easy to sense that feeling of panic rise up as you sense it happening in those around you. Inexperienced travelers may have no idea how to handle this situation. But as a business traveler, you are there doing the bidding of your company. You probably are on an expense account of some sort and you should have good credit that you can use to navigate this situation. So if you see an airport shutdown situation happening around you, you may ask yourself that question, “Is this a good time to panic?” The answer is no. But it is a good time to act fast so your needs are met. It is always a good idea to keep your wits about yourself in an airport situation so you can take action early if you see an airport shutdown situation beginning to happen around you. The thing to remember is that you are the one in control here and you do not have to let yourself be put at the whim of the airlines or the airport. But detecting the crisis coming early is the key and taking quick action. Often as flights begin to get canceled, you may find yourself in long lines to try to rebook flights or find a solution to the problem. Realize that if the airport is stopping all flights due to weather or other reasons, there is no resolution waiting for you when you get to the front of the line. And staying in line will only add to your sense of crisis and panic. So get out of that line! You have resources to make accommodations for yourself. The last thing you want is to have to pass the night in that airport. If you can get another form of transportation, you can still get to your destination albeit a little late. But rental car agencies are going to be flooded with people who, like you, are looking for a solution. So the earlier you can diagnose the situation as not acceptable and get a car, the faster you can leave the airport and head for a hotel or for your destination. Use the same strategy in booking a room at a nearby motel or hotel. If you can get to private accommodations for the night, you can work, make your phone calls and preserve your energies so you are able to conduct business well once the crisis is passed. The key is to stay calm and deal with situation quickly and efficiently using the resources you have on hand. Has the Internet Wiped out Travel Agents?
With the onset of new digital technology, the world has become a smaller place with websites like Travelocity and Orbitz popping up on the Web. These travel web sites have been very successful at facilitating travelers to book their own airline and hotel reservations online. So with this huge push from the internet to take over the travel industry, one has to ask, “Are travel agents obsolete?” If you have browsed some of these travel sites, you have observed that they are amazing in the diversity of travel options that they make available. And it is impossible to deny that many thousands of people have taken advantage of these services. As a business traveler, however, your needs are somewhat different than the typical airline passenger. There are some very specific services that a living and breathing travel agent can provide that simply cannot be replicated by an automated web site like Travelocity or Orbitz. Some of those services that a seasoned business traveler would be hard pressed to live without include… * Focus. You as a business traveler are not arranging this trip for entertainment. You have specific business objectives in mind. So if you must take time away from preparation for your business task to worry about travel itineraries, hotel and rental car reservations and the like, that is time that you are not being productive for your business. If you can call a talented travel agent who knows your travel profile well and delegate those arrangements to that agent, they do their job in finding just the right accommodations for you and you are freed to do what you do best, focus on your business and the upcoming business trip. * Economy. It is difficult to find that balance between finding the accommodations that fit the demanding schedule of a businessperson on the road and is respectful of the companies travel budget as well. If you use an automated online travel service, you may have to sacrifice convenience, schedule or location for economy. A good travel agent will work hard to get you the right itinerary while getting as close the corporate travel cost restrictions as possible. And they will do it without taking up a lot of your time. * Back up. You don’t need help if your trip goes completely as planned. But if you encounter problems on the road, you can find yourself in need or rescheduling flights and finding new accommodations to work around canceled flights, weather issues or other unexpected interruptions to your plans. These travel disasters are not mindful of your tight deadlines to meet your business goals. But if you have a travel agent who is dedicated to providing you service, he or she can find those alternative routes and resources to do all they can to get you to your destination so you can conduct your business on time. * That personal touch. You may have travel preferences that you want to achieve with each trip you take. A travel agent has your profile and your travel history so they can do what they can to accommodate your preferences. But moreover, if you have specific special needs such as a diet limitation or a need for accommodation due to a disability, it will be a travel agent that sees to it that your needs are provided for and you are well taken care of on the road. * Complications. If your travel itinerary involves making connections with other business partners who are traveling from diverse offices, complex travel schedules and itinerary challenges that just cannot be described to the generic screens of an online travel service, you can explain these complications to your travel agent and they can work with other travel agents working to organize the meeting and see to it that your itinerary meets your requirements. While the online travel services do provide a valuable and affordable alternative to the general traveling public, it is easy to notice their limitations if you are trying to book a trip that is tricky or if you have specific needs that the screens do not anticipate. Human travel agents still do have a place in the world of travel and they will help you plan, budget and book the trip that meets your travel needs and purpose. Corporate Travel Policies should Benefit All
It can be untrue that employees are unhappy with company policy for corporate travel. The truth is, employees like to know what is expected of them and how to comply with a corporate policy as long as that policy is fair and give them the ability to what they need to do on the road. So a well thought out corporate travel policy is a benefit to the company and the business traveler alike. If it has been given to you to put together a corporate travel policy, your mission from the stand point of the company is to develop a policy that standardizes business expenses, eliminates waste and excess on the road and puts some controls around that part of the business expense picture. So there are some definite focus areas you should include in the stated corporate policy including… * Reservations. If you utilize a travel agent that is looking for the best deal for the company. The best rates can be identified and taken advantage off but only while making sure the business traveler’s needs to meet the business objective of the trip are satisfied. Requiring that employees utilize the corporate travel agent again is not harsh and it clarifies for the employee how to handle the situation. * Use of credit. It is a bit of effort and expense to set up corporate credit cards that you can require your traveling employees to use. But by trapping expenses to the corporate account, you can get a record of a good percentage of the business expenses that the employee is incurring. Many of the expenses of travel such as airline and hotel can be direct billed back to the company thus taking both the hassle and the opportunity for creativity out of the hands of the business traveler. * Travel rewards. If you have your corporate travel coordinated by an internal or external travel agency, corporate accounts with the major airlines can be established so the frequent flyer miles can be collected by the business. As such the business can redeem those miles and realize those benefits as a significant discount on the travel that must be paid for. * Daily limits. Your corporate travel policy must communicate clearly to the traveling employee what their limits are for hotel, rental car and meals on the road. You want to head off before it starts any tendency by the employee to go to expensive restaurants and see the business trip as some form of all expenses paid vacation. But you also must allow for some leverage for the employee to eat well while traveling. This part of the policy should be reviewed annually to update to current costs. * Reporting. One of the chief complaints employees have about corporate travel policies are that the expense reporting system is cryptic and hard to fill out. You will give the employee a standardized form that each traveler in the company must fill out to get reimbursed for expenses while traveling. But review these forms and even design your own so the format is understandable and you have categories to cover all types of expenses the employee might encounter. Along with these general categories, your corporate travel policies should include some leverage for employees who are faced with exceptional situations. Room and food expenses can vary widely depending on where the employee must travel. So you don’t want to set the hotel limit to $125 per night because it is reasonable to stay in a comfortable hotel for that rate in Lincoln Nebraska but enforce that same limitation for an employee who must do business in New York City. If you create good general policies to cover your employees while they are on the road, there is a win win situation for you and your employees, and there will be a productive outcome that is cost-effective for the company overall. Business Trips are a Company Expense
One of the perks of traveling for business is that your company picks up the tab for almost everything. Since you are on bona fide business, for the sake of your business, being reimbursed for the costs of the trip is routine in the business world. Now we don’t want to abuse the expense account but if you live in a reasonable fashion on the road, you can get reimbursement for most expenses of the trip. But problem about getting reimbursed for your business travel expenses is that you have to file a report when you get back. While it seems like a nuisance, you cannot expect the company to reimburse you for expenses if you don’t know what they are. But this calls for a certain amount of discipline on the road so you have some documentation as you travel that you can use to compile that expense report when you return. There are some things you can do to make this process of managing that expense report less of a headache. For starters, before you leave, make sure you are very aware of the company’s expense policy and what is covered and what is not. Some companies use a per diem system which means that the company may allocate you a set amount each day for room and board and anything you spend above that is an expense you will cover. If your company uses the per diem system, make sure you know it well so you know what you can expense before you run up the charge. Keeping track of businesses expenses on a busy trip may become a nuisance as you travel. But you don’t want to get home and not be able to document the trip. The good news is there are some simple systems you can put in place that don’t take a lot of your time but will make keeping those business expenses tracked and ready to report for reimbursement when you return. They include… * Use Credit. Your credit card statement can be a running “tale of the trip” that can serve as emergency backup should you need it. * Receipt retention. It is easy to lose receipts if you put them in pockets with other documents or let them float loose in your briefcase. Maintain a daily envelope that you religiously put receipts into as soon as you get them. That can ride comfortably in the inside pocket of your jacket or in your briefcase so you know you have that record of your spending. * A running log. Even if you keep receipts, you can get home and find the task of sorting through them and trying to remember details about that expense can be a challenge. Make it a daily practice to sit down at night with a small notebook and go through your receipts and make a ledger of what you spent that day and on what. * For when you don’t get a receipt. Carry a pocket notebook and jot down when you spend cash or don’t get a receipt for an expense. Tips or snacks needed to get through the day should be recorded in this way. * Lock those receipts down. Just as you kept your receipts secure during the day, put them someplace secure at night so they will be locked down until you return. Sealed envelopes work well for this purpose. If you want to take the system to the next level, you can actually bring an expense report form with you and fill it out each day as you go. Then when the trip is over, you just sign it, bundle up the receipts and submit it to accounting. For an even more secure method, you can use Microsoft Excel on your laptop or a digital version of your company expense report to update each night as you move your receipts to storage for the rest of the trip. The important thing is to develop a system that works for you without fail as you travel. Then make your dedication to that system a priority as you travel. It is not that hard to save money while traveling, it is just a matter of planning and good organization.
Where Can I Buy A Wedding Planner Book? Some people, who are only having a small to medium wedding may opt out of hiring a wedding planner and simply use the tools that a bridal consultant utilizes to keep things moving along smoothly. If you are planning wedding yourself, you will need to have a few things in your arsenal in order to be successful. At the top of your list should be; how to stay organized, what and when to prioritize and where to get a wedding planner book, that will show you how to do everything you need to pull off a perfect wedding. Staying organized means that you will need to list out everything that needs to be done, Figure out who you can delegate tasks to, and what vendors you need to contact. You will also want to keep all of your notes, meetings and appointments, vendors, the deejay, photographer and video services all in one book that you can refer to when needed. This falls to the wedding planner book, where you can organize everything for easy access. First, check out your local bookstore or an online bookstore like Amazon. In our local bookstore, Barnes and Noble, there are a wide plethora of wedding planners from which to choose. Simply head to the wedding section of your bookstore, and you should be able to find a wedding planner that works for you. Once you have picked out what you want to work with, look around for a couple of quick reads on how to plan a wedding so that you know where to start and how to proceed. I actually offer a book of my own on this site that you can purchase for $9.99 as an immediate download, by clicking here. This is an eBook that you can print out and put into a binder where you can keep all of your notes and everything together. You will also want to stay very organized as you work out the details of your very special day. Next, you are going to want to organize around your wedding planner. Remember that everything that you need, take note of or scribble should wind up in your wedding planner. Only use one thing, your wedding planner, to work with. You don’t want to be juggling between your day planner, a notebook, post-it notes and cocktail napkins.. Your wedding planner should be your best friend and go with you everywhere. As you talk to people, make appointments and come up with ideas, it should all go into the same place – the wedding planner. You will want to establish and track expenses as the ideas flow about what you can add to your wedding plans. As you work through the various items on your To Do list like cake, flowers, photographer, videographer and the like, you will want track your expenses. All of these things can be kept in your wedding planner so that you know exactly where you are in the process.
Planning Your Own Wedding If you are going to plan your own wedding, here are a few things you need to know in order to be successful. You can plan much of your own wedding by doing some research both online and offline, getting some wedding checklists to keep you on track, and getting the help of your best girlfriends, mom and family. You should have someone help you coordinate everyone’s schedule so that people show up where and when they are supposed to. You will first want to get things organized by buying or building a wedding planner where you keep all of our important notes, budgetary items, appointments and checklists. I happen to have one available for instant download by clicking here! Most people download and print it out, put it into a binder with pockets and keep all their planning swatches and ideas in it. Start your research online where you can find a ton of information for free. These include everything from how to hire vendors including caterers, the photographer or videographer, gathering sample speeches for the wedding and the like. I have several articles available regarding weddings, including, budgeting, planning, and even etiquette . After researching, you will want to build to do lists that you can delegate to the people who are helping you, and with the checklists, this will be much easier to accomplish. You want to stay within your budget which you should share with the people in your inner circle so that people can be mindful as they work with you about what can be done in-house and what you’ll need to spend money on professional services. After researching, pass out the wedding checklists to those helpers you have designated, and work through them so that everyone is on the same page. Be sure and keep a master checklist of who is doing what so that you don’t lose track of details. Make sure that you take the time to go through the wedding checklists prior to handing them out so that you know what each has, who is best for what jobs and what you need to have accomplished in what timeframe. Besides the budget, getting a diverse crowd of people to where they need to be for the various events like wedding rehearsals, dinners and so forth should be left in the hands of someone you trust to do the coordination. While you may think that it’s better to stay in control of everything, you will quickly realize that this is not the case. While you’ll want to have an overview of what’s going on, leave the checklists, appointment coordination and gathering of various vendors to those you delegate that to on the wedding checklists. Be sure and maintain good communication with those you’ve delegated to, but try not to keep control of all of the small details that go into making a wedding a success. Planning a Wedding Without Drama If you are looking to plan a low-stress, drama free wedding here are three things you’ll need to get under control from the beginning: only one person can lead, too many cooks spoil the stew, and dissension and backstabbing are out completely. Unfortunately, when a lot of people get together to plan a large event, there is a tendency to have personalities collide. This is not just two people getting married; it is two families getting together. In order to avoid shouting, name calling and hard feelings, you will need to know what to do from the start. Gaining control and maintaining control can sometimes be a challenge. If you have two sets of contentious relatives, you are going to need to set some ground rules in order for everyone to get along. If you can, pick two of the most neutral people in the bunch to be your second-in-commands. However, make it clear to both of them that this is yours and your husband’s special day, and you don’t want to have it ruined by needless drama. Each of them will communicate with you, and you, as the bride will talk with them first. Ideally, you will already be friendly with one, and you will want to build friendship with the groom’s person. When it comes time to delegate duties, talk over and agree with each of your seconds (helpers) what needs to be done and who you think would be a good person to accomplish it. Ask their opinion and reach as much of a consensus as you can about the choices. While this may take a bit longer in the short run, in the long run you will be decreasing tension when you open it up to the general meeting. You will also have at least two people already in agreement who can present your case to the others who trust them. You keep ultimate control over what needs to be done, delegate to each of your seconds and, in turn, redelegate to others in the group. This may sound like a high-level diplomatic mission, and in a way, it is. Let each side know, as politely as possible, that you want to meld everyone together for this special day, and have your seconds (helpers) let folks know that this is about the bride and groom, and not about the personality conflicts of those helping to celebrate this union. If you follow this advice, you will go a long way towards avoiding personality and cultural conflicts that generally arise when stress levels rise. It is also helpful to purchase a wedding planning guide book, where you can keep all of your info, details, ideas, proposals, guest lists and contracts. We have an awesome ebook available by clicking this link. You can instantly download and print, place it in a binder and keep all of your other planning related ideas and such together.
How to Be a Successful Wedding Planner Not everyone out there is willing to ask for help when it comes to being a successful wedding planner. However, with a little practice and lots of patience, you will easily overcome your problems and fears with the process. You are never too old to figure out the ins-and-outs of how to be a successful wedding planner, but you need to be motivated to start. So, if you want to take on the task, don’t wait any longer before you take action. A lack of information can lead to poor decisions, and so you want to read all you can about wedding planning prior to starting out. There are also courses both online and in neighborhood colleges that can help give you a wealth of information on how to proceed. I have a ton of wedding planner articles on this blog, feel free to read them here. Once you learn the ropes, you can develop a plan of action to be a successful wedding planner. Whether you are planning for a stranger or have been pressed into service by a member of the family, these three quick tips will help you get off on the right foot. Just think—by the time you finish this article, you’ll have a place to start, and you’ll be sharing these tips with others. Since this will be a new venture, you should get the basics together prior to getting in over your head: -Be extremely organized. -Take notes at every meeting with the bride and bride’s family. -Listen carefully to the wants and needs of the bride. Take action: 1.) Look online or call your local college for information on how to become a wedding planner. If you work online, you can get information as you need it. This is especially useful if you are planning the wedding of a close relative. It can be a learning experience for both of you. 2.) If you are going to become a wedding planner as a career move, you will want to look both online and at local colleges to see what they have to offer. 3.) If this is for a family member, sit down and talk with them as soon as possible. Since you are probably new at this, you will want to have as much lead time as possible to take into account any unforeseen problems. While you may think that becoming a wedding planner is beyond you, with some information and encouragement, you will quickly see that it is something that can be both rewarding and fun. Check out the "For Event Planners" section of my blog for more great articles to get ya started! Go get 'em sis! How Much Does A Wedding Planner Cost? When you are looking to hire a wedding planner, there are three things that you need to take into consideration: cost, convenience and experience. You will pay some money, however, if you weigh time and stress savings, you may want to get a wedding planner to oversee your journey to the altar. Ideally many bridal consultants will charge anywhere between 10 and 20 percent of the wedding, and many will work on an hourly basis. There are others who will give you a package rate where everything is included. Most wedding planners have at least three package prices which cover the day of the service, consulting and full –service planning. According to The Association of Bridal Consultants the average costs for a wedding consultant are about $3,636 in the north and $2,635 in the south with the national average around $3,262. In terms of convenience and avoiding stress, you may or many not want to factor this cost into your overall bridal budget. Let’s talk about the convenience you will gain from hiring a wedding consultant. With a bridal consultant or wedding planner, you get a wealth of experience and know-how all in one person. The wedding consultant knows all of the vendors in the area and based upon your wishes can set up meetings for cake tasting, floral arrangements, go over themes, coordinate schedules of all parties involved and the like. This takes the bulk of the day-to-day details off your plate, and you can rest easy knowing that a professional is handling it. Reduction in stress is the next factor. When people plan their weddings, life can become a hectic merry-go-round with everyone trying to get into the act. Everything from racking of expenses, securing wedding locations and executing the themes and wedding designs all fall to the bride’s family. If you are working full-time, have a low tolerance for stress, or are not organized, you might want to consider a wedding planner. Now that you know what a wedding planner can do for you and your wedding bliss, you will probably take a whole new look at cost versus convenience. A wedding planner can take care of the details of your wedding, coordinate schedules of all parties involved and reduce stress overall by dealing with all of the vendors and assorted others involved. So, budget a wedding planner into your wedding budget and take advantage of all they have to offer. If you'd like to know about my wedding planning services, you may contact me by clicking here, or email me at barbara@virgophoenix.com. I'd be delighted to plan your wedding! |
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