Author: Maggie T.

What is a Museum Art Masterpiece?

Patient is lying in his psychologist’s office on a chestnut-colored chair. His psychologist is sitting five feet away in a nearby, slightly peeling red vinyl chair. The left-handed psychologist scribbles notes with a leaky ball pen that keeps smudging across her hand as she writes down the patient’s symptoms.

Patient: And I can’t even eat my favorite pepperoni pizza slice from the local shop anymore without thinking that the sauce tastes like ground-up anchovies on moist cardboard.

Psychologist: Could it be possible that your favorite pizza shop is actually using ground anchovies?

Patient: No…that’s impossible. I’m half-kosher.  Anyway, there is definitely something wrong with me. I don’t seem to care about anything anymore. NOT ONE THING. But Oh …

(Something catches the Patient’s eye in the corner of the psychologist’s office.)

Psychologist: Yes, please continue.

Patient: Oh. I was just thinking that was a nice piece of artwork you have there.

(The psychologist suddenly stands up in eager excitement. She walks over to the wall hanging the artwork, removing it and bringing it back for the patient to peer closely at.)

Psychologist: (excited) This? I got this for Christmas from a recovered patient. It’s called a Museum Art Masterpiece card. This particular one is by Pierre-Auguste Renoir called “River Landscape.”

Patient: This is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since my wife left me. The incredible 9” x 12” double-matte full-colored art print reproduction really touches my soul.  Also, I can’t get over how classy the gold foil border and cream-colored card stock appear. Please, I must have this.

Psychologist: Well … um see this one is mine. But – (seeing the disappointed look on the patient’s face) – you can buy more from the Gallery Collection online. Each Museum Art Masterpiece card comes in a richly embossed green cover engraved with your greeting choice and personalized imprint in gold foil.

Patient: I’m going to buy them on my smartphone right now. Do they only have pieces by Renoir?

Psychologist: No, they also have Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Childe Hassam, Paul Ganguin, Camille Pissarro, Colin Campbell Cooper, Charles Neal and more.

Patient: Wow, I don’t know which one to choose from.

Psychologist: “Starry Night” by Van Gogh is a classic and one of my favorites.

Patient: Thanks Doc, I think I’m cured!

Psychologist: OK.

Why You Should Send Employee Birthday Cards

I have been in business for 14 years now, and have noticed that bigger companies have forgotten how to appreciate their employees. I take great pride in treating my employees as friends, maybe even extended family. Although I am a smaller company with 50-60 employees, I still feel it is imperative that I send Employee Birthday Cards every month to those who are celebrating. Most of my employees have been with me since I opened my doors, and I would like to keep them around until the day my doors close.

Vivid Birthday Celebration Card

Sending a birthday card, or any other card for that matter, keeps the moral upbeat. I add my own little message to each and every card I send. I want to show my employees just how much they mean to me and that without them, my company would not be where it is today. I have seen what a simple gesture means to people, no matter how big or small. If bigger companies sent birthday cards or notes of acknowledgement to their employees, I think their company’s productivity would increase as well as their staff’s loyalty.  Any type of recognition by an employer is always appreciated. It shouldn’t matter how big or small the company is.

Christmas Party Games For Your Office Holiday Party

Office parties can be a lot of fun. Especially if you add Christmas party games. I have been in charge of creating and initializing our holiday parties for a few years. The food, gifts and set up are easy. The party games take some time.

Office Christmas Party Games

I have put together a few fun events. My first year we did “Guess the Holiday Movie.” It could have been a regular movie or an animated film. I put a few items per movie on a table. I had 8 all together. For the first one I had a red nose, a stuffed Santa, and toy. Answer: Rudolf the Red nose reindeer. That was easy. Then I had a picture of a bridge, a movie theater and a bell. That was a little harder, but not too hard. Everyone wrote their answers and turned them in. I checked them and chose my winners.

The next year we did “Decorate a Co-Worker.” That was one of the best. I had ornaments, tinsel, garland, lights (battery operated of course) and several other trinkets set out on tables. Each group had to pick their human tree, and start decorating. What a sight. We had people with so much décor on them, you couldn’t see them. Everyone got into the fun. Pretty soon we had people decorated in paper clips, paper snowflakes. It was a free for all! The employees gave me a gift card that year as a Thank You. They said they never had so much fun decorating before.

I’ve also done gift wrapping contests. I had a bunch of odd shaped gifts and the object was to wrap them and decorate them the best way they could. Just a tip, buy a lot of tape for this one. Needless to say the men used the most tape. There was tape and wrapping paper everywhere. But all the gifts came out nice. Funny, but nice.

This year will be “Build Your Own Snowman with Sports Balls.” There will be tennis balls, soccer balls, baseballs, and even footballs! We’ll have to see how that turns out.

Saying Goodbye To A Co-Worker

How do you say goodbye to a co-worker? It’s not an easy task. Especially if you have worked with them, side by side, for many years. It takes a lot of thought and planning on your part. Should you have a party? Do you go to dinner? Or do you just have a little send off with a cake and balloons?

Saying Goodbye

If you are in a big office a large office party may not be the answer. Especially considering that unless it is an executive or someone who you deal with on a daily basis, most people will not know who it is that is leaving. You may want to get the advice of other co-workers and see if they would all prefer to go out for dinner or drinks. If it’s a smaller office and things aren’t too hectic, you may want to have a little office party. This way everyone is able to be there and give their well wishes.

If you have an office with only a few employees, both are acceptable. How about an office party that flows into a dinner farewell? Of course with a smaller office, people tend to bond a little more. So saying goodbye to a co-worker may need some Kleenex. Whether they are moving far away, or just leaving their position. Either way, it’s never easy saying goodbye to a co-worker.

 

The Benefits Of Shopping For Birthday Cards Online

My deadline for ordering our annual assortment of Birthday cards is fast approaching. There are so many phone calls I have to make to order cards and gifts for Bosses and associates. And every year it seems like most customer representatives are less than helpful, even standoffish, which does not make my task any easier. I am dreading the time it is going to take to explain what I want, how I want it, and what my company budget is. Well, after making a few calls, my fears became reality. My third call was to a card company. I told them what I was looking for, the quantity, and what I wanted to be printed. I received my confirmation. It was all wrong. So I called back. I received a second confirmation, wrong again. The rep on the other end of the phone wasn’t very helpful. I cancelled my order, and started a search for a new company on Google.
I searched, and found The Gallery Collection. I called and was pleasantly surprised.

Royal Blue Birthday Card

The customer service reps there were very helpful. They told me that I could samples of the cards I was considering, then I could order by phone, or I could place my order online. The steps were easy to follow. But if I needed any help at all, call back and they would be happy to help. I even got an extension to call back. After I received my samples, I went online, put in my card design number, put the quantity, greeting, custom imprint etc. And I could even add my company’s logo. I could choose colors for the print in the cards and on the envelopes. Some of the benefits of shopping for Birthday cards online are, you’re not rushed, you can choose everything you want, you don’t have to be put on hold for questions. There is no pressure. And there is always a chat button if you are stuck. Well after I placed my order, I called The Gallery Collection back just to make sure I did everything right, and to my surprise, was greeted by a very nice person who assured me that everything looked ok and that if there were any questions, they would call me.

What a wonderful experience I had. I will be doing all my shopping for Birthday cards online, and my All Occasion cards too. And only with The Gallery Collection, who made it such a pleasure to shop with.

Appropriate Christmas Party Themes For Your Office

Having a Christmas party at work can be strenuous. First, you have to come up with a Christmas party theme for the office. Then, the planning begins. The planning is the easy part. One of the hardest part seems to be a theme. Since I have been in charge of this project we have had four themes. The first year we did “Christmas Around the World”. We had the words Merry Christmas and Santa Claus in different languages from many countries. We had dishes from different countries on the table, and we even had people tell short stories of their Christmas traditions. That year was one of my favorites. The next year we worked with Toys for Tots. Our theme was Santa’s Christmas List. The idea was to buy a gift that you would have wanted as a child and donate it. Everyone who brought in a gift for a child received a ticket to our Christmas Buffet. It was a great year for the kids. My associates were very generous, some giving several gifts each. The third year, our theme was “Generosity and Kindness”. The idea was to be generous and giving for the month before Christmas. Every time you did something nice or charitable, you received a ticket for our tricky tray. The nicer and more generous you were, the more tickets you got to put into the bucket. Everyone seemed so much nicer that year!

Holiday Cheer Corporate Party Invitation

This year, I’m working on something really special. We are actually having a Christmas mini carnival. We are inviting the staff’s families so they can enjoy some carnival games, popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, and of course, a visit from the big man himself, Santa Claus. Then we will have a sit down style dinner. I know family is the most important thing in life, so why not include them in the fun? I’ve already called The Gallery Collection to order my holiday party invitations, and as soon as they arrive I’ll add my own personal touch to each one. Everyone is so excited. My boss can’t wait to dress up as you know who! While everyone is ready to enjoy this years fun, I’m already working on next years theme.