Looking For The Perfect Graduation Present? Try A Monogrammed Memory Chest

Graduation season is upon us and that means it’s time to start thinking about gifts. If cash is too impersonal for you and you want to give the graduate something that will last a lifetime, you can’t go wrong with a personalized memory chest that has been monogrammed with the graduate’s initials. These solid wood creations are the perfect way to celebrate all the hard work grads have put in and serve as a reminder of the accomplishments for the rest of their lives.

Commemorate A Milestone

Graduation is a special milestone in life. It represents the culmination of time and effort put in toward achieving our dreams. What better way to commemorate this milestone than with a personalized storage chest or keepsake box? Personalization options range from the simple to the complex and include:

Names or monograms
School names
Graduation date
A special poem or inspirational quote

Beyond simply including the recipient’s name on the box, consider including a special poem or inspirational quote on the underside of the box lid. Grads will appreciate being able to look at your words again and again when they need comfort or inspiration.

Looking Toward The Future

Graduation isn’t just a time to celebrate the past. It’s a time to look forward to the future, full of hopes, dreams and goals. The most thoughtful gifts encourage these dreams. Some gifts encourage in entirely practical ways. The gift of money for example, is often used to help new grads start the next chapter of their lives whether that is more schooling or a first job or a first apartment. While practical and helpful, cash just doesn’t have the emotional connection that so many gift-givers are looking to convey.

Another common graduation gift is a book. Books are typically thoughtfully picked out by the gift-giver to aid the graduate in the next chapter of his or her life. They last a long time and very often contain a special message written inside for the graduate; something that he or she can refer to as he or she progresses through life. Books are easily stored or transported, which is another reason they remain popular.

Personalized memory chests meet all of these parameters as well but take their usefulness and longevity a step further. Memory chests are a physical representation of hope for the future. They are long lasting and practical, conveying your expectation that the grad will have a long life, overflowing with treasures to be stored inside the box. If you choose a solid wood chest or keepsake box, if will last for generations. In some families where it is tradition for children to attend the same schools as their parents, a memory chest engraved with the school slogan or name that is passed down from generation to generation has even more meaning.

The fact that these storage boxes can hold items as small as rings to as large as varsity jackets or blankets emblazoned with the school mascot makes them one of the most versatile presents you could give a graduate. It is this versatility that makes memory chests the perfect gift to grow with the graduate. What better way to celebrate life’s next steps and look toward the future than with a gift that grows along with your grad?

Must-Have Christmas Presents for Wives

Christmas Presents for Wives – Gift-giving is not an easy task, especially when you have the one person who is most special to you in mind – your wife! You cannot give your better half “just something” without giving it much thought. Wives are super sensitive, they’ll feel it when your gift comes deep from the heart or not. When thinking of some Christmas gift ideas for her, keep in mind how much you love and appreciate her. Always keep her interests at heart when picking Christmas gifts for your wife.

Christmas gift can be difficult to choose – particularly for your wife or girlfriend. Silver Jewellery can be a great choice with pendants, earrings, bracelets and rings to choose from in a wide range of styles, finishes and sizes there can be something special for everyone from Santa this year. Christmas is a time of for giving and for sharing so why not show her you care with something extra special in her Christmas stocking…

Gifts For Her have a wide variety of Christmas gifts for women Christmas gifts for women to choose from. We understand that different women are captivated by different things, that is why we make sure our customers are provided with lots of options to choose from. From stunning Jewelries and watches to sensual gifts and love tokens, there is one pick that will most certainly make one of the best Christmas presents for your wife. The White Leather Cuff Watch and the Love Letter Silver Necklace send a message of luxury that a woman very much appreciates, while the Personalised Faux Fur Cushion and the Romantic Massage Kit will undeniably show her that you truly care for her comfort and relaxation. Gift wrapping and messaging is available too.

Christmas comes but once a year so why not make an extra special effort to choose her a gift that she will really enjoy – after all she deserves it. If she likes gardening then why not try a pair of welly warmers, or some fantastic pink gloves, a gardening mug or one of our new elephant watering cans or robin watering cans. Bath and beauty products are always a hit as well. Spaceform offer a distinctive range of gift tokens and keepsakes for every occasion.

Christmas gift shopping can be fun if you do it on-line far from the madding hordes of Christmas shoppers, struggling to park, fighting their way into crowded shops – why bother when it is all available at the click of a mouse.

Now that the “-ber” months (September, October, November…) have started a few weeks ago, the countdown begins! The holiday season is definitely just around the corner and once again, we find ourselves carried along with the traditions that Christmas brings like music and decorations, homecomings, endless parties and of course the undying spirit of gift-giving. People just seem a bit more loving, more forgiving, more generous… totally sweeter! This is the kind of spirit that makes Christmas the most special time of the year.

A Crash Course in Negotiation

As you go about your workday, do you take time to negotiate the obstacles you regularly face or do you just walk away in disgust?

Please don’t walk away – come back and negotiate. Almost everything, in every aspect of your life, is negotiable. Having effective negotiation skills is the key. Especially in these difficult economic times, your ability to negotiate may mean the difference between success or ruin.

We negotiate transactions and conflicts – everything from which restaurant we choose for lunch to how to structure our businesses and our lives. These are the nine things you need to know before you sit down for your next negotiation.

1. Every negotiation brings an opportunity for meaningful and positive interaction. So, instead of seeing your negotiations as stressful hurdles, view them as possibility seeking endeavors.

2. Negotiation is a process, not an event. A diagram of what a negotiation should look like includes four fluid phases. The first phase is individual planning, preparation, and analysis. This is followed by relationship building; then an information exchange that includes a first offer, persuasion, concessions and compromise; and finally, agreement.

3. Before you ever meet the person on the other side, prepare. Do your homework. Find out as much as you can about your fellow negotiator and what his interests might be. Learn the facts and know your alternatives.

4. Be ready to deal with conflict by knowing yourself and your natural responses to conflict. If you are afraid of conflict you may not be able to move through a difficult, but necessary, discussion. Often it is best to respond without reacting. And while that may not be easy when you are emotionally triggered, it can bring you significant benefits.

5. Work with the person on the other side, not against them. Use your best communication skills, be clear and concise. Ask open-ended questions, then be quiet and listen. Be flexible and open to unseen possibilities.

6. Seek to understand the cultural and personality factors that may impact the process – but don’t stereotype or pigeonhole.

7. Be prepared for dirty negotiation tactics. Dirty tactics fall into three categories deliberate deception, psychological manipulation, and positional pressure maneuvers. When faced with a dirty negotiator (for instance the car salesman who leaves you sitting in a room for long periods of time) you have three options. You can identify and confront the dirty tactic, you can fall prey to it, or you can walk away. Make your decision based on the circumstances and your motivation. Remember, you choose your response.

8. Power balancing is a critical component of all negotiations. When negotiating always consider possible power imbalances and the differences between having ‘power-over’ (coercion, control, and dominance) and having the ‘power-to’ (the ability to act, to influence, to say no). Additionally, take into account the power source, which might be money, position, rank, or the personal power that emanates from a person’s individual characteristics. Finally, keep in mind that often a more motivated negotiator can overcome a lack of power.

9. There are five basic negotiation styles: competing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating. Each style has strengths and weaknesses and can be effective at certain times, in certain situations, and with certain individuals. While we may each have a preferred style knowing when and how to use each style appropriately can produce the most successful results.

a) Competing works when winning is the goal and winning is more important then the relationship with the person on the other side.

b) Avoiding is effective when neither the goal nor the relationship with the person on the other side is important. When it’s misused important goals are put at risk and the chance to improve the connection with the person on the other side is missed. So use this strategy with care.

c) Accommodating works best when the goal is to maintain relationships and please the other side.

d) Compromising is effective when you want to find a quick balance between meeting goals and building or maintaining a relationship.

e) Collaborating is effective when it is critical to both meet one’s own goals and to improve a relationship. While this may sound like the ideal strategy it is not appropriate for every situation; collaboration can be time consuming and often requires a commitment to the process that is not realistic unless a serious level of connection exists between the parties.

Finally, here is your homework: keep learning about negotiation and yourself as a negotiator. And, then, please, write to me and let me know your findings.