Material 1 http://www.baudville.com/articles.asp?a=187

Make Your Year-End Event Count! - October 2006

Great ways to celebrate the year with your team...

Quick Tip Summary:

- Year-End Event Planning is in the Works

- Some Baudville Suggestions for Your Event

- Making it Memorable is Most Important

Year-end events are very important occasions when it comes to team-building and employee morale. All year long we look forward to the time to get together and engage in good times outside of the workplace. As one involved in the planning, it is critical to come up with something unique to make your event memorable. Here are a few ideas that you can use during your year-end event planning:

Plan Your Party Around a Theme.

We've heard of some great ones over the years and wanted to share them with you! Try a western theme, casino night, 50s sock hop, 70s disco, 80s big hair night, winter wonderland, Christmas around the world, movie awards gala or a Hawaiian luau. Themed events make tying in the details simple and lighten the mood when everyone is on the same page (or dressed up).

Arrange for a Time to Celebrate with Just Your Crew.

Year-end is a time to celebrate all of the hard work your team has put in to make your company a success. As much as we all like to have our families involved in the celebration, it's also nice to just spend some time outside of the office with our co-workers relaxing and enjoying dinner and awards. We feel more at ease when we don't have to make sure our significant others are enjoying themselves. This time allows us to just let loose and take in the recognition with a smile.

Make it a Surprise.

Who doesn't love a surprise? Give hints as to what and where the event is going to be using your invitations or little clues throughout the office. This is a great way to get people talking about the event, and to get them excited about it! Just make sure that you give the date, time and general location of the event so that your team members can make the necessary plans beforehand.

Give the Gift of Thoughtfulness.

When you give a gift to each individual team member make it one that counts. At our holiday party last year, each team member's boss wrote a personal (hand-written) note in a leather portfolio for each of their employees. The thought and kindness that went into each word is something that we will all treasure for years. Something like this takes very little money but makes a great memento? try it; your team will love it! Go here to shop great unique holiday gifts.

When we surveyed our top customers about their favorite year-end event memories, their were very few that couldn’t think of something memorable that stuck with them from a year-end event passed. Take the time to think about the details. Think about what your team would like? don’t know? Ask them. This is a time to celebrate your team how they’re like to be celebrated. Make it a year-end event they’re never forget!

Team-Building Activity

Celebrate National Make a Difference Day October 28th

Volunteer as a team!

Participants Required: 2 ?2,000

Time: As little as 1 hour

Instructions: National Make a Difference Day is October 28th. This is a time to volunteer as a team or encourage your team members to get out there and volunteer their talents to a worthy cause. Give them paid time off to volunteer as a group in your community. Not only will this build team morale, it builds personal self-esteem. Let your team members know that you care about the community and want to share in those causes that they feel passionate about as well this October 28th!

Find out more about National Make a Difference Day.

Share Your Experiences

The best place to get ideas for your recognition program is from your peers. What抯 everybody else doing? Tell us what works for you and your team and maybe you抣l be our next Share Your Experiences feature!

This month’s idea comes to us from a friend in Louisville, KY. It’s a great idea for implementing a new employee of the month program which we all know could use a little refreshing sometimes. Enjoy!

"I have a team of 15 employees. On our Job Performance Appraisal Form there is a place for Provides Positive Recognition for Fellow Co-Workers. This is not always easy for people to do, so to help in that realm of the company, I have implemented an Employee of the Month program.

The way that this works is at our monthly team meeting, we randomly draw a name and that person is the Employee of the Month (this allows everyone an equal opportunity to be recognized by their co-workers, without becoming a popularity contest). The other employees then email me the recognition for the Employee of the Month, and I put all of the recognition together onto a scrap book page and present it to the Employee at our next team meeting along with a squeezable praise trinket. It has really opened up the door for people to recognize their co-workers."

- Anonymous

Let us know how your team celebrates hard work and dedication to team efforts. Share Your Experience today!

Material 2

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Decorate-Your-Dinner-Table-In-A-Way-To-Impress-Your-Guests&id=325293

How To Decorate Your Dinner Table In A Way To Impress Your Guests

When you invite guests to come to your home to share a meal with you, setting an attractive table is as important as serving good food. Your table setting is the first thing that your guests will see and can actually influence their appetites. This is why you should chose your setting carefully, based on whether the dinner is to be casual or elegant.

If you are having a formal dinner, then using a cream colored, linen tablecloth with matching cloth napkins is great for this type of dinner. You an accent it with a crystal or gold vase filled with flowers. Be sure to use a low vase, so that your guests' views of each other will not be blocked and you can use a large one for the center of the table and two small matching ones at the end. Candles also add a touch of elegance. Instead of using typical candle holders, considering using votives that you can set in bowls of water. Floating scented candles are another way to add grace and elegance to your table. If you prefer a modern type of elegance, then forget about using your grandmother's china and purchase some of the newer dinnerware that uses colorful geometric shapes.

If you are having a casual dinner, then consider using brightly colored tablecloths and napkins. They add festiveness to the table and can be complimented with floral arrangements that match the colors that you use. You can buy utensils that have colored stems and glasses in colors to match. There are many casual place mats that are attractive and affordable. They will not only add a since of style to your place setting but will protect your table cloth as well.

Themed dinners such as those served at holiday time, can be especially fun to decorate for. There is lots of dinnerware and utensils that have holiday themes and you can even band miniature Christmas tree ornaments together to make attractive compliments to your table. Red and gold are great colors to use for these dinners and don't forget to break out the punch bowl for eggnog. If wine is going to be served, use crystal stemware.

How you serve the food is also important. You should have pitchers of water at each end of the table and serve the appetizers first. Once they have been eaten, clear the table to make room for the main dishes. Replace soiled napkins and refill the water pitchers.

Your desert should be as inviting as the main course. Consider peach cobbler or a chocolate layer cake. Always have a sugar free alternative in case one of your guests can not eat food that contains sugar.

Be attentive to your guests and engage them in conversation. Make them laugh and they will appreciate you even more.