SHOULD YOU BUY A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOUR BOSS?

Thanks to Learn Vest for this blog idea.  Learn Vest is a fantastic blog  set up especially to provide unbiased financial information to all women so that they can make the best financial decisions possible.

A quote from their site. 

Why Women? Why Now?

Women have come a long way financially over the last three decades. Women today make up half of the professional work force and are found to buy or influence 80% of all consumer purchases in the United States yet they continue to lag behind men when it comes to managing their personal finances.  According to a 2006 Prudential financial poll,  80% of women say that they plan to depend on Social Security to support them in their golden years and 38% of women 30-55 years old are worried they will live at or near the poverty level because they cannot adequately save for retirement.  So even today–despite coming so far in many ways–too many women are still ignoring their finances.  LearnVest provides a solution that is relevant and timely – it is something women need.

OK it is an American site but I think that a lot of what they say is good and useful, they have a great set of budgeting tools which I love, especially the Checklist page which helps you to cross off your financial to-do lists, the checklist walks you through your financial problems step-by-step!  Don't we all hate money issues?  I know I do, I put off everything for as long as I can then get so stressed out when I have to do my tax return, pay bills, do financial calculations etc.  This does help.  Anyway, back to the title of this blog............. (Im good at rambling!)

 

I actually didn't mean a Christmas gift for your boss - literally, Its hard enough sometimes to find the right gift for our own Dad or friends for that matter.  So when it comes to workmates, perhaps that is expecting to navigate the murky waters of gifts just too deeply.  A gift can be the best way to say thank you for the hard work someone has done, but in other cases is may feel inappropriate.  You don't want to make people feel uncomfortable or as though they need to give you a gift in return.  Even Secret Santa gift exchanges in the office can lead to treacherous waters.  If gift giving is standard in your workplace (say through Secret Santa) then get everyone to set a price range, once you all feel there is a guideline there is no need to feel pressured to spend more.  Now I expect you are all thinking, she is going to suggest soap as the best thing? (well it does work well for Secret Santa) and yes I will give you a few pointers although that is not the only thing.  I have posted the etiquette guide from Learn Vest slightly changed to suit the English!

BOSS - not necessary, if you are friends it's perfectly fine to give a gift, just remember that they probably make at least twice your salary (in my case about 6 times) and they don't expect you to outdo or even match their extravagance  - so how about My Bridge Inn Beer Bar  or Vintage Rose 

BOSS BUDGET - £0 - £10 

WHAT? - Well obviously the above Naturally Made Soaps but the advice says...  Choose something that show's you have noticed her likes and tastes (I love the fact that this post  just assumes your boss is a female!!!!). So try an annual subscription to a foodie magazine, or a new iphone case, or, if you are at a loss, try a book with a hand-written note on the inside flap 

CO-WORKER - Giving a gift to a co-worker who is also a friend is appropriate, but if you are buying her a gift for the first time, don't go overboard 

CO-WORKER BUDGET -£0 - £7.50

WHAT? - Keep it light, so if your co-worker didn't get you a gift she won't feel awkward.  Beautiful Goats Milk and Ylang Ylang soap would be my choice but their suggestions are Homemade pastries, a desk calendar for the New Year (how exciting :-() or a £5 bottle of wine are simple and thoughtful.  I know what I would want!

ASSISTANT - Your assistant, whether personal or shared by the office, probably deserves the biggest thank you for his or her hard work in helping to keep your day-to-day straight 

ASSISTANT BUDGET - £15+

WHAT? - Cash is king, An American Express gift card or gift certificate (or better still a Naturally Made Soaps Gift Certificate - available soon)  is a nice way to say thanks.  An arrangement of her favorite flowers also makes a nice touch. But best of all, give the fab smelling, unisex soap - SNOWBERRY

INTERN - (Difficult for us English, usually means Work Experience or Student placement) As long as the intern did you proud and made your life easier, she/he deserves a small thank you at Christmas..... especially if they were unpaid (as most people volunteering for a Local Authority or other public services are) 

INTERN BUDGET - £5 - £7.50

WHAT? - Consider taking him/her out for a nice lunch as a gift - could be expensive, or check out some professional gift like a chic business card holder or a book that helped you get started in your career (hmmmmm - not so sure about this one).  If it their last day, type up and surprise him/her with a recommendation letter before he/she thinks to ask - I dont really think that is a Christmas present? - surely that is what any good boss/manager would do anyway   So how about giving them something that will really remind them of Christmas and all it stands for?  Christmas Spice Cake

Look out for the new Naturally Made Soaps gift vouchers, you bloggers will be the first to hear about it of course.

New soaps added to the website

Hi everyone, I have been busy today adding lots of new soaps to my site and generally tidying it up a bit, sounds easy but it has taken me the whole day!!

Anyway, go and have a look at:

Rose Garden Mini Soap Cupcakes
http://www.naturallymadesoaps.co.uk/Rose-Carden-Mini-Cupcake-p/rg2.htm
So cute and simple looking.  Its a tiny version of its bigger brother Rose Garden.  Palm Oil Free!

Chamomile Spring
http://www.naturallymadesoaps.co.uk/Chamomile-Spring-p/ch1.htm
I just love this soap, funny how Lemongrass and sweet orange essential oils smell a little like freshly grated ginger when they are put together - or at least I think they do!  This is selling very fast.  Palm Oil Free!

Vanilla Cream and Sugar Candy
http://www.naturallymadesoaps.co.uk/Vanilla-Cream-and-Sugar-Candy-p/vcsc1.htm
One for the kids, or the kid in us!  It has a lovely warm, 'just baked cake' fragrance.  Palm Oil Free!

Azure Waters Sea Salt Bar
 https://www.naturallymadesoaps.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Azure1
Brand new and really different, treat yourself to your very own 'spa' soap home treatment.  Palm Oil Free!  (not ready for dispatch until after 4th May)

So can you spot the obvious connection with all these new soaps?  Easy - ALL PALM OIL FREE!  I'm so pleased.  So now every remake I do will have all whole Devon goats milk and be palm oil free.  Can't better that, oh yes I can, I almost forgot, I'm about to get my first order of organic, lightly refined Shea Butter from Fresholi  http://www.fresholi.co.uk/

Fresholi organic shea butter comes from Ghana and comes from a Fairly Traded Community Project.  This is what they write about their products sourced using this route:

"Wherever possible, we source quality & sustainable ingredients that support community projects around the world.  We embrace wholeheartedly the ethic of paying a fair price in order to sustain these projects & the communities they support. 

It fills us with enormous pride and satisfaction that both our certified organic tamanu oil and our certified organic unrefined shea butter are sourced from such projects."

Click on the link below to see a presentation about their Shea Butter.

http://www.fresholi.co.uk/galleries/projects/projects-shea.htm

Do leave a comment and let me know what you think of both my new soaps and my desire to go Palm Oil Free - have you yet?

Oh My Goodness - Fab new soap evolving!

Yup, another one that is Palm free, think I must be on a roll now.  This is a soap I have been wanting to make for a long time, tried a couple of times and it did not work, but too busy to keep going.  Finally decided to try and crack the Salt Bar soap  -  Why you might ask... well we all know how health giving and healing salt can be, it makes a fantastic bar of soap,  I have used 75% natural, Portuguese sea salt in this trial batch along with lots of coconut oil and Castor oil for bubbly properties.  Its still very young - some bits hard, some bits very sloppy out of the mold - but has now hardened up beautifully.  Its like polished marble.  I have been using some already and it it bubbly, and lovely, scented with peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils - really fresh and invigorating.

Well, I need a name. I am hoping that eventually this soap could be part of a new Portuguese soap range -  have come up with lots of really naff names (Sea Breeze - see below) but need something that says it all, Atlantic coast, white icing sugar sand, lots of wild waves, very cold sea....... can you help?  have a look at the pics and let me know what you think, all comments gratefully received

A close up of the top of one bar, shows the seasalt embedded in the top

 Another picture of a collection of bars

HELP! I would really love a name that reflected everything I am trying to convey, Summer holidays, Beautiful coast, surf, fab sandy beaches etc.
A really great prize available to the best name......................
Thanks, in anticipation

FINALLY!! A PALM FREE SOAP THAT I AM REALLY PROUD OF

Yes folks, after trying out lots and lots of different recipes as well as trying to source a good sustainable supply of unrefined Palm oil things have moved on.  I have hit on a recipe that I am really thrilled with.  It uses lots more olive oil so, while that is great for your skin, it does mean the soap is a lot softer getting it out of the mold and cutting it up, in fact it was really sticky and I did have to force myself to keep going.  3 weeks later it is already lovely and hard, a gorgeous golden colour and it smells wonderful.  I just hope the scent lasts as its citrus based, I used lemongrass, sweet orange and grapefruit essential oils, together they are fab.

I have used full fat, really fresh local goats milk from my favorite supplier Norsworthy Dairy Goats http://norsworthydairygoats.blogspot.com/ and that has just added to the wonderful creamyness of this soap.  It really is great and while I will still be looking for a good source of sustainable palm oil the rush is over.  If customers like this soap I think I will slowly change all my range to this blend.

The soap will be ready for sale soon and up on the website within a week or so.

CUPCAKES AND VALENTINE SOAPS NOW ON THE WEBSITE

IM SO EXCITED ABOUT MY NEW SOAPS!

Its sad, Im like a little kid today, finally got my new categories up on the website and I am really happy with the way they look, the photography is not the best because I did the pictures not Nigel.  I was so keen to get the Valentine soaps up quickly that I just went ahead.  Ive got a photo shoot coming up soon so I hope to have more professional pictures then.  I also have a lot more cupcakes to show you all.  My favourites are the wedding ones and the chocolate orange - mmmmm  so yummy they are going to be hard to resist biting into.  What do you all think?  have you got any good ideas for cupcake varieties? if so let me know.