Did you ever think of the waste that is generated by the giving and receiving of Purim gifts for mishloach manot on Purim?  Each person receives loads of paper bags and boxes and plates that are not recycable, reusable, or made from recycable materials.  To keep our environment clean and stay within the Purim traditions of shalach manot your grandmothers would be proud of; The Sweet Shoppe has come up with some great Purim basket designs to fit the mode of being eco friendly for Purim and tradional for Purim.  No wonder our Jutee bags made from 100% recycable materials and a great reusable bags are so popular.  Of course, the further secret in our eco-friendly connection to traditional Purim gifting are on the inside of our Purim gifts.  Since we use only the most gourmet products in each gift; the food and gifts included will all be used vs. thrown away together with the disposable baskets, paperbags, and plastics.

Here’s your chance to hop on the bandwagon of Going Green and standing out for Purim 2010!

Interestingly enough the corporate Holiday gift buyer of small or large companies have a very varied range.  We’ve come to realize that the buyer can be anyone from the CEO of the company to the administrative assistant’s assistant, and the owner’s wife comes in between.  It seems like some owners/CEO’s enjoy the act of giving to the extent of being involved in every gift distributed by the company or maybe it’s the control over the spending that will make him do it on his own.  Sometime’s the lack of time on his part (if it’s a male owner or CEO) may lead to the involvement of his wife.   Some wives keep out of their husband’s business all year ’round, but revel in the title of gift buyer.  Maybe it’s because they simply enjoy any type of shopping or maybe they revel in the spending power given over to them.  Either way the are in control!

Then, of course, their are those companies that will have their PR department run the show on the holiday gifts while other companies will choose one individual to act as the liaison between the gift companies and the gift buying parties.  These ‘middlemen’ will do the research and get the prices but will have no actual buying power.  They will bring the information to their boss or bosses or partners and wait on a decision from them regarding Holiday gift and Chanukah gifts.

The true question is; does the title and involvement of the buyer or buying parties truly attest to the personal attention given to clients and employees once a year?  Do employees or clients know or feel different about the gift they received when they know who did the purchasing and ordering?

Did you realize that Chanukah starts in a mere month?  On December 11, 2009 on Friday Eve we light the first Chanukah candle.  Although the winter frost has not settled upon us completely, now is the time to start planning your Chanukah gifts.  Between shopping for your children and grandchildren’s Hanukkah gifts and giving your input in your office on Holiday gift purchases you may be pretty surrounded by gift buying possibilities.  As you browse the stores and online stores you will be bombarded with great gifting opportunities.  Here are some guidelines to narrow your search for Chanukah Gifts.

A.  Make a list of people you need to get gifts for

B. Make a total budget for Chanukah gift spending

C. Divide it evenly or according to age or importance and mark a price next to each name

D. Decide whether you want to do a personalized gift for each individual or a gift that can go for anyone

E. Enter each store or website with a quote of your budget. This will narrow the possibilities.

F. You may also choose to do some questioning of siblings or parents regarding toys/products that interest the children at this particular time.  This may turn tricky if it doesn’t match your budget so you may decide to skip it.

In summation; make your Chanukah gift shopping into a pleasurable experience!�

Can we ever be ready enough?  Are we ready for Rosh Hashana can be thought to mean - did we finish our cooking for the Rosh Hashanah seudos.  It can be thought to imply if we have our new wardrobe waiting with a full new attire for going to shul of Rosh Hashana.   On the spiritual realm it should imply; are you ready to hear the shofar’s call with all that it tells us.  Are we ready to coronate Hashem as our King and become his compliant servants once more?  Are we ready to say that we have made a ‘cheshbon hanefesh’ of year 5769 before heading to year 5770.  It’s a new decade.  A new era.  It could mean a new you!

Part of getting ready for the Jewish New Year also means well wishing for all our relatives and friends.  Did you visit or speak to your bubby, tante, old friend, and of course your siblings?  Did you wish them all a Shana Tova U’mesukah?  If you didn’t you can still do so today and tomorrow and even on Rosh Hashana.  It’s too late to get your greeting card to your loved ones out, but you can still make a phonecall, and you can still send a shana tova basket!

Shana Tova!

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Every kid in day school or yeshiva will come home singing the traditional song “dip the apple in the honey…”.  Does that make dipping the apple in honey a tradition or a custom accepted by all?  Many of the symbolic foods eaten on Rosh Hashana have developed from tradition, albeit they are really almost customs since they date back to many years.  Yet, dipping the apple in the honey is actually found in the ’shulchan orach’ making it a ‘minhag’ which is a true custom for Rosh Hashana.  Many ‘minhagim’ aka customs are considered ‘halacha’ once accepted by the vast majority.

As you savor the flavor of sweetness while dipping the apple into honey this Rosh Hashanah, do bear in mind that you and all your family and friends and klal Yisrael should have a sweet new year.  The sweetest year would be one of a speedy redemption from Galus.