Simplify the Holidays

Posted by On Filed under Health, Voluntary Simplicity / Minimalism
Simplify the Holidays

Local radio stations started playing Christmas music today. It inspired me to blog about how to simplify the holidays.

The Center for a New American Dream releases an annual brochure on celebrating the holidays with “more joy, less stuff.” You can download the brochure or visit the website for more helpful tips. I’m a fan of the edible decorations and I also plan to make a photo album of pictures for my grandmother – shh, don’t tell her!

About.com has a whole entry on a Holiday Survival Guide. It’s filed under the stress management section, which makes me wonder about the trade-offs between health and the holiday hoopla.

On Facebook, check out the Simplify the Holidays discussion from the Kokua Hawaii Foundation. Their website is pretty cool and I’m jazzed about their Facebook widget.

When it comes to gifts, I have three options I always choose from. I either shop local, shop handmade at Etsy, or go the really altruistic route and shop at Alternative Gifts International or Oxfam International. Instead of heading out to the mall, I like supporting my local shops, galleries, and any store that will sell a gift certificate or Capitol Cash. Etsy is a marketplace for all things handmade and just blows my mind at the amount of amazingly unique, well-crafted, individualized gifts I could give myself…er, I mean, friends and family!

AGI supports humanitarian and environmental causes with the donation(s) you make in the name of relatives, colleagues, family, etc. Oxfam America is a large relief organization and it’s Unwrapped program has a wide array of charitable gifts. I love these services because there’s nothing that says Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa,  or Happy Hanukkah like giving a solar water boiler or manure or a flock of ducks. It’s serious fun to give these gifts to loved ones and it makes a huge impact on the communities the gifts go to.

When it comes to Thanksgiving celebration, I usually try to fast if I don’t have plans with friends. This year I’ll likely be observing a day of fasting and reflection. The Boston Globe ran an article on how these actions might more closely reflect the original Thanksgiving celebrations. Fasting is not something to take lightly, so talk to your doctor before attempting this, and research articles on how to enter and break a fast.

For me, fasting and reflecting definitely simplify the holidays and make me more, well, thankful. And isn’t that the point of this week?

 

Photo credit: Horla Varlan

Marketing Basics: Simplify and Segment

Posted by On Filed under Marketing
Marketing Basics: Simplify and Segment

I’m still totally enjoying the STAMATS SIMTech Conference. Day Two was jam packed with excellent speakers and valuable information.

First thing this morning, I had a one-on-one consultation with Julie Staggs, a STAMATS Senior Client Consultant. I was relieved to hear that my Goddard College colleagues and I are on the right track with our Communications Plan. We even included some components of communications that most colleges forget, so that was encouraging! Julie then helped me identify our next steps.

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Using Data and Emotions to Build Your Brand

Posted by On Filed under Marketing
Using Data and Emotions to Build Your Brand

I’m at the STAMATS SIM Tech Conference in Boston this week. So far, I’m impressed – the information offered is exceptionally dense and clear.

The first workshop I attended was “Building a Brand Strategy When Dollars Are Tight, Audiences Are Distracted, and You’re Not Sure of the Role Digital Media Should Play.” Sound useful? It certainly sounds like every non-profit and college I’ve ever worked with! The gist is that building a brand is about clearly and creatively communicating your brand  everywhere and every way possible. The presenter, Dr. Robert Sevier, gave us these tidbits:

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The Clothes Make the Woman – Or Do They?

Posted by On Filed under Pause for Reflection
The Clothes Make the Woman – Or Do They?

Day Two of the Vermont Women in Higher Education Conference. I could definitely extend this experience into three or four days – the setting, the Lake Morey Resort, is wonderful!

I could write plenty about each workshop, presenter, meal, and conversation, but I would do better by diving deeper into one thread of a speech that is sticking in my craw.

A prominent speaker at the event – I won’t identify her because I don’t want to make this personal – said that we (“we” being women) need to always be aware of our appearance. I wondered: do the clothes make the woman?

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