What to Get for a Mean Boss

What to Get for a Mean Boss

You love your work, you love your company, you love your salary and you love the perks that come with working here. But still, there’s this dark portion of your work that’s still not tolerable – your boss!

She’s so good in playing the antagonist in your worklife that you’re thinking of resigning soon, something like after the holidays. But before you do that you have to deal with one last problem – you picked her name for the Secret Santa Game! Now what do you give her, a bottle of poison or an atomic bomb? You don’t want to be the mean one but surely you don’t want be the nice one either. If you can’t think of any, we suggest the following great ideas on what to get for a mean boss.

  1. A picture frame. I remember the days when my mom and I would go shopping for Christmas gifts for our distant relatives. She didn’t know them very well and never really wanted to give them gifts except my grandma insists she does. My mom would go for a safe gift that’s not really cheap but not very adorable. Now, when you have a boss who isn’t nice at all, you shouldn’t be giving him or her a nice present. But, since she’s your boss, and whether you like it or not, your promotion still depends on her last say, you shouldn’t be too mean on her. A picture frame will do. But choose something plain, not even cute. American Frame offers customized ones with nice discounts.
  2. What to get for a mean boss

  3. Scented Candle that doesn’t smell very nice. The boss loves to relax, sometimes even in the most unnerving time within the day such when you have a deadline. All she does is to relax. Because of this, a great gift for her would be something she can use whenever she unwinds in her expensive Jacuzzi at home. But she’ll later realize that the candle that’s burning has an irritating smell! Are you a meanie? Not really, you just wanted to give her something she can use for this pamper moments… Right? But if you change your mind, you can always visit Candles by Victoria. You might as well grab one for yourself.
  4. Paperweight. Would you even want to be given a paperweight as a gift from a person close to you? I certainly wouldn’t! But the thing is, you’re not really close to your boss. And from the looks of it now, you wouldn’t be in the next decade. Get some budget friendly paperweights from Paperweight Collection.
  5. Flower vase with artificial flowers. What can be nicer than a beautiful flower vase with beautiful red roses? What can be worse than a beautiful flower vase with beautiful ‘fake’ flowers? You’ll probably not tell the difference but when you do, it sucks! A stranger gift for an estranged boss sounds like perfect match. Find a nice vase and silk flowers at 1888 Flower Mall.
  6. My Purpose Driven Life. Rick Warren’s fast selling book was written on purpose. Definitely. It was meant to appease negative attitude and minimize hatred in everyone’s heart so as to be one with God. Giving your mean boss a copy of the Purposes Driven Life would help him or her be a better person, and thus, a better boss. Order the book at Amazon. If you haven’t read it yet, try it out. It’s actually a nice book. So to you and your boss, Happy Holidays!

Perfect Gifts for the Shy Co-Worker

Admit it – the workplace is an urban jungle. People from all walks of life with different personalities and varying generations muscle their way to survive in the office.  There’s the lively and friendly. There’s the flirty but not totally brainy. And there goes the quiet type or the “shy-type” kind of dude. Unfortunately (or fortunately, whichever you prefer), on this year’s Secret Santa Game, the person you picked was Dave, the guy who prefers to work alone, never joined any boy’s night out, certainly not the kind you can ask to join the social baseball team, and obviously not someone you can talk to for more than 10 minutes a day. And that’s not because you don’t want too but because he just wouldn’t let you get inside his fence. He is just so shy!

So now, the problem is, what would you give Dave, the anti-social-slash-shy-type dude?

You start to go on research, and find that, according to a website on social anxiety, shyness is a feeling of inhibition wherein a person expresses nothing, if not just a few, of his or her feelings and thoughts. A shy person does not interact or socialize much. At some worse case scenarios, a shy person experiences rapid breathing and drum-like heart beats. You know that shyness is common to individuals no matter which age bracket; however, it’s much more understandable for a kid to be shy than for a grown-up like Dave. (Sigh) This problem is getting on your nerves!

Don’t worry. Here are three great ideas to jumpstart your search for the Perfect Gift for the Shy Co-Worker, Mr. Dave. And don’t forget to share your thoughts after reading the list! We’d appreciate hearing your gift ideas, too. Enjoy!

  • A Book: The Gift of Shyness: Embrace Your Shy Side and Find Your Soul Mate

I’m pretty sure you’re torn between wanting to give him something that will diminish the shyness in him or something that will perpetuate his introverted personality on a positive note. Here’s a gift idea if you’re thinking of the latter, a book by Dr. Alexander Avila titled The Gift of Shyness: Embrace Your Shy Side and Find your Soul Mate which you can find in GoodReads.com or in Amazon.com. In a nutshell, the book is a “heartening celebration of shyness” where “shy men and women discover how to tap into their hidden strengths and find lasting love.” That’s the bomb!

  • Coupons or Gift Certificates for an Art Class

A coupon may not sound like the best gift for someone because it sometimes determines the financial value of an individual. However, you’re safe if you’re giving something that will develop the personality of your gift receiver… such as this one: Living Social Coupon Classes for any social activity your receiver is fond of. For instance a coupon to take art lessons at Sacramento Art Classes.  Let your shy co-worker take part in an activity where he can express himself without having to say a word. Who knows, you may actually help him overcome his shyness as he tries to socialize with people who share the same inhibitions with him.

  • The Greatest Coffee Mug Ever!

Let him smell the aroma of freshly roasted coffee from this cool Big Mouth Toys Toilet Mug. Using this would either make him look cool or look funny but either way, your anti-social officemate will get the attention that could boost his confidence level and make him speak up. Besides, who wouldn’t love over something as funny as this toilet mug? Don’t be surprised if you see him laughing at it by himself! And make sure to order via Amazon.com to get it for only $9.00.

Safe Secret Santa Gift Ideas for a Girl You Don’t Know

Safe Gift Ideas for a Girl You Don’t Know

Every Christmas time, all departments in your company play the Secret Santa game. However, a week before the big draw, Mr. Big Boss hired 10 new employees. You tried to get to know them, and you didn’t really have a problem with the guys. But the girls! It’d probably take more than a month’s time! So when it was your turn to choose who you’d be a Secret Santa to, you desperately wished it wasn’t one of those new girls. Excitedly, you looked at the paper and with extreme horror you read the name that says: Barbara Lopez.  You sighed and said, “Who the heck is Barbara Lopez?!”

Okay, so you don’t know who this girl is, what’s the big deal?! Don’t go crazy thinking about the nicest gift to give your Secret Santa pick. Instead, read on our list of Safe Gift Ideas for a Girl You Don’t Know here.

  1. Gift Cards. Okay, talk about boring and super safe gifts. Gift cards are the safest gifts in the world ever, and you can gift them to just about anyone because it seems like they are accepted just about anywhere. But be careful in giving gift cards as some people often think of it as how much they are valued in terms of dollar. Gift cards are nice gifts for people who you don’t feel like being close friends with in the next 12 months.
  2. Baked Assorted Goodies. They say that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. True. But what some of us don’t know is it’s the same thing with women! A safe gift for a girl you don’t know would be a pack of assorted baked products. It could be a box of donuts, a jar of cookies, a box set of brownies, slices of different flavored cakes, or a box of muffin. For instance, New Yorkers love Zaro’s Bakery while Floridians just love Cusano’s Bakery.
  3. Lady Gaga album. Who doesn’t love Lady Gaga? Like rara-rarara? If you know someone who despises Gaga, then tell me now, right here, right now! Of course you couldn’t come up with one. That’s simply because everyone loves this peculiar artist whose showmanship is far beyond the likes of Cher and Madonna. So if your budget permits it, a Lady Gaga album given to a girl is just safe, fabulous, and hot! And who doesn’t want to be fabulous and hot?
  4. A blanket. Everyone, or at least everyone I know of, loves to sleep in the captivating comfort of a thick blanket this winter holiday season! Now, a blanket is a safe gift but at the same time it’s something you know would be functional to the receiver.  A safe gift for a girl you don’t know is a nice blanket from Ralph Lauren, a good addition to the person’s comfort most especially during these freezing nights. When choosing a blanket, try to pick the one with plain color as you’re not sure of the personality of this girl. Safe colors for girls are white, green, light blue, light yellow, and carnation pink.
  5. A shiny lip gloss. Girls love to have an alluring look. So if the girl you are giving a gift to is like a your child’s piano teacher, a two-week old new officemate, or a neighbor you’re welcoming to the community, a shiny lip gloss encourages beauty without being heavy on the wallet, and being still being on the safe side.

While the most thrilling part of playing Secret Santa is that you’ll never know who you’ll get, this is also the risky part of it. What if you pick the person you do not know quite well? Or worse, what if you get the person you know nothing about at all? Would you go undercover to get ideas on what she likes and dislikes are? As a wise saying goes, it’s better safe than never! Since it’s Christmas time, you wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone, right? Happy shopping!

Five Secret Santa Gift Ideas For Your Off-Limits Guy Friend

5 Gift Ideas For Your Off-Limits Guy Friend

So you’ve got a crush on an irresistible cutie. His brown hair complements his hazel green eyes, and his muscles are like screaming out from his blue polo shirt. He’s gorgeous and you’ve been having a secret crush on him since… forever! But you can’t. He is totally off limits. He has a girlfriend and you’ve been friends forever!

Now that it’s Christmas time, you’re feeling clueless about what gift would suit him. For better or for worse, you drew his name as your Secret Santa, and you’re not sure if you’re excited or embarrassed. But you know you’re anxious, but stop worrying – we have five great gift ideas for you.

You want to get him something special, but of course, you don’t want to spill the beans! Then again, maybe you do! That would make things easier, right? Still, unless, you’re ready to face the consequences, you should probably find a gift that doesn’t give everything away. But since it is Christmas time, you’d rather not let your “love” change the revolution of the world. Now, before you die of fretfulness, let’s give you some ideas for the gift.

  1. His Cologne. This one is pretty popular, if you don’t mind spending for the very special guy best friend, of course.  If you have known this friend for a long time, you may have memorized his favorite cologne. If you still don’t have an idea what brought that great smell on him, you could always ask him anonymously. If he doesn’t have one, which would be weird to think he smells nice, you could give him cologne that’s not too expensive (not to open any misunderstanding). According to About.com, the 10 top selling men’s fragrances are John Varvatos, HM b Hanae Mori, L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme, Black Code by Giorgio Armani, Acqua di Gio Pour Homme by Giorgio Armani, Agva Pour Homme by Bvlgari, Sean John Unforgivable, Clean Men, Hugo by Hugo Boss, and Touch or Men by Burberry.
  1. An iPod case. If he has an iPod and it doesn’t have a protective cover, this makes a good gift. It’s inexpensive and he’ll always be carrying it around with him. What better way to remind him of how thoughtful you were during the holidays?
  1. His favorite team’s baseball cap. Is your best guy friend a sports buff? Sports memorabilia are always a favorite among men. Pick a unique design. Pick a new design, something that’s simply extraordinary, something along his line of taste. As a best friend for years, you should know what his favorite colors are, and what he considers as eyesores.
  1. The latest NY Times bestselling book. Is your best friend a bookworm? If yes, then there’s no doubt you should add something to his collection! If not, it’s time you tell him to be one. Books are fabulous gifts to boys and girls of all ages. Check out the latest bestsellers from the NY Times website.
  1. An international poster of his third favorite movie. Chances are your best friend already has a collection of his favorite DVDs and he has watched them over and over again. So what could be better, according to Primer Magazine, is giving him an international version of the poster of his third favorite movie.  Why the third favorite? Primer Magazine says if your best friend’s favorite movie is Collateral Damage, there is a big chance he already has it posted on his wall. Then, there are the other friends who figured why not give him a poster of his second movie? So be unique while maintaining the value of your gift. Find out his third favorite (if you haven’t found out yet) and hand it over to him on the day of the big Secret Santa game. Then, watch his face lit up in excitement. Feels good, right?

These are just five among thousands of items you can choose from for your very-special-slash-best guy friend.  When finding the right gift, just always keep in mind that this Christmas, nothing more matters than sharing the love you have. So don’t try to spend so much on gifts; rather, find something that will be valuable to your guy best friend. He’ll appreciate the effort and he’ll definitely more appreciate the love!