On the Matter of Manners

Apparently, etiquette does matter:

"Honestly, some of this stuff seems pretty obvious to me even though I'm more "down home" than "upper crust." But, I'm the first to admit that I'd be flustered if I were at a fancy dinner where everyone else knew which fork to use and I didn't. Really though, do people seriously put knives in their mouths? That's bad.

Still, I should probably emphasize this more than I do for the kids, since it seems to be a dying art. They could probably stand some lessons on what to do after your restaurant meal besides "throw the wrappers away, take your shoes off, and go play in the Playland until Mommy and Daddy are done..."

from Jen's Horde

I know I can identify with what Jen is saying, I'm sure many of you can, too. Knowing the 'right' way to behave in any number of everyday situations is often perplexing. Well, perplex no more! Visit this site for answers to many questions on the subject: Manners Matter.

Naturally, I checked out what they had to say about giving (and receiving) gifts:

"Receive with grace and give with thought. If you are given a gift, accept it with grace, take a moment to look at it and admire it. If you give a gift, be thoughtful. A good idea is to give something you would like to receive yourself. Gifts do not have to be expensive, indeed the gift must not embarrass the recipient by its generosity. For Good Modern Manners the thought really does mean more than the cost."

One of the things I like best about Italian Charms is that they don't have to cost the earth, which makes them really nice affordable presents. I also enjoy giving things that show I have put some thought into it, and feel quite dejected if all I can muster for someone's special occasion is a box of chocs. This is where Custom Photo charms really can come into their own. For example, £10 (approx $18) will get a keyring with two photo charms - they can be any image or photo that shows you have the recipient in mind.

There was an opportunity to give chocolates without guilt recently, when a former coleague, who had been really pleasant to work with, was leaving for a new job. I made her a keyring with the images from the wrappers of her two favourite chocolate treats* on custom photo links. To a casual observer, this may have seemed a fairly random, if not outright weird, gift. But, you see, I knew that she would have the keys for her new place of work, and that with her wedding coming up in 5 months, she was not allowing herself to eat sweets. To us, it made perfect sense and she was delighted with her quirky gift.


*Caramac and Maltesers, if you're wondering!

If you would like to create a thoughtful gift for someone, but are stuck for ideas, email me and let's combine our efforts and come up with something really special!