Are YOU ready for Christmas?
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When only the best is good enough…
Make yours a special gift this Christmas
A-Z of tantalising tables, daring decorations and festive fripperies!
Christmas Past and Present in the royal palaces of London
Meet a real party animal!
An invitation they simply can't refuse!
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Seems crazy, I know, but for all of us in the secretarial sector, Christmas is just around that corner. It's as strange for us here to be putting together articles about party invitations, table decorations and Yuletide gifts, as it is for you to be planning your corporate Christmas celebrations. And yet, as we all know – the time is now! This issue of your favourite online magazine for PAs is full of handy hints and practical advice, to help you make this your best corporate Christmas yet To kick off with, we have plenty of advice on the centrepiece of your corporate celebrations, the Christmas party. Whether you're going to be organising a black tie ball for 2,000 or a fancy dress shindig in your local hotel, you need to treat the event as a business project. Jim Gilbey has some excellent tips on keeping an eye on the bottom line (financial, not sartorial!), and helping to justify the cost to the company bean counters.
Meanwhile, Sara Goodwins has put together a fabulous A-Z of table dressing, full of inspiration and ideas for your party decorations. Ian Boughton turns his attention to your party invitations, and gives some up-to-the-minute hints on getting the buzz going in anticipation of your event – from e-invites to hand tattoos! Don't miss it!
Our resident PA Lee Morrissey pulls together a checklist of Christmas chores, to make sure you keep on track, all told with her inimitable wit, while we talk to another PA working for an event management firm about how she helps to organise all your Christmases! Find out what Gina Irvine thinks about keeping a cool head in the Christmas season. We also get a fascinating insight into a Tudor Christmas from Historic Royal Palaces – you won't believe how many oxen the Court could get through at Hampton Court Palace! And you can continue the tradition of celebration today, feasting in the same Hall as Henry VIIIth.
On a more altruistic note, we asked Ian Boughton to give us some thoughts on charity giving at Christmas. The season of goodwill can be a great time to get your firm thinking about setting up a charity scheme, and (as usual) the PA is ideally placed to get it started.
And brand new this issue, our fun spot "Ouch! I wish Id known that!". Over the coming months we'll be hearing from six PAs who have discovered some vital piece of information, but unfortunately too late! So make sure you check out this new section and send us your stories – the best ones will appear in DeskDemon Express.
In the meantime, do keep your news and views coming in, it's always great to hear what's on your minds.
All the best – until next month!
