Busy Bee Lifestyle » Fostering Friendships

Girl Friends’ Get Togethers

Host Bee — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:37:42 +0000

Host a Terrific Girl Friends’ Get Together and Get a Job Done!

Spending quality time with your girl friends may seem like impossibility during the crazy holiday season, but I have some fun ideas for combining work and play!

Card Writing Party – Invite friends over to tackle the task of writing and addressing holiday cards. You’ll supply the wine and cheese, a bunch of pens and the guests will bring the rest! Imagine how quickly those cards will get written as you chat and eat!

It ‘s a Wrap – This gathering is intended to get those presents wrapped and ribboned! You may not be able to invite as many ladies as at the Card Writing Party, but it’s still fun and effective! Have guests arrive with unwrapped gifts, as well as their own ribbon, boxes and wrap. Have extra scissors and rolls of tape on hand. Terrific snacks are essential!

Shopping Send Off - Host an early morning Open House, offering hard working shoppers some gourmet fortitude! A simple buffet of bagels, donuts, fresh fruit and coffee (with “to go” cups) will have your friends energized for a hard day at the mall. Encourage guests to bring unneeded coupons for a coupon exchange. A reusable shopping bag would be a terrific party favor!

It’s nice to know that you aren’t the only one struggling to accomplish the holiday to do list and your friends will welcome the chance to work, chat, share and complain with you!

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Cook for the Cure

Host Bee — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:30:08 +0000

Tip of the Week – Cook for the Cure!

I just love the new fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research initiated by Kitchen Aid! Kitchen Aid has enlisted Villeroy and Boch to design a beautiful party platter inscribed with the words, “Cook for Your Family, Cook for Your Friends, Cook for the Cure.”

After purchasing the platter, you’ll need to prepare a favorite culinary dish for a friend or family member and serve it on the signature plate. When it’s received, a number on the bottom of the platter will allow the recipient to register it online and for each time that the dish is passed, Kitchen Aid will donate $5 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

This idea combines the best of everything: good food shared among friends or family and an investment in a cause that is dear to every woman’s heart! With Breast Cancer Awareness Month just around the corner, Cooking for the Cure is a memorable way to acknowledge and address the concerns that we all share.

I can’t wait to get my own “pass the plate” dish! (shopkitchenaid.com, $24.99)

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Tags: cook for the cure, fun fundraising idea for the cure, the cure, fundraising, ways to raise money for breast cancer research, breast cancer fundraising, cooking to raise money for breast cancer, breast cancer research

How to Help a Friend in Need

Host Bee — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:10:57 +0000

Tip of the Week – Help a Friend in Need!

It goes without saying that we all have had friends or family members in need of meals, help with errands or any number of other tasks due to illness, difficult pregnancies or other challenges. At one point in my own life, I coordinated meals for a dear friend suffering with breast cancer. This was in the days before email and times have definitely changed for the better when it comes to helping others!

At lotsahelpinghands.com, you’ll find an easy resource for setting up a website that coordinates everything that someone in need could wish for such as meals, errands, and rides! The service is free, quick and efficient and will make any other method of organizing help obsolete!

When you create your individualized Helping Hands website, you’ll be able to provide details such as the number of family members, the delivery address*, delivery time and date, and any dietary restrictions such as sugar-free, nut-free, low-fat, and more!

If you find yourself in the position of helping someone in need, I hope that Lotsa Helping Hands will give you a hand too! And if you have a minute, take a look at Look What I Found: Designer Patient Gowns! At Raspberry Bee, you’ll find nightgowns that have been specially designed to be functional and beautiful, lifting the spirits of a dear friend in a hospital or nursing home!

*While it might seem obvious that meals would be delivered to the person’s own home, if someone is very ill and not able to receive company on a regular basis, consider having the meals dropped off at another home that is in a central location and assign one person to make regular transfers. Another way to minimize intrusion is to direct that meals be placed in a second refrigerator located in the recipient’s garage!

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Tags: helping a friend in need, how to help a friend in need, ill, illness, sick, family, support, supporting, ideas for making a meal for a friend, preparing a meal, dinner, meals

Tips and Ideas for Providing Meals for a Friend in Need!

Host Bee — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:08:53 +0000

Terrific Tips for Bringing A Meal to a Friend in Need!

In a recent Tip of the Week, I shared the website Lotsa Helping Hands with Busy Bee readers. This website is a fantastic time saving innovation that assigns volunteers to the various tasks that a person or family in need might require.

But when it comes to preparing those “to go” dinners, there are a few important points that will make your dinner delivery a well received success!

Things to Keep in Mind When Preparing Meals for a Friend in Need

Use Disposable Serving Ware – Always use disposable serving ware. The last thing that your friend needs is to worry about returning dishes! Secure a note to the dish with reheating instructions.
Check Quantities and Food Preferences -Make sure that you’ve been advised about the number of family members, food allergies and strong likes or dislikes. (If you’re using Lotsa Helping Hands, the site will cover these points for you!)
Be Creative – Try to be creative when choosing a recipe! You can be pretty sure that a lot of baked ziti will make its way to their fridge. If your dish can be frozen, let the family know this too. Take a look at one of my favorite one dish recipes, a fresh take on Chicken Tetrazzini!
You Can Still Help Even if You Can’t Cook - If you want to help, but just don’t have time to cook, don’t worry! Some helpful ideas include a gift certificate to a local pizza place that delivers, a grocery store gift card, or meals ordered from great online sources such as HomeBistro.com or SendaMeal.com. Both of these sites offer gift certificates which allow recipients to choose their own entrees and also regular delivery on a 1, 3, 6 or 12 month basis.
Include Something Extra for the Children – If you can, include a little something extra for any children in the family! Acknowledging a holiday is an easy way to do this – pick up cute cupcakes, candy or other treats in the spirit of the season.
Add a Special Touch – Fresh flowers, a potted plant, pretty paper napkins or current magazine are all nice added touches that will be greatly appreciated!

I hope that these ideas inspire you to provide assistance where needed in a wonderfully efficient, tasteful and thoughtful way!

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Tags: providing meals for a friend in need, tips, ideas, meal, dinner, dinners, help, helping, sick, ill, family, friends, how to provide and coordinate meals for a needy friend

Start an Office Lunch Club!

Host Bee — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:50:54 +0000

Happy (Lunch!) Hour - Start a Lunch Club at Your Office!

Eating lunch during a busy work day can be a pretty dismal affair – fast food, something zapped in the microwave or a meal at a restaurant are all less than ideal choices, especially if you’re trying to save money or eat healthily! But I recently read about an idea which can solve all of these problems – an office lunch club! The idea behind a lunch club is for a number of co-workers to take turns providing a midday meal for the group to share.

How to Get Started with Your Lunch Club!

This idea is brilliant! If your work place has a reasonably equipped kitchen your first step is covered!
Next, recruit a few co-workers who share your interest in freshly prepared lunches.
Among yourselves, decide how many times each week the “club” will provide meals and which days will be an “on your own” day. So, for example, if eight colleagues want to participate and Fridays are going to be an “on your own” day, each member will cook a meal for 8 every other week.
Choose a time frame during which lunch will be available, since you may not all be able to eat at the same time.

Other points to keep in mind

Does anyone have food allergies and strong dislikes
Will the group provide paper goods or will each bring their own?
Encourage members to stock the office kitchen with some nonperishable meal choices, just in case some sort of emergency prevents the scheduled chef from cooking!
If it happens that food is running low before everyone has eaten, consider larger portions or leaving a note as to what the portion size should be.

Have Fun with Planning Your Fare!

And this is probably the best part – as a group you can decide what type of cuisine you’d like to eat! Will you pick ethnic themes? Entrées selected from Weight Watchers, Cooking Light or South Beach? Will you occasionally offer vegetarian dishes? Or will the fare just be a surprise to look forward to? Make your choices based upon what you’d most like to accomplish. Is weight loss a goal? More varied lunch menus? Camaraderie among staff? Saving money? Let these considerations guide you! And remember to stay flexible – changes may be necessary as the group takes shape!

I just love the number of possibilities associated with forming a Lunch Club. Terrific food and friendship are sure to brighten even the dullest work day! And if you’re in need of a recipe for your newly created club, take a look at Busy Bee’s recipes for Chicken Tetrazzini, Barbeque Chili and Zipped Up Baked Ziti. Bon Appetit!

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Tags: how to start an office lunch club, starting a lunch club, group, office lunchtime ideas, making lunch at the office fun, improving office lunches, workplace