Using that dull office equipment creativily

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Christmas isn’t that far away now and I guess some of you will be panicking and wondering what you can get for that last minute gift for auntie Mabel and Uncle Jack. Well, although it might be tempting to pop down to the shops and buy them the latest miniaturised helicopter imported directly from Japan, how about putting some of the feeling back into Christmas and doing something that is not only unique, but is sure to warm the heart. Over the past few years there has been a return to the ‘mend and make do’ attitude as many struggle with the burden of lower salaries (sometimes no salary at all) and spiralling costs. So why bother buying expensive gifts that nobody really wants anyway? For decades, Christmas became the time when you bought the most expensive yet completely useless stuff ever – but now people are realising that we can actually do something that has far more value than monetary. In America they’ve had this stuff sorted for years. Over there they are all into making personalised gifts, usually featuring photos and postcards and they’ve got the hobby industry wrapped up, but again, you don’t need specialist equipment for this. For example, you could make a ‘life history book' for your uncle as he reaches retirement. Now, this might sound difficult, but bear with me! First of all, you need to write down some of the things he’s done during the last few decades you’ve known him. This should be easy, Uncles are always doing crazy things. Write these down in a bit of a timeline but remember, it doesn’t have to be too accurate. Ask your other relatives for help here. Then, get yourself some decent quality printer paper , preferably coloured (adds to the effect) and write down some of the events –leaving space for a photo on each page. Then all you have to do is add other items such as postcards, shells off the beach – you get the idea, until you have a set of 10-20 pages, all outlining certain events in his life. All you need to do then is stick them all together in a book and this is the easy part. A really simple way of doing this is with a binding machine. You could use the one in the office (I’m sure nobody would mind!), or if you work from home anyway, simply invest in a quality one that will serve you for years. So there you go – office equipment doesn’t need to be dull!