Debbie Mayo-Smith: A miscellany of holiday quick tips

Create a special holiday group on Facebook to share your holiday snaps if you don't want to post them on your personal page. Photo / Thinkstock

Who wants to talk business at the moment? I certainly don't! Therefore my last column for 2014, I thought to share six holiday ideas and quick tips:

1. Family diaries / Calendars
For young children (who can read and write), start a big family diary and keep it in the kitchen. This way you'll know the comings and goings and appointments of everyone. You can include them in your world and they will know that you are interested in theirs.

For busy families with older children - why not keep everyone up to date with a shared Google calendar. Two options. Let everyone use the same login to the one calendar, and simply use a unique colour for their activity. Alternatively let mum have the master Google calendar, and have dad and the kids share their calendar. Then mum can integrate the families calendars into hers, again seeing all the activity. Even better these calendars can be made public and individual entries can still remain private.

2. Holiday gift vouchers - not the store bought kind
Gifts don't always have to cost a lot of money. One of the loveliest gifts that you can give to family and friends, or ask for yourself, is that of time and shall I call it personal service.

An hour foot, back or hand massage, running errands, doing chores, babysitting, special time together having lunch or a walk through a museum, are all great gifts. My favourite present was a handmade book of redeemable, thirty minute back rubs and bowls of hot popcorn from my daughter Samantha. Talking about gifts, brings us to number three.

3. Extend Christmas fun
If your children rip open presents in a frenzy, here is an idea. Have them open their gifts one at a time during the course of the day.

• It prolongs the pleasure for the entire day
• It allows each gift to get proper attention
• You can build up from small presents, to the 'big one'.

4. Easy cooking
Countertop grills are great time savers as well as fat reducers. Here are some cooking ideas you'll love:

• Bacon: 2-3 minutes, and it drains fat and reduces shrinkage
• Eggs: Just lower the cover, but don't press down on the eggs
• Meatballs with a little cheese on bread, and leftover bolognaise spaghetti sauce
• Kebabs

5. Extend holiday memories
A nice memento from travelling is to buy fridge magnets or tea towels from the places you go. Using the towels, seeing the magnets on your fridge will keep your holidays and memories alive longer. They can also be used for a learning experience for young children. Purchase things with native birds, trees, animals etc., from the places you have visited.

6. Facebook groups for sharing holidays
How you can bring your family and friends along with you on holiday is by uploading your holiday photos onto Facebook at the end of the day - or two - or whenever you're at a Wi-Fi spot!

You don't need to put it on your personal page where all your so called 'friends' can see it. Nor your business page. Why not create a special holiday group? A Facebook Group has the advantage of:

* It can be public (anyone joins), closed (anyone can ask to join or be invited) or secret (must be invited).
* Your posts and photos in the secret groups can only be seen by members.
* You can email members
* You can upload more than one photo and they can be put into different albums

So before you next go away on an exciting holiday, consider opening a secret group, add your family and friends via their email addresses (they must be on Facebook) and then you can shoot through a Facebook message or email every time you have uploaded something new.

P.S. Don't forget to download the Facebook app for your tablet or smartphone.

Written by Debbie Mayo-Smith, One of New Zealand's most in-demand speakers, trainers and bestselling authors. Debbie works with companies that want more effective staff. For more tips and business ideas sign up for her free monthly newsletter.