To: the court of public opinion

[smeddley]

(I will summarize the conference of DOOM tomorrow, I know you're all on pins and needles waiting to hear about my adventures, but you're just gonna have to wait, because I have to go back tomorrow. Woe.)

Okay, backstory. The last two years I've been on a committee for a luncheon we have for National Public Works Week. I was the person in charge of the centerpieces, and last year was my masterpiece - a fully functional board game called 'The Game of Public Works' (think Life, simplified). Not only was it fun and creative, it cost a whopping $1.18 per table because I'm awesome. So anyway, between the (oh so expensive and 'frivolous') centerpieces and the kick-ass door prizes (the biggest last year was a big screen LCD TV) they higher-ups decided we were spending too much and that it looked bad.

Okay, so we can make the centerpieces decent door prizes, right? Not big-screen TVs, but even if we just break even (based on the price of admission per person) it's $80 per table. You could put together a decent gift basket for that. Well, no. Turns out we can't even just break even, there's a finite amount we can spend on them. About $20-$25 per table. Okay, so maybe we can only do certain types of gift baskets, mostly things like food stuffs (BBQ kits, etc) where we could get things on sale, use coupons, that sort of thing. You could make them pretty and they'd be worthwhile. Or... we could just do gift cards. Problem being, those (even in a bag) aren't much of a centerpiece and really easy to nick. But they are easy... and of course, that's what the committee went for.

My friend is bummed because she was looking forward to being creative. I'm bummed because the best thing I can win now is a $20 gift card to a place I may not shop anyway. And, I think we both think that people will be disappointed.

So here's the question:

1) Which would you prefer: gift basket, or $20 gift card?
2) Even if you got your preference to #1, is it worth sitting through an awards luncheon (as in, would you continue to sign up to go)?

Comments

[gelsey.livejournal.com]

1. Depends on the gift basket and where the giftcard is for.
2. I dunno. That's not very much ...

[happyconfusion.livejournal.com]

1. Probably the gift card...if I don't shop there, I could give it to someone who does.
2. Probably not...especially if it costs me money.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Well, true. We were trying to think of very generic things for both, food-like baskets and gift cards to places a lot of people shop (Home Depot/Lowes, Movie Theaters, Barnes&Noble/Borders, Restaurants). Personally, I'd rather get a $20 bill, but I don't think they'd go for that. To semi-quote Dilbert's Mom on gift cards: 'they're just like cash, only not as good'. At least I could really spend the cash anywhere I wanted.

Yeah, I hate to sound snobby, because it is $20, but is that worth driving downtown and sitting through a ceremony that's boring enough to make me want to gnaw off my arm? I'm not sure.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm also looking at it from an aesthetic view - gift cards don't make for good centerpieces (I'd also be worried they'd get stole - it's easy to slip a gift card into your pocket, not so easy to smuggle out a ceramic bowl full of kitchen utensils and bread mixes, you know?).

Typically the companies pay, but it's quite a drive and it does take a chunk out of your day.

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Gift basket, and YES, I'd sit through the luncheon if there were baskets (a variety, and creative stuff).

A gift card just can't double as a centerpiece. At all.

If you do the gift cards, I'd do something like cookie bouquet, and then mark one of the ends of the sticks and who ever chooses that one wins the gift card (like the carnival lollipop game). Then everyone at least gets something.

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Oh, and the higher ups better not be surprise when next year, when the word gets out how the prizes so immediately declined, that you'll have a really low turn out then.

My view is they should either pick low cost OR low effort, not both. If those who do attend see that they are not worth either, that makes a very loud statement.

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

But the cookie bouquet would cost as much - probably more - than they're willing to spend. :/ But that's an AWESOME idea!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I think attendance will go down, because it was well-known that there were big prizes - in the eight years I've been going, the prizes have gotten bigger each year and attendance has swelled from about 150 to over 800. Coincidence? I think not.

See, the higher-ups honestly think people go to honor the award winners and to network. HAHAHAHAHA. *ahem* HAHAHAHAHA.

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

See to swell like that and then whooomp, down to $20 gift cards???? Much better to gradually dial back down. People are seriously going to be WTF?!?

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Oh, and I MUST see photos of this fabulous game you made... or did you post about it way back when?

I love creative stuff, and I love getting creative in making things for parties, I'd much rather have something clever and homemade than an expensive, lavish party.

I'm in charge of ordering centerpieces for an all day conference we have in May, they just get given away at random at the end during the awards ceremony (we wait to have dessert until then as a bribe). They're supposed to be floral, and I only have $250 to spend on 70 arrangements. It's an university thing, student group focussed, so I lit upon the idea that we ask the Horticulture Club to do it as a fundraiser, just plant herbs and put together pots with three different seedlings together, but the club had bigger fish to fry and couldn't even give up greenhouse space to bother because they make more money preparing plants for other things. *sigh* I haven't had anymore bright ideas, but if we have to get mini mums in school colors again, I'll scream.

[dynastic-queen.livejournal.com]

1. Definitely the gift basket, because odds are there would be a few cool things in there I could use. But if the gift card is to some strange place, I'm immediately out of luck.

2. No. Not if my employer's attitude was as uninspiring as this (been there, done dat). Y'all should be bummed. :(

OT: Have you been checking out Unbeatable Banzuke, after Ninja Warrior? I swear, they can come up with some stuff over there. :D

[happyconfusion.livejournal.com]

Could you use the giftcard IN the center pieces?

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Not unless you want it to be a $10 gift card! They're serious - the absolute max on the centerpiece/door prize is $25, and they'd rather it was about $20. :/

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I'll dig some up and post them tomorrow or Friday. Not to toot my own horn, but I was uber-proud of it.

Hmmm, $3.50-ish each? Obviously it'd have to be a plastic pot wrapped in cello, unless you're going to hit garage sales super-hard to find terra cotta or ceramic. I wish I lived closer, I could donate...

What about bulbs in water vases? Hyacinth, lilac, etc? You can totally get tons of vases cheap at Salvation Army, or even Wally World, then the big cost would be, say, clear glass marbles... then a bulb and water, maybe a touch of ribbon. Clean and classy!

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and I have a hard time remembering to use gift cards! Even when they are to places I like...

OH! OH! Guess what? Sometime last week we lost G4. So no more Ninja Warrior or Unbeatable Banzuke for me! :( I had seen a few episodes of it, and while it wasn't as good as Ninja Warrior (I liked following people through a longer competition, you don't even get to know the people!), it was good for a chuckle.

No more Attack of the Show and the Boobs of Olivia Munn, either...

EDIT: G4 has risen from the dead! It is spontaneously back on our cable system. Go figure. Maybe it was just out for a day? *shrug*

[happyconfusion.livejournal.com]

A money tree? With Monoloply money? (and the real money hidden in the tree somewhere?)

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I totally want to try to make an origami money tree! But I'm totally not volunteering for that.

Hmmm, though a 'money tree' that is 'fruiting' a gift card... *tilts head*

But I'm not volunteering to make them! O.o

[happyconfusion.livejournal.com]

What if you just made a bouquet...you know flowers out of fake money with the gift card hidden in there somewhere?

[smeddley.livejournal.com]

I shall pass on the thought to my friend, because I'm not getting roped into it! :D

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Yes, usually they are plastic pots in colored foil. The giveaway this year are ceramic mugs, which will be given at the end instead of the beginning so they don't have to lug them around all day, I think we out to use those. I'm all about the herb starters though, at least then people can go home and use them, plant them even in a pot indoors. That's the other thing, has to be a plant, not any cut flowers, but I like the idea of bulbs in glass. We'd never get away with secondhand stuff, it would have to be a Walmart special. Hell, I think a mini terrarium would be awesome, but when it comes to committees, my grand ideas are never well received. You should have heard the uproar when the entree last year was proposed to be chicken with a raspberry sauce. Instead we got chicken with some season salt sprinkled on it.

[http://users.livejournal.com/anam_cara_/]

Ok, one more idea- silly office toys:
http://www.officeplayground.com/
like the mini zen garden, etc.?
http://www.kleargear.com/
acrobots, etc.

But really, these would be better as cheap & fun favors, not prizes.

What about doing a giftbox tower (Ikea had a large set for cheap, but I can't find it on the web) and each box have candy, or a gift card, etc. Everyone can pick one, not knowing what they'd find inside, the 'grand' prize or just some Skittles ;) The tower would make a somewhat decent centerpiece I guess.

[dynastic-queen.livejournal.com]

Well, thank goodness :) Brand new spine-crushing Ninja obstacles coming in March! LOL