I love bags of all types: purses, lunch sacks, shopping satchels, etc. (What woman doesn't?)

So when I saw this article in the New York Times this weekend, Never Mind What’s in Them, Bags Are the Fashion, I thought, of course they are… everyone knows that!

I love when I get cute bags from stores to hold my purchases, and I always reuse them (to pack my lunch or give a gift), so it's no surprise that retailers are starting to spend more time and money on their shopping bags. Having someone reuse your shopping bag for days on end is great marketing.. and it's cheap!

One of my favorite bags to reuse is from a little shop called Cake. The bag is just your typical brown bag, but it has twisted rope handles and adorable designs. It's perfect for putting a small housewarming gift in.

Do any of you put any extra time or money into the bags you give away?

In the final two week stretch leading up to Christmas (13 days left! I can't believe it!), it's easy to get overloaded with demanding customers and re-stocking shelves.

Think about holding a quick five minute staff meeting every day over the next two weeks to encourage and challenge your staff.

Some topics you may want to cover:

1. Customer service… customer service should be the TOTAL focus during the final countdown.
2. Up-sell… Remember to up-sell every customer. Christmas time is great for this, because EVERYONE needs stocking stuffers.
3. Greet… say hello to every customer, even during the busy hours.
4. Theft prevention… keep an eye on the merchandise. Remind your employees what to do if theft is suspected.
5. Visual merchandising… re-stock as much as possible throughout the day and keep the displays looking fresh, even if inventory gets low.

Just keep on selling. Every dollar counts.

I've long thought that a forum would be excellent for the gift industry. There are so many retailers and manufacturers and visual merchandisers out there, I thought a forum would be a great way to bring everyone together.

So for the past few weeks, we've been setting up the GIFT SHOP Retail Forum. We've added categories we thought were pertinent: the ins and outs of running a gift shop, trade show discussions, e-commerce, what should a retailer sell and more.

We're launching today, so hopefully I'll now have more time to blog!

Come on by. (Through March '08 we're giving away one iPod Nano per month… register on the forum and you'll be entered to win!)

Click here to go to the GIFT SHOP forum now!

Today's guest post is from Poornima Apte, Managing Editor of GIFT SHOP magazine.

It was the day before Thanksgiving break when I read this interesting article in the New York Times: "Every Workday Needs a Game Plan." While the article assumes work at an office desk, the lessons could just as easily be applied to your work as a retailer.

Here are some valuable tips you can learn from the article as you work away during what I hope will be a busy and profitable holiday season:

Ever feel you have flitted from one task to the other all day and not accomplished a thing? Multitasking is vastly overrated: Often when people say someone can multitask, they really mean that person is good at time management.

Time management is often common sense. Do the most difficult things when the store is quiet (before it opens) or when you are most productive. If you have 10 minutes to spare, do something that will take 10 minutes of your time. If a vendor won't return your call, move on to the next item on your to-do list. In short, don’t waste time. Move down your list one item at a time.

Make a list of things to do. Nothing makes you feel more in control than a list. Check it often and check off things that get done.

Slow and steady does win the race. Don't try to do five things at once. Do one or two projects, do them systematically and do them well.

Plan for interruptions. Your phone is going to keep ringing. Customers might want something you didn't plan for. Be realistic in your daily work expectations and plan for interruptions.

Set five minutes aside at the end of the day to plan your next day's schedule. I find this works like magic for me. Instead of working till you drop dead one day, only to confront the same mess the next, spend the last five minutes of your day taking stock of what you did today and make a note of what must get done tomorrow.

Plan for the future. Do you have a special sale coming up soon? Start work on a project that's due two weeks from now so you don’t get blindsided when crunch time actually hits.

Hope you have a stress-free and productive holiday season!