SWOT Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

SWOT Analysis - Essay Example Sustainable business practices and strong commitment to corporate social responsibility are other major strengths of Trader Joes. â€Å"Trader Joe’s is committed to providing selective products that cannot be found in grocery stores† (â€Å"What is Trader Joe’s Strategy?†). In other words, unique products are the major strength of Trader Joes. Expanding global market, growing demand for organic foods and growing ecommerce opportunities are providing many opportunities to Trader Joes. India and China like Asian countries are developing rapidly at present provides excellent opportunities to Trader Joes like companies. Product recalls and the increased focus on some geographical areas alone are some of the weaknesses of Trader Joes. It should be noted that Trader Joe has limited presence outside California. Inability to expand business to other territories not only in America but also in other parts of the world is some of the major weaknesses of Trader Joes. Increasing manpower cost, increasing competition and the entry of substitute products are some of the major threats of Trader Joes. Manpower cost in America is extremely higher compared to that in countries such as India or China. As a result of that Indian and Chinese products are causing big threats to the products of Trader

White Castle Essay Example for Free

White Castle Essay White Castle is known as the original fast-food hamburger chain. The first White Castle opened its doors in Witchita, Kansas, in 1921. White Castle (WC) has since grown to 393 restaurants in 11 states (White Castle hamburger , 2004) and is now expanding internationally. By analysing White Castles internal strengths, internal weaknesses, external opportunities, and external threats, otherwise known as a SWOT analysis (Kerin, 2005), Learning Team B was able to exam market demographics, company needs, trends, and market forecast as they pertain to White Castle. During the SWOT analysis Learning Team B (LTB) discovered the primary strategic marketing issue is in order to remain profitable White Castle needs to promote its unique product(s) and adapt its menu items in order to continue to appeal to the changing desires of todays consumers. The same holds trues today as it did in 1998 when William J. McDonald stated White Castle needs to continually reassess its marketing strategy, particularly its pricing and promotional activities to determine what approach will be most effective into the future. Marketing strategy recommendations A major strategy in the element of marketing is generating and maintaining brand recognition. Attaining brand recognition in the target market is a critical milestone for any branding strategy. There are many cues in the brand recognition arsenal. Typically brand building begins with aesthetic cues, the design features in a graphic or logo meant to visually represent the brand. Color, shape, texture, style, typeface, and position are among the design attributes which can offer recognition cues, making a design visually distinctive. Its the reason why, when a new logo is evaluated, recognition factors and design uniqueness are taken into consideration. According to Kim Kelly-Bartley (2001), vice president of marketing and site development for the Columbus, Ohio-based chain, summarizes, In an effort to boost brand recognition, White Castle is revamping units for only the second time in its 80-year history. An earlier change occurred five years ago, when the nations oldest burger chain celebrated its 75th anniversary. Prior to that, the chain had not changed, other than to make sure the units were clean and in good repair. The first retrofit was introduced in late July, in an existing store in Queens, N. Y. The prototype is also being tested in Chicago, St. Louis and Columbus. The chains updated look features orange accents, wood laminates and chrome finishes. Orange neon lighting, for example, encircles the restaurants dining room and accents seating. White Castles enduring (and too many customers, endearing) color scheme had been limited to blue and white. We wanted to see if you can add a color and still uphold the look. (p. 1). The process of recognition is a core component of branding. If a brand strategy doesnt employ visual or auditory cues, establishing brand perceptions and evoking memories is a lot more difficult and complicated. Without cues, the brain has to rely solely on recall to remember a brand. Boosting brand recognition is always a combination of knowing the target audience, market(s), category competition, and distribution. In order to boost brand recognition, a company must know their brands visual equity and level of current brand recognition. Finally, a company must understand what sales have been doing in their target market(s), what their strategic business goals are for increased sales, and what the budget is for increasing sales. Generating brand recognition through exposing the market to the product and promoting it heavily as well as finding promotional partners may also be beneficial. In a special Valentines Day promotion, couples who love White Castle hamburgers can dine at any of 48 White Castle fast-food restaurants nationwide participating in a special Valentines Day promotion. In comparison with some of the pricier, more upscale events held for lovers, Valentines Day at White Castle cost just 49 cents per burger to enjoy. Hostesses dressed in elegant costumes instead of the usual White Castle uniforms seat couples at cloth-covered, candlelit tables while romantic music is played in the background. The promotion is not a new invention. It debuted in St. Louis and Minneapolis about 16 years ago but was so popular it was expanded to White Castles in other Midwestern cities last year. For duos on a budget, the evening cost a whopping $6. 05 for a 10-pack of the bite-sized burgers and a small order of fries, leaving just enough money in the bank for the requisite Valentines Day bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates. Growth in competition in the fast-food market The consumer is the driving force in any highly competitive market, with his power growing ever stronger and becoming ingrained. The fast-food market is being fueled by the generation x and echo-boomers running between work, soccer, dance and other family activities with little time to spare for cooking at home. Todays consumer has more choices in variety, nutrition and value than ever before. The minimum population growth currently being experienced in the United States means that there is little new business to be had so it must be taken from others (http://www. fmi. org/media/bg/FoodRetailing. pdf). In order to compete in the fast-food market White Castle will need to give the consumer what they want. Many customers today are demanding healthier choices on menues, as well as more family friendly surroundings. Consumers are looking for family dining experiences without losing the fast-food aspect of dining out. Restraunts are starting to offer more salads and other alternatives to red meat, like chicken and fish in order to attract the more health conscience consumer (http://www. entrepreneur. com/franzone/article/0,5847,308510,00. html) . Location, location, location has been suggested as one of the most important marketing and competitive strategies. White Castle should consider expansion into new markets in new areas of the country. Proposed marketing elements What specific price, distribution, promotion, and product elements would you propose and why? Conclusion References At long last, change. (2001, September). Chain Leader, 6(9). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from EBSCOhost Database. Elan, E. (2006, February). White Castle offers couples a Valentine promo with heart. Nations Restaurant News, 40(9). Retrieved April 9, 2006 from InfoTrac OneFile Database. Kerin, R. , Hartley, S. , Berkowitz, E. , Rudelius, W. (2005). Marketing (8th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill. McDonald, W. J. , (1998). Case 6 White Castle System Inc. , UOP Eresource, Retrieved April 8, 2006, from Eresource database. White Castle hamburger chain adopts DigitalPersona fingerprint authentication technology. (2004, Decemeber). Digitalpersona. Retrieved on April 9, 2006 from http://www. digitalpersona. com/company/news/releases/120804. php http://www. whitecastle. com/ Retrieved on April 9, 2006.

Spatial Rhythm and Poetic Invention in William Carlos Williams Sunday

William Carlos Williams was fascinated by the ways in which living organisms and inert matter occupy space--how they move in it, or cannot move, are cramped or allowed to roam freely--and how the space inside organisms and matter is charted, perceived, and manipulated. Williams's preoccupation with actual space in the material world is paralleled by his formal experimentations with the placement of words on the page. "Without invention nothing is well spaced" (P 50), Williams writes at the beginning of "Sunday in the Park," raising the question, what does "well spaced" mean for Williams? How can the world and how can poetry be well spaced? The aim of this paper is to look at the relationship between Williams's use of what I will call spatial rhythms and the vision of poetry that emerges in "Sunday in the Park"--a section of Paterson particularly important for thinking about Williams's late poetic style because it contains the famous section beginning "The descent beckons / as the asc ent beckoned," marking Williams's invention of the triadic stanza with "variable foot," a form he would begin to use frequently in the 1950's. My hope is to offer a new perspective on Williams's poetics by showing how it is rooted in a conception of space, both external and internal or biological, that is constantly moving in a rhythmic fashion. Although William Carlos Williams's epic poem, Paterson, is about the city of Paterson and a man, also named Paterson, who is that city, the actual physical space of that city tends to be elusive throughout the poem, becoming most concrete in the second Book, "Sunday in the Park," which, however, does not deal with the city itself, but with the park above it. The park is both a part of the city of Paterson (... ...s: A New World Naked (McGraw-Hill, 1981), 462-63 and 466-67.[Hit the "back" button on the upper left hand corner of your browser to return to the text] 4. Mariani, 462-63.[Hit the "back" button on the upper left hand corner of your browser to return to the text] 5. Kenneth Burke, "The Thinking of the Body" in Language as Symbolic Action (Berkeley: U of California P, 1966), 340-41.[Hit the "back" button on the upper left hand corner of your browser to return to the text] 6. The last two descending sequences I have quoted †¹ the first beginning with "She was married with empty words" and the second with "The descent beckons" †¹ are also reminiscent of Marcel Duchamp's "Nude Descending Staircase." On Williams's interest in cubism and in Duchamp in particular, see Reed Whittemore, William Carlos Williams: Poet from Jersey (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975), 113-124.

Benefits of strategic management Essay -- essays research papers fc

â€Å"Research has revealed that organisations that engage in strategic management generally out-perform those that do not† The connotation of the ancient Greek word â€Å"strategos†, in its various grammatical forms, implies meaning of skilful manoeuvouring leading to achieving a highly crucial position or attaining a desired end. Commonly associated with the military operations, strategies aim at methodical out-performance of adversaries. Analogically, application of deliberate strategies in the business management context suggests combination of activities directed at becoming superior to business opponents. Hence, it can be assumed that engaging in these activities will produce better business results than not doing so. This essay attempts to provide evidence to support the opening statement. It firstly reviews the purpose of managerial activities from the historic perspective. It, then discusses the impact of strategic management process components on organisational performance and finally describes benefits of strategic thinking and strategic integration. The analysis concentrates on matching the theoretical principles of strategic management with the pragmatic business examples. For the purpose of this discussion, out-performance has been defined as surviving on the existing or successful entering the new market. Although definitions of management range from very simple statements, like the one of Frederick Taylor – â€Å"knowing exactly what you want people to do and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way† (Taylor, 1903, p. 21) to complex postulates listing managerial activities and objectives (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 5), their common denominator points to a set of deliberate actions to achieve organisational efficiency – â€Å"using resources wisely† (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 7) and effectiveness – â€Å"making the right decisions† (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 7). Accompanied by a large volume of the theoretical work, management practice, can therefore be broadly described as a constant search for the optimal performance methodologies. Thus, from the historical point of view, it can be proposed that strategic management is a twentieth century form of the management discipline that emerged as a result of the evolution process necessitated by the changes in the organisational internal and external environment. The environmental chang... ...siness Policy†, Prentice & Hall, New Jersey. Wooldridge, A. (1999), â€Å"The world in your pocket†, The Economist, 353, 8140, supplement 1-26. In Davidson, P. & Griffin, R. W. (2003), â€Å"Management: An Australasian Perspective†, John Wiley & Sons Australia, LTD, Milton. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bartol, K.,Martin, D., Tein, M. & Matthews, G. (1998), â€Å"Management: A Pacific Rim Focus†, The McGraw-Hill Australia, Roseville. Connor, T. (2002), â€Å"The resource-based view of strategy and its value to practising managers†, Strategic Change, Sep-Oct, pp. 307 – 316. Davidson, P. & Griffin, R. W. (2003), â€Å"Management: An Australasian Perspective†, John Wiley & Sons Australia, LTD, Milton. Graetz, F., Rimmer, M., Lawrence, A. & Smith, A. (2002), â€Å"Managing organisational change†, John Wiley & Sons, Milton. Hubbard, G. (2000), â€Å"Strategic Management: Thinking, Analysis and Action†, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest. Powell, T. C. (2001), â€Å"Competitive Advantage: Logical and Philosophical Considerations†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 22, pp. 875 – 888. Wheelen, T. L. & Hunger, D. J. (2004), â€Å"Strategic Management and Business Policy†, Prentice & Hall, New Jersey.

Pulp Fiction: Shortcomings of a “Neo-Noir” Essay

The remarkable stylistic conventions of classical film noir have made it one of the most memorable and recognizable film genres to this day. Each film noir picture is uniquely told though it use of degrees of darkness, contrasting lighting, rain-covered city streets, isolated protagonist, and devious dames that effortlessly lure men into a cold trap of criminal deeds. Pulp Fiction, a film by Quentin Tarantino, is said to be one of film noir’s strongest roots with its setting of a dark, criminal underworld. While the film does play around the edges of traditional film noir, it cannot be accurately be claimed a â€Å"neo-noir† due to several variances it takes with some of the most fundamental elements of film noir. Many visual and narrative devices have taken a different route in such a manner that one cannot classify it as conventional film noir. One of the most obvious breaks that Pulp Fiction makes from traditional film noir is the film being shot primarily in the day time. When one thinks of film noir, they automatically think darkness because it is always the film’s visual theme. The symbolic use of heavy shadows and key lighting is what makes film noir so great and gives the overall grim mood to the picture. When the murders occur the lighting is very dark, and most of the time, only illuminates the killers face as he is firing the bullets such as in The Killers when the two assassins come and kill the Swede. This style shows how emotionless the murders are as we only focus on their face from the lighting, thus giving the audience a very cold and dark feeling. We never get this feeling or situation in Pulp Fiction as all of the killing is done in the daytime, with the room well lit. There are no murders at night; in fact there are only two night scenes shot in the entire movie. There is not as much emotion or overall visual effect that we usually see with murders in film noir. A similarity we see between classic film noir and Pulp fiction that adds to the visual detail of the film is constant smoking. Almost every character in Pulp Fiction smokes and they do it every chance they get. In classical film noir this smoking added to the effect of the darkness and lighting because the rooms where always filled with smoke which increased the feeling of uncertainty and gloom. In Pulp fiction, it has a greatly diminished symbolic effect because of the shots always being in the daytime. The only scene that compares to classic film noir is the shot of Butch in the taxicab with Esmarelda. This shot is the only one in the entire film that comes closest to a typical noir setting. This scene is shot at night in a cab traveling in the city streets of Los Angles. There is heavy contrast lighting from the streetlights and the camera angle is shot from the third-person facing the two characters in the car. From this view the audience gets a great visual picture of their face s because of the contrast of light that only illuminates both Butch and Esmarelda. Butch asks for a cigarette and Esmarelda gives him one right away, striking the match on the dash as we see in most noir films. Now the setting is dark and the car is filling with smoke, which gives a great setting for Esmarelda to ask, â€Å"what does it feel like to kill a man?† This moment is a perfect resurrection of classical film noir because we see the murderer and a questionable femme fatale having strong interest on what it is like to take a life. As Butch claims that he did not know that he killed the man until she told him, there is a pause, and then he tells her that he does not feel â€Å"a damn thing.† This is the cold moment we see from the noir style but they usually last much longer in traditional film noir. In contrast, the scene in Pulp Fiction ends abruptly as Butch leaves the taxi and goes home to Fabienne, whom he is having an intimate relationship with. The mood of the movie completely changes and all possible questions about Esmarelda being the femme fatale are erased as she is now out of the story. This scene is as close as we get to a typical noir setting with all the elements of darkness, lighting, and smoke combined to create a better feeling of how cold Butch is towards killing another man. A film noir with out a femme fatale is hardly a film noir at all. Often called â€Å"spider woman† they play the most important role in all film noir as they weave a trap to which our male antagonist always falls into creating the plot and crime of the story. â€Å"Independence is her goal but her nature is fundamentally and irredeemably sexual in film noir† (Place 6). In Pulp fiction, the audience is drawn in to believe that Mia is our femme fatale as the first time we are introduced to her all we hear is her seductive voice and then the camera flashes to a shot of just her lips, covered in fresh red lipstick. The next shot we see of her is only her feet as she tells Vincent it is time to go. This is a typical visual style we see in noir as it shows how the man begins to get seduced such as the shot of Phyllis’ legs as she goes down the staircase in Double Indemnity. With the background knowledge of Mia being the millionaires, Marsellus Wallace’s wife, we are led to think that she is a typical femme fatale who wants to escape like Kathie in Out of the Past. As they go out on their date, Vincent and Mia have some of the same back and forth flirtatious dialogue that we see in film noir such as when Mia says, â€Å"That’s when you’ve found somebody really special, when you can just shut the fuck up for a minute, and comfortably share a silence.† They have a good time, win a dance competition, and it seems as if Mia is certainly seductive enough towards Vincent to get him trapped when they get home. It is exactly at this point that the typical principles of film noir begin to fall apart. Vincent takes himself in the bathroom and has a self-debate on whether or not to sleep with the boss’s wife. In traditional film noir, rational is completely taken over by impulse and the male-lead always falls into some kind of trap. In Pulp fiction, Vincent decides that he is just going to say goodbye and rejects the advances of the femme fatale, which is completely out of line if we want to classify this film as noir. Immediately after, Mia overdoses which completely changes the entire mood of the movie. We are no longer thinking about Mia seducing Vincent, it has now turned into a climactic struggle to save Mia’s life. Although Mia has her juicy red lips, smooth voice, and powerful sexuality, her downfall proves that there is no place for a character such as a femme fatale in this movie. â€Å"Her failure as an actress and her later overdose leaves her weak, powerless and deathly pale, a far cry from the sexually potent and glamorous fatales of the classical noir period† (Em L, â€Å"Film in Focus†). A feature in Pulp fiction that related to classic film noir was the use of a non-sequential narrative structure. Although Pulp fiction did not use the exact same structure, the events were seen out of chronological order. The structure typically seen in noir is encompassed by on overall flashback that gives detail and explanation of the downfall of the male protagonist. Stories in film noir typically begin at the end or middle, and the flashback us usually narrated by the protagonist. In these fist-person voice-over narrations we learn how the protagonist got to the situation he is in now. Since the character is relating the story directly to the audience, we are able to create a connection with the character, and understand his disturbed thoughts. Pulp fiction takes a different approach, as there is no specific male protagonist in the film. Instead of one person illustrating events from past to present, we are given multiple characters experiences in various timeframes. The audience is show different points of departure from each character in the story and the story rewinds and we experience the same timeframe but from someone else’s point of view. This continues until we come full circle to the robbery scene, where now, all of the pieces of the puzzle have been put together. â€Å"Director Quentin Tarantino said he was aiming to make a trilogy taking elements of the old crime stories and mixing them together† (Blake, â€Å"Linear Narrative†). â€Å"Part of the trick is to take these movie characters, these genre characters and these genre situations and actually apply them to some of real life’s rules and see how they unravel† (Tarantino). Although this was a great style to put the movie together it is unclear if it could be used to show the downfall of the protagonist. The flashback marks the solidified fate of the noir heroes, showing how he was doomed from the start. If the audience has to relate to many characters rather than just one, the powerful connection we get in film noir is lost. The most noticeable and prominent variation from the framework of film noir in Pulp Fiction is the rejection of pessimism expected from the conclusion of the film. All noir heroes are doomed from the start. Since the flashback structure is completely different than classic film noir we do not see how any of the characters are trapped in a fate they cannot escape. In fact, almost everyone does get a happy ending. Jules decides he is done being a hit man after is â€Å"divine intervention† and says that he is not going to kill a man again but become a sheppard for the lord. Butch is free to go after he comes back for Marsellus who was getting raped by Zed. Vincent does die but with the timeline out of order he is killed in the middle in the movie rather than in the end where he walks out of the restaurant with Jules. Even Ringo and Yolanda have a happy ending as Jules teaches them a lesson and they still get away with lots of money. Noir films are supposed to leave the audience with a dark and cold feeling, which was definitely not the case here. The pessimistic tone we get from the confessional nature of the flashback creates the view of negativity that last the entirety of the film. Film noir may even be called it’s own genre because of its many visual and narrative elements that made it like no other style. It was a â€Å" world of darkness and violence, with a central figure whose motives are usually greed, lust and ambition, whose world is filled with fear (Higham 27). Although Pulp Fiction carries some of these elements it should not be classified as a â€Å"neo noir† as it lacks some of the greatest aspects that made film noir so special. If it is the roots of film noir, it greatly undermines the movement that was like no other ever scene in American cinema. Works Cited Em L. â€Å"Film in Focus: Suburban Noir & Pulp Fiction.† Film Student Central. N.p., 11 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 June 2012. . Higham, Charles, and Joel Greeburg. â€Å"Noir Cinema.† Film Noir Reader. New Jersey: Limelight Editions, 1996. 27. Print. Place, Janey. â€Å"Women in Film Noir.† N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print. Blake, CG. â€Å"Linear vs. Non-linear Narrative.† A New Fiction Writers Forum. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 June 2012. .

Free Essays on Broadband Technologies

What is Broadband? Broadband is the latest in high speed Internet access technology, delivering access at speeds hundreds of times faster than a dial-up modem can provide. Broadband is an always-open gateway to a huge world of Internet based services delivered at high speeds to households and business. Relying on digital and fiber-optic technologies, broadband eliminates the term â€Å"world wide wait† that haunts those who use slower Internet service through standard 56K dial up modems. Broadband connection to the Internet can be as much as 100 times faster than a standard dial-up service. There are a few different types of Broadband technologies, such as ISDN, DSL, cable. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. It’s a system of digital phone connections, which has been available for over a decade. It allows data to be sent simultaneously across the world using end-to-end digital connectivity. There are two types of ISDN, Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and Primary Rate Interface (PRI). BRI consists of two 64kb/s B channels and one 16kb/s D channel for a total of 144kb/s. This service should meet most individual needs. PRI is intended for greater capacity requirements. It has 23 B channels and one 64kb/s D channel for a total of 1536kb/s. In order to use the ISDN service you need to have an ISDN modem installed in your computer and an ISDN phone line installed from your local phone company. A single ISDN line can cost you about $250 per year. If you would like dual ISDN, you can expect to play somewhere around $400 per year. In the recent days, ISDN has been replaced with services such as xDSL and Cable modem service. These particular services are faster, cheaper, and easier to set up and maintain. Even though that is the case, ISDN can still be used for the ones who are unable to get the higher speed Internet, or even as a backup. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line and is a service that offers a f... Free Essays on Broadband Technologies Free Essays on Broadband Technologies What is Broadband? Broadband is the latest in high speed Internet access technology, delivering access at speeds hundreds of times faster than a dial-up modem can provide. Broadband is an always-open gateway to a huge world of Internet based services delivered at high speeds to households and business. Relying on digital and fiber-optic technologies, broadband eliminates the term â€Å"world wide wait† that haunts those who use slower Internet service through standard 56K dial up modems. Broadband connection to the Internet can be as much as 100 times faster than a standard dial-up service. There are a few different types of Broadband technologies, such as ISDN, DSL, cable. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. It’s a system of digital phone connections, which has been available for over a decade. It allows data to be sent simultaneously across the world using end-to-end digital connectivity. There are two types of ISDN, Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and Primary Rate Interface (PRI). BRI consists of two 64kb/s B channels and one 16kb/s D channel for a total of 144kb/s. This service should meet most individual needs. PRI is intended for greater capacity requirements. It has 23 B channels and one 64kb/s D channel for a total of 1536kb/s. In order to use the ISDN service you need to have an ISDN modem installed in your computer and an ISDN phone line installed from your local phone company. A single ISDN line can cost you about $250 per year. If you would like dual ISDN, you can expect to play somewhere around $400 per year. In the recent days, ISDN has been replaced with services such as xDSL and Cable modem service. These particular services are faster, cheaper, and easier to set up and maintain. Even though that is the case, ISDN can still be used for the ones who are unable to get the higher speed Internet, or even as a backup. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line and is a service that offers a f...

Christmas Quotes From Famous Writers

Christmas Quotes From Famous Writers The Christmas Holidays are all about traditions. Families and friends sing Christmas carols, and kids listen to stories about Santa  and Rudolph. Whether you are looking for words to express in Christmas cards or letters, in social media or just for fun, here you can find famous quotations by  famous writers. Margaret Cousins Christmas, in its final essence, is for grown people who have forgotten what children know. Christmas is for whoever is old enough to have denied the unquenchable spirit of man. Dale Evans Christmas, my child, is love in action.   Joan Winmill Brown Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given - when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.   Bess Streeter Aldrich Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.   Oren Arnold Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. Lenore Hershey Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. Theyre never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal.   Peg Bracken Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.   Ray Stannard Baker I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays - let them overtake me unexpectedly - waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself: Why this is Christmas Day! Charles Dickens I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. W.T Ellis It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. Isabel Currier It is the personal thoughtfulness, the warm human awareness, the reaching out of the self to ones fellow man that makes giving worthy of the Christmas spirit. Charlton Heston My first copies of Treasure Island  and Huckleberry Finn  still have some blue-spruce needles scattered in the pages. They smell of Christmas still. Charlotte Carpenter Remember, if Christmas isnt found in your heart, you wont find it under a tree. Hugh Downs Something about an old-fashioned Christmas is hard to forget. Phillips Brooks The earth has grown old with its burden of care But at Christmas it always is young, The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair And its soul full of music breaks the air, When the song of angels is sung.   Charles N. Barnard The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!   Erma Bombeck Theres nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.   Mrs. Paul M. Ell They err who think Santa Claus comes down through the chimney; he really enters through the heart.   Taylor Caldwell This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone. Calvin Coolidge To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world. Bing Crosby Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska wont make it white.   Marjorie Holmes At Christmas, all roads lead home.   Majorie Holmes It comes every year and will go on forever. And along with Christmas belong the keepsakes and the customs. Those humble, everyday things a mother clings to, and ponders, like Mary in the secret spaces of her heart. Bob Hope My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? Bob Hope When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness. Washington Irving Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. W.C. Jones The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others burdens, easing others loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.   Garrison Keillor A lovely thing about Christmas is that its compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together. Robert Lynd Were I a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, showing that nothing else in life need to be taken  seriously  and that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions on which men become entirely alive. Hamilton Wright Mabie Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. Harlan Miller I wish we could put up some of the Christmas  spirit  in jars and open a jar of it every month. Joan Mills Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence. Garry Moore Christmas is, of course, the time to be home - in  heart  as well as  body. Agnes M. Pahro What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and  eternal,  and that every path may lead to peace. Norman Vincent Peale Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. Norman Vincent Peale I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world. Andy Rooney One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Dont clean it up too quickly. Andy Rooney The best Christmas trees come very close to exceeding nature. Augusta E. Rundell Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved. Eric Sevareid As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is. Eric Sevareid Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that were here for something else besides ourselves. Ralph Sockman Christmas renews our youth by stirring our wonder. The capacity for wonder has been called our most pregnant human faculty, for in it are born our art, our science, our religion. Margaret Thatcher Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends. Thomas Tusser At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year. Lenora Mattingly Weber Christmas is for children. But it is for grownups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts. Joanne Woodward Which Christmas is the most vivid to me? Its always the next Christmas.