Everyone likes to be appreciated. Yet while most of us are quick to criticise we are, unfortunately, much slower to praise or to thank. We know, deep down, of course, that we ought to express our thanks to certain people. That is probably what gave the greeting card industry the opportunity to cash in our sense of guilt by marketing such occasions as fathers’ day and mothers’ day.
At Christmas or at the end of the company year many executives do thank their staff in their happy holiday/staff motivational speeches. Companies also thank customers in with client appreciation speeches. By doing so they are responding to a human need and it is good business as well.
On a more personal level one of the couple celebrating their wedding anniversary will thank guests for gifts and good wishes. The same applies at birthdays where the birthday boy or girl often says a few words of thanks.
We often forget to say thank you to a teacher. Yet teachers are often one of the greatest influences in our lives. In fact, second only to our parents, they are often the people who determine who or what we become later on. Many of them spend long hours helping us with problems we may have with a certain subject. Certainly they often go beyond the call of duty in encouraging and helping their pupils. In fact they are often the mentor who means the most to us and certainly the schools that have good teachers should treasure them and express gratitude to them too. So if you’ll remember your teacher in later years say the right thing and he or she will remember you too.

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There was once a popular hit the words of which went “Let’s get together again”. It’s the ideal advice for anyone who plans a party. Getting together with old friends helps make the occasion a great success. If it’s your mother’s birthday she would probably be delighted to see the old friend who was her bridesmaid perhaps. If it’s your father’s retirement he would probably be glad to see an old colleague who had moved onto another job somewhere else.

Perhaps you are having a family re-union? If so making a big effort to contact those cousins with whom you’ve lost touch will be well worthwhile. They’ll probably be delighted that you made the effort. There are some occasions that call out for such a family re-union. Take a bar mitzvah or a wedding anniversary for instance. It’s the ideal time for the generations to mix.

Sadly many of us only get together at a time of mourning. Whether it’s your sister’s funeral or an uncle’s funeral it is a time for a get-together. So don’t rush off after the funeral service but stay and revive memories with family and friends. It will help give you comfort and together, you can reminisce and tell tales of the loved one you have lost.
There are, of course, other reasons for getting people together. It might be a political rally or at the firm’s annual picnic. Whatever the reason it’s good to mix with like minded people. If you find you don’t get on with them you can always chalk it down to experience and avoid the next gathering!

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Love is in the air. As the 14th February approaches every store has its Valentine cards and its gifts. Hotels are offering romantic meals and get-away breaks. Romeo’s and Juliet are trying to compose loving sonnets and songwriters are trying to write new songs about love.
It’s worth remembering, though, that there are different kinds of love. The father of the bride giving a speech on his daughter’s wedding day will say how much he loves her and his toast will wish her all the happiness in the world.
A birthday speech for a mother will usually be given because she is special to her son or daughter. That son or daughter wants to tell her how much her family appreciates all she has done for them during her lifetime.
Love can be shown in action too, by volunteering to help others. The thousands of people who raise funds, work in third world countries or with those who are ill, poor or homeless are all expressing love in a very special way. You can love a sport or a type of food. Love is being expressed by the godparent who gives a christening or baptismal speech or the grandchild who gives a eulogy at his/her grandmother’s funeral.
In fact the more you think about it the more you realise that love really does make the world go around.

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Get the age right. That’s the secret of writing a good birthday speech or toast. A birthday, you see, is a time for looking back and forward. Obviously speeches for the birthday of a grandmother will have a lot more memories than 1st birthday speeches for a boy. On the other hand in a grandfather’s 90th birthday speeches your wishes for the future will not encompass as many years as that for the celebration of a girl who is sweet sixteen.
So your speech should be relevant to the age of the person who is celebrating. A war veteran might be proud to have his war time adventures mentioned. A man who is at retirement age would probably be very happy to hear how much his family appreciated his lifetime’s work to support them. Unlike wedding anniversaries birthdays do not have connections with the numbers of years being celebrated. There are no silver or golden birthdays but celebrants do have their own connections with happenings during their particular lifetime. It’s another way of personalising your speech.

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Every birthday has a special significance. The first birthday of a son is an occasion for oohing and aahing by grandparents and aunts. It’s a day for teddies and toys and balloons. A sweet sixteen birthday is about love and pride and hope for the future of a girl who has become a woman. The 40th birthday of a man is one when he takes the opportunity to celebrate an occasion that is more fun than his normal workaday world of job and mortgage.
We celebrate birthdays in all sorts of ways. There are the casual ones where those attending order a pitza and have a few cans at home with their friends. There are formal do’s in fancy hotels. You can celebrate your birthday by taking a trip down the country or a cruise around the world. There are black tie events and fancy dress parties.
Birthday gifts range from something hand made by your child at the crèche to hugely expensive jewellery or clothes. Some people have the knack of choosing just the ideal gift while others spend a fortune for something you don’t want or need.
Birthday cards come in all shapes and sizes. Some warm your heart while others tickle your fancy. There are birthday loving messages for mothers and crude comments for friends. Sometimes the cards are bigger and more expensive than the actual gift we give.
Whether it’s an 80th birthday for grandmother or a 21st for a niece birthdays are a time for looking back at times past and forward to the future. Their significance is that we have lived, loved and laughed for another year and that we are hoping that we have many more years left to us to do more of the same.

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Have you ever thought about friendship and what it means in our lives? Children usually come home from their first day at school to tell their mother they have made new friend. They play with these  friends, fall out with them too and then make it up again.
For many of us our friendships go back to those long ago schooldays.
Later in life we make friends in sports clubs, at university or at work. Maybe we become friends with our neighbours. Isn’t it nice to pay tribute to those friendships at the important times in our friends’lives?  Maybe it’s your best female friend’s birthday for instance.  So why not give a little speech about what she means to you and wish her well? It could be that you are asked to be best man at your friend’s wedding. Wouldn’t it be a pleasure to toast the happy couple? If you lose a friend isn’t it good to be able to share your memories in a eulogy to a friend.
Good friends are listeners when you need them. . They are happy to share in your good news. They give you sympathy and understanding when times are bad and encouragement when you are discouraged. No matter how far away he or she may live a good friend is always at the other end of the phone.
You should work at your friendships because they are precious things. They are about giving as well as taking. A good friend is appreciative. Such a friend lifts you up when you are blue and will talk halfway through the night with you. They make your world a better place. Friends – make them and keep them.

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Most of us love our parents but how many of us express that love? Yet your father’s birthday, your step-mother’s birthday or your mother’s retirement are ideal days on which to say a few loving words. In fact any family occasion such as a family re-union gives you an opportunity to express your feelings for them. Weddings, of course, being the sentimental occasions they are, are the ideal time to thank them for all they have done for you. So whether you are the groom or the bride make it their big day too by expressing how much they mean to you. This also applies of course if you are the best man who is son of the groom or indeed the son of the bride. Finally, if you have not told them you love them before they die a thoughtful eulogy for mother or appreciative eulogy for father will be a fitting tribute to well loved parents.

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Most of us attend birthday or wedding anniversary speeches at some time during the year. There is often a great sameness about these occasions. They can be personalised, however, if you give a really memorable speech. In such a speech you should bring the party boy or girl or the couple celebrating their anniversary to life. Your speech should make people say “I never knew that” or “oh I remember when that happened” It should include your audience and make them feel as though they are celebrating the years the couple spent together or the celebrant’s achievements over the years. Such a speech should be warm-hearted and loving with a touch of humour. Everyone loves to be feted and that’s exactly what you do when you give such a speech. So give your party the personal touch by talking about someone’s personality and life choices. They’ll be glad you did.

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It’s easy to talk about birthdays. Candles and cakes are generic but what about the person you are toasting? He or she is unique and your speech should be too. It should mention his/her traits and attributes, talk about his/her activities and generally make the party boy or girl feel very special indeed. In other words your speech should be a one off.

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Alphabet games are great fun and they make you think when trying to write a birthday speech. Think of an animal starting with the letter A for ass and go through the alphabet until you reach zebra. You can do the same for colours. It’s a great way to break the ice at a birthday party.

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