How to choose a Sports Bag as a Corporate Gifts

I am not much of a sports enthusiast. But I am a mom who has a daughter who has so many activities that it makes

one’s head spin. Sports Bags make terrific corporate gifts. There are a couple of things that we look for when choosing which bag to use. One criterion for sports bags is definitely size. On ballet day the items taken are light weight and small. Ballet shoes, leotards etc can fit in almost anywhere. However, one has to consider that you have to have somewhere to put the clothes that she was wearing before she got changed. The bag may fit a pair of ballet shoes easily. But fitting a bulky pair of shoes is a different matter. On horse riding days, we have to fit in riding boots, jodhpurs, gaiters, shirt and riding helmet. That means that we need a lot more space as a riding helmet takes up more space in the sports bag. Put into perspective for corporate gifts, this means that each year you can hand out a different size sports bag as a corporate gift. Another criterion for Sports bags as a corporate gift is if there are wet and dry compartments. On swimming days there are wet towels , so a double Decker bag where you cab separate dirty shoes or wet towels from everything else is very handy. A third criterion is how the sports bag is carried. If you are giving bags to cyclists, then you definitely would consider a backpack as a corporate gift as this is the most practical type of bag for s a cyclist. Lastly we look at whether the bag has compartment for a water bottle. Bags that have side pouches make excellent corporate gifts if you want to include a branded water bottle. Be sure give out BPA free water bottles as corporate gifts. For more info on corporate gifts, please visit www.belleregalo.co.za and to view our Indetruktible range of bags please visit: http://belleregalo.bcgshop.co.za/Products/Indestruktible.aspx or e-mail us on info@belleregalo.co.za

Go For BPA Free Water Bottles

How many times a day do you use something made from plastic?

I can guarantee that it's more than you think. Plastic has been a part of our lives for over 100 years, and its use continues to grow. In 2002, about 107 billion pounds of plastic were produced in North America. Recently, claims have been made about certain types of plastic being unsafe. Have you ever noticed the number with the arrows surrounding it on your plastic bottles? Many people use these numbers to determine how the product is to be recycled. These numbers are called the plastic packaging resin identification codes. They indicate the type of plastic that the item was made from and are used to help consumers know whether and how the item is to be recycled. Belle Regalo sells a range of BPA Free Drinkware. Many consumer products including promotional products are being manufactured from materials that ate know cacogenics and other harmful elements that can be extremely harmful to your health and our environments. The products listed on our Drinkware page http://www.belleregalo.co.za/gifts/drinkware.htm are tested using a chemical testing instrument and the food related products are thoroughly tested by independent laboratories to meet applicable standards.

World Aids Day Gifts

How is HIV passed on?

HIV can be passed on through infected blood, semen, vaginal fluids or breast milk.

The most common ways HIV is passed on are:

* Sex without a condom with someone living with HIV
* Sharing infected needles, syringes or other injecting drug equipment
* From an HIV-positive mother (to her child) during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding (but with effective treatment and care the risk of transmission can be greatly reduced)

Belle Regalo Offeres a wide range of World Aids Day Gifts.

Rugby World Cup Springbok Fever

It is all Springbok fever after our win against Wales on Sunday 11 September.
When the final whistle sounded, the match statistics were heavily stacked in favour of Wales, but the one that mattered, the final score, was tilted 17-16 in favour of the Springboks, who were somewhat fortuitous victors in their Rugby World Cup opener in Wellington on Sunday.
With time running out, the Boks once again worked their way into Welsh territory where they inched forward by setting up rucks to burn up time and hold onto possession.
The Belle Regalo rugby fans were at the Monte Casino venue for the ABSA Boktown.
At Belle Regalo we are fully supporting the Springboks.


On Fridays as work we wear our Bokday shirts. On Rugby Match days we were our official supporter’s shirts. Of course it would now be as much fun if we did not have our huge South African Flag hats.

If you are looking for Supporter’s shirt, supporter’s hats and Rugby World Cup Bags, look no further than Belle Regalo.

ICC Cricket World Cup Mascot

Like the FIFA World Cup, the ICC Cricket World Cup also has a mascot.

Stumpy is the official mascot for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He was unveiled at a function in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Friday, 2 April 2010.

He is a ten year old elephant who is enthusiastic and is determined. Cricket-followers based all over the world were able to participate in a contest to name the mascot.

His personality is encapsulated in his form - he's young and enthusiastic, and bursting at the seams with his love for cricket and his/its heroes! When he's fully grown he hopes to be a giant (in both senses) like the masters of the sport he loves so much. Being young he knows that he can't get it all right the first time or even the tenth, but the cricketers he looks up to have taught him to use his elephant strength and step-by-step determination to reach his goals, and eventually he will be the best.

Sport is best used as symbol and symbolism used in corporate is an idea way to boost productivity and team spirit. So get your staff to wear the Protea Friday Shirt.

Pure Protea Friday Initiative

South Africans are using the legacy of the 2010 Fifa World Cup to show their support for the country's cricket team ahead of this year's Cricket World Cup, which starts in February.

Initiated by the LeadSA campaign, which encourages South Africans to make a difference in their various communities, Pure Protea Fridays take place at the end of every working week.

South Africans are encouraged to mark these days by wearing a Protea's cricket shirt to show their support for the team in the build-up to and during the Cricket World Cup. Pure Protea Friday is now a month into its campaign, although as is the norm a lot of companies only purchase their Friday shirts a few days before the event actually starts.

The 2011 World Cup Proteas Cricket Friday Shirt is made from 100% cotton - support the Proteas on cricket Fridays. The 2011 Proteas Cricket Friday Shirt is highly suitable for Proteas cricket enthusiasts and avid South African sports supporters.
What is great about the Cricket Friday shirt is that it’s pricing is more accessible that those that we available for the FIFA World Cup.

Belle Regalo stocks a wide range of cricket apparel, cricket jerseys, cricket jackets, cricket shirts, cricket caps, cricket scarves, cricket posters and other cricket memorabilia. The range has been put together specifically in honour of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.

For those who still don’t know what all the ICC hype is about, here is a brief summary. The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the tenth Cricket World Cup and will be hosted by three South Asian Test cricket playing countries: India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It will be Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a Cricket World Cup. The World Cup will use cricket's One Day International format, with fourteen national cricket teams scheduled to compete. The World Cup will take place between February and early April 2011, with the first match to be played on 19 February 2011 with co-hosts India and Bangladesh facing off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium inMirpur, Dhaka. The opening ceremony will be held on 17 February 2011, two days before the start of the tournament, with the final on 2 April 2011 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Our range includes: Proteas Cricket Tee, 2011 World Cup Boys Tee Shirt, Proteas Cricket Friday Shirt, Proteas Cricket Friday Shirt – KIDS and Proteas Tee Green.
Football Fridays brought about such amazing spirit . Let’scontinue with that same spirit and pride in our country with Protea Fridays. Football Fridays brought about such amazing spirit – I hope we can continue with that same spirit and pride in our country with Protea Fridays.

We encourage you to plan ahead so that you can get your Protea Friday branded in time for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup opening match or at the very least the first South African match.

Good Luck Proteas!

ICC Cricket Gifts

Cricket is one of the widely followed sports and is a single major sport in many Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh in Britain as well as South Africa. People in this part of the world are crazy about the game of cricket and their cricketing heroes.

The ICC Cricket World Cup, generally referred to as the Cricket World Cup, is the premier international championship of men's One-day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years.

According to the ICC, it is the most important tournament and the pinnacle of achievement in the sport. This makes it a great event for corporate gifts as cricket gifts are a well sort after item.

Belle Regalo sells a wide variety of Cricket related gifts. Unlike with the FIFA World Cup, the ICC gifts have a lot more flexibility. Many of the Cricket shirts and the Friday shirts may be co-branded.

Our cricket gift range includes ICC Cricket Caps, 2011 World Cup Peaks, Sports Cushions (which can be branded with your company logo), the 2011 World Cup Fielding Hat, the Proteas Cricket Tee, Proteas Tee Green, Proteas Cricket Friday Shirt, Cricket Ball Key Ring, Cricket Hats as cricket gifts, Waving Flags as cricket as cricket gifts, Cricket Bat & Ball Key, Cricket Bat & Ball Rulers. Of course you can almost anything as a cricket gifts as long as it is handed out at the appropriate time and is useful while watching a match.

Build in some spirit by getting your staff together for a match evening. You can even start an action cricket team to continue with the momentum and build up team spirit.

If you have a pub night, then ask your staff to wear their branded Friday shirts to the pub night.

The First South African ICC match is on: Thu 24 February with a South Africa vs. West Indies match. Followed by Sun 06 March: England vs. South Africa, Sat 12 March: India vs. South Africa, Tue 15 March: South Africa vs. Ireland and Sat 19 March: Bangladesh vs. South Africa.

The Quarter Final will start on Wed 23 March with the finals being on Sat 02 April.
So take advantage of this great sporting event to get your company’s staff moral up for 2011.

Playful ways to release stress during rugby match

A stress ball is an object that meassure approximately 3 inches in diameter. This is used for the therapeutical treatment of stress. All that one has to do is to repeatedly squeeze with your fingers. The repeated squeezing of the stress ball and maipulating the stress balls apparently gives a feeling of relief from emotional stress and muscular tension. Stress balls may come in the shape of a round ball, but these days they come in a big variety of shapes.

For rugby, there are even rugby shaped stress balls. There are a number of basic colours in rugby stress balls. Colours are white and black rugby stress balls; white and red rugby stress balls; white and blue rugby stress balls; white and red rugby stress balls.

Where you are taking your clients to the Currie Cup for the Tri-nations, rugby shaped stress balls are a fun and inexpensive rugby gift for you and your clients.

For more giting ideas visit our website http://www.belleregalo.co.za/

New Bokkie Mascot

The South African Rugby Union New Bokkie Mascot has scored its first major successes even though it was only officially launched on Monday.

The animated super hero has become SA's first annimation to go 3D and has taken pride of place on T-shirts and a range of products accross the land.

FIFA Rapped Over Junk Food

How interesting that for The Beautiful Game the primary sponsors are related to junk food. Soocer athletes are at the peak of thier performance and are icons to many young people. Yet for the World Cup we are faced with the dilema that our children and nation as a whole associate quick fix options to what is actually a long term goal.

But all the blame can not be placed in the fast food outlets and cooldrinks of the world. For where are the healthy options in sponsorships. Perhaps it is rather like the chicken and the egg concept. If the healthy fast foods were more popular, perhaps they would have bigger budgets for sponsorships.

Personally, I can hardly wait to see a Nando's logo next to the FIFA logo. But sadly for the masses, fast food options like MacDonalds are simple cheaper than the healthy options. So what are the alternatives.

Well certainly companies can encourage their staff, by asking canteen staff to prepare healthier options. Why not buy all the staff a sports shirt, soccer shirt or a good old fashionaed golf shirt and start a lunch time execise session. With the Diski, what a fun way to get the heart pumping byt teaching your staff the diski.

For great gifting ideas viwit us on http://www.belleregalo.co.za/

Step your way to Health

If you are 20kg heavier than you were when you were 18 years old, then you have doubled your risk of cancer. A shocking reality!

In January I decided that it was time to work off some of the extra weight I have accumulated during my working career. Sitting at a desk 80% of the day does nothing for the figure, so in January my husband and I started Healthpointe 2.0. This is not some fad diet, where the long term effects have not yet been seen. No this is a tested method of rectifying metabolism that has been around for 30 years.

One of the components is to increase your daily steps by 10 000 steps per day. So if you are concerned about the mental and physical health of your staff, consider getting them pedometers as a gift and encouraging corporate health. Awareness followed by action produces pleasing changes. For those who wish to find a Healthpointe ditributor, contact kim@belleregalo.co.za

This skipping rope is fantastic for any active person because of its unique features. This skipping rope counts the amount of skips you do and also works out the calories lost from your skipping session. This is a great fun gift to give to someone who is either serious about fitness or who is only starting their wellness journey. Why not do a “company wellness” drive and give each person a skipping target.

This corporate gift is available in Red/white or Royal blue/white and the dimensions are 3 meters

The measurement is a sure way to check if they are really participating. There are numerous fitness gifts that you can use to improve not only the health by the attitude of your staff. For more gifting ideas please visit www.belleregalo.co.za

Are Vuvuzelas damaging to your hearing?

I simply had to add this insert for the fans. It is an extract from an article on www.iol.co.za. I know a few people who may definitely agree to the contents. But we could write off all the frequent visits to ear nose and throat specialist and the increase in headache medication and hearing aids as one of the many economic benefits of 2010.
Personally I find that noise levels do tend to escalate in all walks of life. I am waiting to find an article of the damaging effect on hand driers, particularly those that blast you away at the Johannesburg international airport.

Here is the article:
“A debate is raging over whether braying vuvuzela plastic horns that have taken over South African soccer damage the hearing of spectators.Football authorities have dismissed as "pure speculation" claims that the noise may permanently damage hearing. They say there is no scientific evidence to prove this.But Sean Kierman, head of brass studies at the University of Cape Town's College of Music, said vuvuzelas were "dangerous" and might damage the hearing of those nearby, either permanently or temporarily. He proposed mutes be inserted in them to reduce the noise.The brightly coloured vuvuzelas blown by football fans in the stands have been described as South Africa's unique sporting icon but have angered many and have been labeled as "torture, raucous and highly offensive to the ear".

Self Massage

If you are like me, you spend a lot of time in front of the computer. This can wreck havoc on the circulations and make you more susceptible to feeling the cold.

At a recent appointment with Davina Toale, a Wellness Consultant, Davinia promised me a few techniques to help me with my legs.

Here is a quick self-massage technique you can do for your legs to liven them up and also warm them up.

SELF-MASSAGE TECHNIQUES FOR LEGS

Sit on the floor and effleurage (stroke) over your leg from the foot up, then knead the thigh. Effleurage, then pummel front and outside of your thigh.

Massage around your knee with your fingers, using circular pressure. Finish with gentle upward strokes behind your knee.

Lastly, knead your calf muscles with both hands and finish with effleurage.

BASIC TECHNIQUES FOR MASSAGE

EFFLEURAGE – simple stroking movement with your fingers leading. (Think of doing breast stroke in a pool) Hands together, then moving them together – up and outwards and then back together again.

BASIC KNEADING – just like kneading dough, place both hands on the leg with the fingers pointing away. Press down with the palm of one hand, grasp and push it towards the other hand. Release the flesh and grasp it with the other hand.

PUMMELLING – Make your hands into loose relaxed fists and bounce the side of your fists lightly on the skin.

Davina Toale can be reached via

Tel: 011 452 4150

Fax: 086 697 1236

Cell: 083 315 8648

davina@katannuta.com

www.katannuta.com

www.pressurepoints.co.za

Belle Regalo also sells a range of wellness gifts like the massager shown in this article.

Get the corporate body moving

A great many years ago when I was working at Grant Andrews Office Furniture we had an industry action cricket tournament. One of our suppliers hosted it and all its clients entered teams. It is one thing to participate internally in sporting events but a whole other kettle of fish when competing against your industry competitors.
A lot could reveled about the character of people when participating in this kind of event. Operating at the high end of the market, we worked on projects such as Vodacom (in Midrand), ABSA and a number of high end clients. This coupled with our very beautiful art deco premises in the heritage belt in Parktown in Johannesburg, plus our well groomed consultants gave us a reputation for being arrogant.

My assistant Marisha and I joined the action cricket team and I have to tell you that we had both never played a single game of action cricket in our entire lives. In fact Marisha read the rules of action cricket to me on the way to the tournament. Marisha and I always had a lot of fun, we were in charge of marketing, newsletters, catering, and end of the year kid’s party’s and always came up with gags to lighten the atmosphere. In fact when we had our lucky draws for Valentine’s Day, Halloween day etc, we always dressed up. Many days we were seen with fairy outfits or Halloween costumes and Santa hats. But sports were not our strong suit at all.

The action cricket tournament meant to be fun, but at the event our competitions tore strips off us. There were a number of nasty comments thrown at us. Grant always told us to sell on our strengths and not on other’s weaknesses, but that lesson was a challenge on that evening, because actually inside I felt like punching one or two individuals. If I had been doing kick boxing at that time, I would have made quite an imposing figure at a mere 5.2ft. Aah isn’t it great to fool yourself.

After a barrage of these nasty comments, I turned to the sales director and said “You do know that we actually HAVE, to win this tournament.”

I partnered the sales director with batting. Both of us have choleric personalities and at times we would clash because of our strong personalities. But on this evening I had to take all our brilliant sales’ director’s direction as although I had never played, he had.
His advice to me was “No matter what happens, when I say run you run, whether you have hit the ball or not.” And run, I did. I ran my heart and probably bits of my lungs too. I ran despite the fact that he had hit the ball squarely on my foot. Despite our odd choleric debates at the office, we made an excellent action cricket team.
By sheer spirit, because talent was limited to a few members of the team, we actually won. The transformation was amazing. Marisha usually participated in events such as choir, bow making, painting and other crafts which she was excellent at, but on that evening she was a victor. On the way home she said “You know Kim, people who say that winning is not everything, and clearly have not won anything at all.”

Well what a spectacular evening. I still have my Gant Andrew Action Cricket t-shirt and still smile when I think of the night that our team crushed the opposition.

What a moral booster. If you have a team of runners, go cart riders, whatever, go for it. Get yourself some corporate clothing, branded t-shirts, tracksuits and go strut your stuff.

Occupational Stress

Fire and stress have much in common. Uncontolled, fire leaves devastation in its wake. Similarly, uncontrolled stress is destructive to persobal health and can also prevent you from achiveving your true potential.

Controlled stress, by contrast is a potential and creative energy which will help you to live life to the full and feel positive and enthusiastic.

Katannuta Wellness mainly works with companies to minimize occupational stress.

Occupational stress is a pattern of emotional, cognitive and behavioral psychological reactions to adverse and noxious aspects of work content, work organisation and work environment. Occupational stress is caused by a poor match between us and our work, by conflicts between our roles at work and outside it and not having a reasonable degree of control over our own work.

Simply put, occupational stress occurs when there is a conflict between workplace and a worker’s degree of control.

Uncontrolled stress can lead to strain. Strain is where your attitude becomes negative. You feel irritable, frustrated and cynical. Uncontrolled stress can lead to burn out. Burnout is a condition where you simply have no motivation to do anything and become susceptible to opportunist viruses such as flu. Should burnout not be addressed, the next stage is depression and anxiety.

Katannuta wellness works mainly with corporates. The offer a range of services such as on-site massage using mobile massage therapists who specialize in Indian Head massage and chair massage. Their on site psychologist has developed a stress and wellness questionnaire that allows them to asses the level of occupational stress of employees. Based on individual interviews Katannuta Wellness is able to offer recommendations to companies for stress reduction and managing wellness in the work place. Wellness coaching, workshops and courses, ergonomics assessments and wellness days are some of the other services that they offer. For more information contact Davina Davina@katannuta.com or visit http://www.katannuta.com or call Davina or 083-315-8648.

How Do Stress Balls Work?

Stress is an inescapable fact our lives and can manifest itself regardless of one’s age, gender, or lifestyle. It affects our rational thinking capabilities and prevents us from enjoying our natural disposition, which is to be happy.

There are many stress relieving techniques that have evolved over time; these include yoga, aerobics, and even comedy clubs. These techniques, although effective, have the drawback in that they are all time-consuming, require a schedule, and can be carried out only in certain places.

An excellent alternative to these stress relieving techniques is the stress ball (or stress relief ball). These palm-sized balls come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are recommended as stress busters by various health organizations and fitness centers. They are made from high density foam, soft rubber, or squeezable polyurethane and squeezing these balls has many therapeutic benefits. Stress balls can be filled with gel and can be given different cheerful shapes such as colorful beans and animals. Their textures can be spiny, smooth, fuzzy, or rough.

Some of the shape of stress balls that Belle Regalo sells include stress ball aeroplanes, stress ball bricks, stress ball capsules, stress ball cars, stress ball houses, stress ball light bulbs, stress ball penguins, stress ball pigs, stress ball tablets, stress ball thumbs up, stress ball trucks, stress balls soccer balls.

Since all materials used in the manufacture of stress balls are non-toxic, the stress balls are safe for use. Patients suffering from arthritis and nerve disorders can also benefit from stress balls. A few quick squeezes of a stress ball helps in improving blood circulation to the hands and are a great way of rejuvenating tired hands.

Stress balls, if used at the end of a hard day’s work, have a calming effect, foster relaxation, and help in regaining energy lost during the course of a hectic day. A great plus with stress balls is that they have absolutely no side effects and can be used by individuals in any age group. Consistent use of this simple therapy can prevent stress related ailments from getting aggravated. Keeping this fact in mind, several health centers are incorporating stress balls in their stress treatment routines. It is not uncommon for stress balls to be distributed during meetings and seminars. Corporates are recognizing the value stress balls as effective stress-management tools.

Stress balls are easily customizable; they can be manufactured according to different size specifications and can be imprinted with the user’s name. These attributes have contributed to the popularity of stress balls. Stress balls are also ideal gifts to be given during corporate seminars.

Extracts from: http://ezinearticles.com

For more health gifts, sports gifts, 2010 gifts and corporate gifts visit our on-line catalogue on www.belleregalo.co.za

Managing blood pressure not only saves lives but improves productivity.

High blood pressure and high cholesterol, with their associated complications, are direct contributors to one of this country’s leading causes of death. They are also two of the most treatable conditions. New medications combined with a healthy diet and exercise can stop disease progression and prevent future complications.

For employers, there are several reasons to be concerned about the growing prevalence of chronic high blood pressure (hypertension) and chronic high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia) among the workforce. First and foremost is lost productivity.

High blood pressure and high cholesterol are conditions that can occur as isolated risk factors or in combination with other higher risk conditions such as ischemic heart disease (IHD). In fact, a full 39% of workers with IHD also have hypertension and 37% of workers with IHD have hyperlipidemia.

On average, employees with hypertension miss 67% more workdays per year than their non-hypertensive counterparts, or eight days versus five days. Also, the behavioral risk factors for both hypertension and hyperlipidemia (e.g., smoking, sedentary lifestyle, obesity) indicate a general lower level of health status, which contributes to a high rate of absenteeism.

However, the most compelling reason for employers to be concerned is that left untreated, chronic hypertension and chronic hyperlipidemia will inevitably lead to more severe and costly chronic conditions such as atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, or vascular disease. The cost of effectively managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol is high.

Simply put, high blood pressure and high cholesterol primary prevention is about improving employee health, reducing absenteeism, increasing productivity and building on an overall “culture of health” in the workplace.

Belle Regalo offers a range of blood pressure measures, which are a very useful health gift as part of a corporate wellnesshealth gifts and other sports gifts and corporate gifts, visit the Belle Regalo on-line catalogue on www.belleregalo.co.za programme. For more