Is there a graceful method of shutting down the p2pool terminal? I haven't been able to find anything for it so I'm simply using Control C ... is there another / better option?
That's as graceful as it gets........you could sing a lullaby

You don't really want to be turning it off - let it run, & run, & run........
Thanks for the answer.
I'm still experimenting so it's on and off at the moment.
Next step is set it up for merged.
Ordered new dual xeon server to be dedicated to pools, once it's ready to go then it will run & run & run ...
I wouldn't buy hardware to run p2pool. My miners and my p2pool node are not in the same place and my efficiency is currently 108%. Pay $20 a month for a Linode near your miners and stop paying when you stop mining (which for most of us is any minute now).
You'll get incredible network connectivity and the flexibility to turn things off without being stuck with equipment you don't need (like thousands of dollars of ASICs