This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager
As Mother’s Day approaches this Sunday, May 10, I have been thinking about the ways that MyPunchbowl can help people celebrate Mother’s Day in the most personal way.
I’m very close with my own mother. We’re best friends and she’s probably the one person who knows me best. If there was ever an occasion to treat in a more personal and meaningful way, Mother’s Day is definitely the day.
With MyPunchbowl eCards you can include a personal video with a picture and a special message. What mom doesn’t want to see her kids and grandkids in a video created just for her? If I got something like that it would definitely make me feel special.
I also ordered a personalized candy tin for my mom and included a picture from a trip we went on together last year. I was even able to choose her favorite jelly bean flavor (licorice) to fill the tin. I caved and gave it to her early — she loved it! It was a nice memory of the weekend we spent together.
Users can also invite their moms to a brunch or Mother’s Day outing using our online invitations and event planning tools. They can send flowers and buy other Mother’s Day gifts.
However you decide to celebrate Mother’s Day, remember to make it special for Mom. After all, it’s her day.
This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager
Can you believe it’s already May 1st? I was just looking at the calendar and May is one of the busiest months of the year. In addition to major holidays like Mother’s Day (May 10) and Memorial Day (May 25), there are a number of other holidays and events definitely worth celebrating.
The Kentucky Derby is tomorrow and the buzz is already very exciting. If you didn’t plan a party for the Kentucky Derby, you have another chance to host an event around the horse races with The Preakness on May 16.
Next week there will be fiestas around the globe as people celebrate Cinco de Mayo (May 5, of course). Before you head off to your Cinco de Mayo party, don’t forget to send a thoughful eCard to your favorite teacher in honor of National Teacher’s Day. Teachers do so much yet are often underpaid and underappreciated. An eCard is a nice way to show your appreciation.
The list above doesn’t even represent one of the biggest reasons to celebrate in May and that’s graduation! With students graduating from preschools, high schools, college, and graduate school during the months of May and June, it’s easy to see why your weekends get so jam-packed.
Are you planning to host an event in May? MyPunchbowl’s Date Decider can help you figure out the date that works best for your busy guests.
Do you know of any other holidays in May that aren’t on our list? Post the name of the holiday and the date in the comments below.
This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager
April Fool’s Day is upon us so watch your back! This fun holiday is marked by practical jokes and hoaxes but what is the origin of this wacky holiday? I did a little research and here’s what I learned. Very, very interesting…
First off, the origins of April Fool’s Day are pretty sketchy, but I found one theory that I really like. According to multiple sources, ancient cultures, including the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on or around April 1 as it closely follows the vernal equinox. However, in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar–the Gregorian Calendar–in which New Year’s was to be celebrated on January 1. France adopted the new calendar, however many people refused to accept the new date, or didn’t learn about it, and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. Other people began to make fun of them, sending them on “fool’s errands” or trying to trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe and beyond.
This hypothesis isn’t fully accepted due to the timing of the calendar changes throughout Europe. However, I like it and here’s why. Here at MyPunchbowl we like big celebrations. What is a bigger reason to celebrate than the New Year? Let’s go old-school and start a wave of New Year’s parties in April!
Okay, maybe that’s a little far-fetched, but if you want in on some April Fool’s Day fun check out our April Fool’s Day eCards. You can play a practical joke on someone without even leaving your desk (and thus leaving yourself vulnerable to be pranked)!
This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager
For some, Valentine’s Day is a wonderful excuse to go to dinner with a significant other, give each other chocolates, flowers, jewelry, and who knows what else? Others would argue that couples should be doing these things all year long, but we’ll let that slide.
With the anticipation of Valentine’s Day building for weeks if not months, what are all of the singles out there to do? Trust me, it’s pretty damn near impossible to ignore Valentine’s Day — it’s everywhere!
Even on MyPunchbowl we’ve got beautiful free eCards that you can customize for your sweetie with photos and video. People also used our site to plan Valentine’s dinners and brunches as well. Couples only?
So what’s a singleton to do? I’m very happy to say that MyPunchbowl’s got something for you too! You can grab all of your girls (or boys) and plan a fun night out. With Valentine’s Day on a Saturday this year, don’t stay home but embrace the single life with a night on the town. I will be!
We also have the perfect outlet for your Valentine’s Day disdain: Anti-Valentine’s eCards! Send them to your girlfriends, the guy who wronged you, or to someone you know that just loves to hate Valentine’s Day!
This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager
With Barack Obama’s historic inauguration just a week away, there’s still time to host your own presidential celebration. While the idea of organizing a party in less than a week may be daunting, just look at what Obama is up against. Feel better?
So whether you invite just a few trusted advisors or your whole cabinet, your first order of business is to design and send party invitations like this one:
Once you’ve sent your invitations, order patriotic party supplies and have them delivered right to your door. This will leave more time to focus on the really important things like food and drinks!
MyPunchbowl’s resident party planning expert, Penelope, has some great ideas for how to make your inauguration party one-of-a-kind. Check out the “Party Planning” section of our site where you can search for themes, food/drink ideas, and more.
With everything covered, you’ll be able to celebrate the inauguration presidential-style: with everyone cheering your name.
I wanted to take a moment and say happy holidays to all of my blog readers. I really appreciate that you read my blog, encourage my musings, and share your thoughts with me in the comments.
This has been an extraordinary holiday season for MyPunchbowl — every day, we set a new record for traffic and events planned on the site. And every day, customers from across the globe write to us with comments, feedback, and suggestions about MyPunchbowl. We’re so fortunate to have such a passionate and active customer base.
We would not have accomplished so much without you and your circle of friends. So wherever you find yourself this holiday season, I hope you will be surrounded with love, laughter, and peace.
Yesterday, I wrote about National Men Make Dinner Day, held every year on the first Thursday in November. Last night, I made Turkey Chili. By Jessica’s reaction, it was clearly a big success.
I thought I would share my recipe for Turkey Chili, in case you want to try and make it too:
1 lb of ground turkey meat
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of kidney beans
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon of cumin powder
1 tablespoon of garlic salt
Brown the turkey meat in a large skillet. Stir in the stewed tomatoes and the tomato sauce. Rinse the kidney beans thoroughly, add them in. Stir in the spices, and season to taste. Cook on a low simmer for 15 minutes.
We also had corn bread with the chili. Here’s a picture of the full meal (note it was served with my favorite beer: Modelo Especial):
If anyone reading this blog decides to make the turkey chili, please send me a picture and I will post it on this blog. It wasn’t too hard to make — and Jessica’s reaction was certainly worth it.
So I’m sitting here quietly in my office, working on a few bigger issues today. My wonderful wife (Jessica) just popped up on my gmail chat screen to sweetly alert me that today apparently is “National Men Make Dinner Day.” Now, truth be told, most of the time Jessie makes dinner. She is a fantastic cook (and an even better baker) and I know that I’m very lucky to have her take care of most meals. However, recently I’ve been trying to make dinner more often. She loves it when I make dinner, and when my schedule is not crazy, I don’t mind to make dinner once in a while.
This past weekend, when we sat down to talk about the week ahead, I told Jess that I would make dinner on Thursday night. I picked out what I was going to make (Turkey chili), looked up the ingredients, and even cracked open a few cookbooks to find the best recipe. I’m ready to make the chili, and plan to start it when I get home from work tonight.
How ironic. It is National Men Make Dinner Day — yet I seemed to have a sixth sense that today was the right day to volunteer to make dinner. Thankfully, the recipe does not include any of the following (specifically called out as “no-no’s” on the National Men Make Dinner Day website:)
Although some of the foods that I am about to list may sound like a tempting addition to your meal — they should never be part of “National Men Make Dinner Day”:
* chewing gum
* cotton candy
* take-out pizza
* pogos
* left-overs from last night
* sandwiches from office vending machine
* neighbors left-overs from last night
* anything bar-b-qued
To all of my faithful blog readers: celebrate this holiday. Share this post. Visit the National Men Make Dinner Day website. Use MyPunchbowl to send a last minute “National Men Make Dinner Day” invitation. And mark it down on your calendar for next year. I think this is a holiday that is only going to get bigger.
(Image courtesy of the National Men Make Dinner website)
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