I admit I sincerely enjoyed receiving Christmas cards each year as I was growing up. I knew Santa was coming soon by the sudden influx of colorful holiday cards brought by the mailman. I remember fondly my mother allowing me to go ahead and open the cards that included the words “and family” or “and girls” (I had a sister) or “Dear Occupant” as part of the address. And, of course, I got to also open those that actually included my very own name too. An even bigger thrill was receiving a card addressed just to me!

So don’t forget to remember the entire family when addressing those envelopes and remember these pointers:

If you know the individuals by name on an informal basis, go ahead and list them all. For example:
Bob and Mary Jones
Bobby, Barbara and Ben

The more formal treatment would be:
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Jones
and family

For something in between you could use:
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Jones
and family (or) and children

Another source of mystery to me was wondering why my last name seemed to change from card to card. My maiden name was Cress and I remember receiving holiday cards addressed to The Cresses, The Cress’s, The Cress Family, and so on. We even got them addressed to The Crest Family but that is an entirely different story.

Rules of thumb:
If the family name ends in O or Y, add an S—The Romanos , The Sandys
If the family name ends in S, X, Z, CH or ES, add an ES—The Joneses, The Foxes, The Cortezes, The Bunches, The Marshes
If in doubt, just add the word “Family” as in—The Jones Family
The use of an apostrophe indicates possession or ownership like The Jones’s House so doesn’t really apply for holiday cards. Of course, if you are sending holiday party invitations you may want to indicate that the party is at the Jones’s House.

Party, did someone mention a party?! Count me “and Family” in!

The holiday season offers unique opportunities to position and grow your business, not to mention thanking those who have been loyal customers you have depended on throughout the year. Consider these tips for taking advantage of opportunities presented during the holiday season.

1. Offer special discounts and promotions. Everyone is looking for ways to save this year and you may be able to capitalize on volume sales by offering a promo code or gift with purchase that will actually generate profits.

2. Send Holiday Cards. Keep your company name in front of your customers and business associates by sending personalized and custom imprinted holiday cards. Front imprint cards are great for a unique visual presentation and staying connected with current and past customers is vital. Maybe you would even like to consider including a promo code or special offer printed right on the card itself as a special added bonus.

3. Relate to your customers. Not everyone celebrates Christmas during this time of year. Be sensitive to your customers by relating to their differences. Perhaps Kwanzaa or Hanukkah Cards are more appropriate. For business it may be better to send Season’s Greetings Cards or Happy Holiday Cards instead of Merry Christmas Cards just in case your customer doesn’t celebrate Christmas.

4. Appreciate your employees. Take this opportunity to let your employees know how much they mean to your business. A holiday office party doesn’t have to be an expensive extravaganza. A potluck can be just as fun. And don’t forget to add each employee to your holiday cards list.


5. Network. Take advantage of all the holiday party invitations you will be receiving by attending as many events as possible. You never know when you might meet your next major customer!

Enjoy the holiday season while remaining thankful and positive. The holidays can be stressful for some but if approached with a positive attitude and viewed as an opportunity for personal improvement and business growth, you are certain to reap rewards for your efforts throughout the coming New Year!

By now you’ve all heard the story about the 6 year old in Colorado whose parents thought he had taken a joy ride in the family’s experimental helium balloon. No less than the Norad and the US Air Force were strategizing ways to bring him down safely. Turns out he was hiding from his parents at home and not even in the balloon, thank goodness. Sure made for some interesting live news though!

Anyway, it brought these uplifting images to mind! Don’t wait until its too late to let someone know you care. Opportunities like these can float away unexpectedly! Rise to the occasion by sending one of these:

If you’re planning an uplifting event soon, we have more balloon themed greeting cards you should see!

My daughter recently graduated from high school, hooray! She proudly sent graduation invitations to many friends and family members, not fully realizing the many well wishes that would soon come her way. The truly exceptional remembrances came from those not even on her send list. Those unexpected congratulations were a true delight.

What impressed me though was her unprompted sending of thank you cards! What a proud mom I was when I noticed her writing thank yous before I even had a chance to suggest it. Of course, at an early age she was taught to write thank you cards for birthday and Christmas presents, often with constant reminding, but I was pleased to see she, on her own, realized that graduation presents called for this same courtesy.

How about you? Do you and your children send thank you cards? A thank you doesn’t have to be just for gifts received. Thank you cards are great whenever a show of appreciation is called for. Set a good example and remember those deserving with a thoughtful greeting. It will bring a smile to you and to the lucky recipient as well as set a great example for your children!

Your gift will certainly be the hit of any baby shower when you walk in with a diaper cake! Or, consider a diaper cake as the party centerpiece if you are the host. For those unfamiliar with this unique present, a cake is fashioned out of baby diapers. What new mom wouldn’t be pleased to receive those! Think tiered wedding cake. The “cake” can then be decorated as little or as much as your budget will allow with baby accessories. The presentation is delightful and practical. Here are directions for “baking” a diaper cake.

Begin by deciding how many tiers you would like the cake to be. Three is the norm and you should plan on using approximately 50 disposable diapers for a cake of this size. Of course you can expand to one like this monster that was constructed using over 350 diapers!

For transporting, use a piece of cardboard for the base. Dress it up by wrapping it in paper. Use the baby shower invitation as a nameplate. Roll each diaper individually and secure it with a rubber band or piece of yarn. Use a paper towel tube for the center and stand the rolled diapers up around it. Hold everything in place with a piece of ribbon or yarn tied securely to hold all the diapers together. Add another ring of rolled diapers around this one and again hold them in place with ribbon or yarn. Repeat until you have the bottom layer the diameter you need.

Next, add a separate tier, repeating this same process as outlined above until this diameter is right. Then, for a 3-layer cake, make your top tier.

To hide your securing yard or ribbon, wrap a wide piece of ribbon around each tier. Lovely just like this, you can now add decorations to your heart’s content or leave it simple. You can add a matching huge ribbon bow on the very top or even use artificial flowers as decorations.

The most fun though is decorating with baby accessories. Baby bibs, pacifiers, stuffed animals, teething rings, rattles, you name it! Attach whatever you want with ribbon or rubber band them on. The fun is that these not only add interest and color, but will be useful as well.

Maybe you would like to make this a joint gift and invite friends to help you put it together. This is one shower gift sure to delight!