Author: Shareen K.

Personalized Birthday Cards Help Keep You Organized

It is much easier to keep track of who you are sending birthday wishes to if you choose to send out personalized birthday cards. If you are a company who sends birthday cards to either your clients or employees, it is much more convenient to do so if they have already been personalized with your company name. There are many tasks and projects a professional has to worry about finishing during a work day. Having to choose a card and physically sign it can be very tedious and time consuming. Especially if there is more than one birthday card that needs to be signed in a day. If you order birthday cards with a company name or signature already included, it creates fewer steps when it is time to send or hand out the card. It also makes it much less time consuming to keep track of as its one less step that you have to worry about.

I don’t know how many cards I’ve had to buy when an employee or customer’s birthday is coming up. Then I would have to walk around to various employees and wait for them to find the time to sign them.   It’s also frustrating if a fellow employee isn’t in that day and can’t sign it themselves. In such a professional world, no one has time to do this anymore. Your regular work projects are more important so many companies will not even acknowledge a birthday in the office.

By giving an employee or customer a birthday card really helps office morale and helps to continue business with others. If you don’t show your appreciation, it can deter people from giving 100% to the company. In my personal experience, it’s become very easy for a birthday to fall through the cracks because of these time consuming issues. It’s much less time consuming when the cards are already set up with a personal greeting and imprint. Because there are fewer steps involved, it is much easier to keep track of how many cards need to be sent or handed out.

I will never send out cards on a whim again. At least now I know that if I do remember a birthday at the last minute, I am already prepared.

Why You Should Send Personal Photo Cards

Before I started a family, I admit that I rarely sent out Christmas cards. I loved receiving them though.  Once I was married and my two children were born, I could not wait to start choosing a holiday card to send out. Personal photo cards became my cards of choice. I think there are many reasons why personalized photo cards are a wonderful idea.

My husband and I both come from large families with many relatives living out of state.  Because of the distance between us, we don’t get a chance to get together often. We don’t get the chance to see each others’ children grow up and they grow up too quickly. We wind up missing so many milestones.  Sending and receiving personal photo cards lets us see our families and friend’s families’ growing up. It really helps to keep us all in touch with each other and make us feel like we are right there with them.  I hang the photo cards that we receive up on a door so I can see them all year long.

Besides adding pictures to personalized photo cards, you can also customize the wording as well. While most of our relatives celebrate Christmas, we have some that celebrate Hanukkah. I like to be able to make sure that I send holiday wishes for any holiday that they may celebrate. This helps to ensure that no one is offended. I often prefer to customize my photo cards by wishing everyone a Happy Everything.

One of the things I look forward to the most regarding the holiday season is receiving personal photo cards. Knowing that we are in each other’s thoughts makes the holiday feel really special. I have already chosen the design that I will be sending out to those I love and I can’t wait to see who is thinking of us too.  I really recommend sending out personalized photo cards. This is the time of year that we all want to feel close to loved ones. This holiday I recommend sending out your personal holiday card and let your loved ones know that you are thinking of them.

Business Holiday Cards Are Goodwill Advertisements

Sending business holiday cards is a goodwill advertisement. It says that you appreciate your customers or associates, that you are thinking of them at this time, and want to send them best wishes for the year ahead – which will hopefully include mutual benefits for both of you with your continued association! Holiday greetings advertise your business and spread cheer at the same time – it’s a win-win.

Happy Holidays From All of Us! Card

Sending an excellent quality holiday card really says something about your business – that you are organized, pay attention to detail, and truly appreciate those you do business with. It is worth the money and should be part of your marketing budget. Holiday cards won’t magically create business, but it makes sure that people keep you in mind. Even if they don’t realize it, they will certainly remember you better and be more likely to think of you for upcoming projects or orders if you get your name out there. Even better – select one of our calendar cards that they can hang up and view all year long!

It’s easy to be cynical about it – cards cost too much money, no one really cares, or the recipients just throw them out anyway. I have to disagree. The holidays can feel overwhelming and stressful, but don’t let that stop you from putting in this extra effort. Make it a part of your yearly budget and routine. Shake off that feeling and spread some holiday happiness to someone else who may need it!

In the email age, receiving a card in the mail is now a special event, even if they are getting a lot of them, even if they only look at it for a minute. Many offices do enjoy displaying the cards as decoration through Christmas so make sure yours is of great quality to stand out! Sure they’re not going to hang onto them forever, but again – they’ll see your name, be reminded of you, and think that you are really a company on the ball to have taken the time to send a greeting. To make your name stand out in an office display, you can select one of our die cut cards so your company name shows through even when the card is closed. Or you can customize one of our new digital printed editable cards which can include your company name right on the front design!

Remember, with our customization options you can also create your own special sentiment and/or add your company logo to further stand out from the crowd and make your business more memorable. The more people see of your logo the better! If you have a few people who have especially helped you over the year, it’s also great to jot in a bit of hand-written personalization. The time put in to do so will certainly be noticed.

Keep the good cheer in the holiday season and extend some goodwill to your customers. Not only is it easy advertising, but it really will be appreciated and it may just give you an advantage in the year to come!

Simple But Fun Office Party Games

For a successful office party, you definitely want to get people mingling and excited to ensure a good time. A great way to get things started is with a fun game for everyone to participate in! This creates time away from work to get to know each other a bit better and bond as a team. Here are four suggestions for simple, but fun office party games.

Office party

1. Who Am I? Couples  –

This game is fun to play to break the ice and get people talking to fellow employees they may not know very well. The party planner should write down names of well-known celebrities or characters on index cards. Each card should match up with another card to form the couple. Some examples would be Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Rhett Butler and Scarlet O’Hara, and Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.

For each person playing, a card should be taped to their back without them seeing who it is. They should go around the room and engage in conversation with others who will look at the card on their back and treat them accordingly. If the person you are talking to has Brad Pitt on their back, you might ask how he feels about his zombie movie doing so poorly or how all of those children are doing. The person wearing the card may also ask questions to try to guess who is on their back.

Once they have guessed who they are, they must find their partner who matches the other half of their couple. First couple to be united wins the game, but it should continue until everyone has found their pairs. Those who have already completed the game should go around and assist in giving clues to those who haven’t guessed yet.

2. Pass the Bowl –

When people arrive to the party, have them write down names of well-known celebrities or characters (e.g. Harry Potter, Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Clinton) on small slips of paper. These papers should be folded in half and placed into a large bowl. When the bowl is full of names, divide the group into two teams and have everyone sit down in a circle with the teams seated together.

If Team A is first, Team B will be responsible for timing the round. When the timer begins, the first person who begins with the bowl will draw a name. They will then give their team clues to get them to guess the person or character. They may not say any part of the name or say “it rhymes with _____.” They may describe the movie the person acted in, or what book the character is from, who the person is married to, etc. The rest of the team should shout out guesses and once the name is guessed, the first person should pass the bowl to the person beside them. Each team will try to guess as many names as possible over the course of 1 minute. Once time is called, count how many names were correctly guessed and mark down the score. Then it will be Team B’s turn while Team A times them.

If a person draws a name that they do not know, they can put the paper back and draw a different one – this may only be done one time! Once the second name is drawn, they are stuck with it and may have to get creative for their team to guess.  For example, get them to guess a different person or character who has the same first or last name as the person on their slip. Just make sure that successfully guessed papers do not go back in the bowl! There may be duplicates since everyone is contributing names.

To end the game, you may set a point goal such as first team to 50 points will win.

3. Paper Airplane Contest

Each person will be given a piece of paper to create a paper airplane. Once their planes are created, everyone will pair off and two at a time, the paper airplanes will be thrown. Whichever person’s plane travels the farthest will stay in the game for the next round. Once all couples have faced off, the winners will pair off to go again, and so on until there are only two people left. The last two will face off and the farthest airplane throw will win. You may want to choose one person to be the judge.

4. White Elephant Gift Exchange

This is a great game to play at a holiday party or an “Everybody’s Birthday” party. Set a budget (e.g  $5-$10 or $10-$15) and have everyone who wishes to play bring in a wrapped gift. Ideally, have everyone sit in a circle with the gifts in the center or a similar set up so everyone can be seen. Everyone should draw a number out of a hat to decide the order. The person who draws the number 1 is first and should choose one of the gifts.

Once their gift is chosen they should return to their seat and either unwrap the gift, unwrap it partway, or leave it wrapped. It will then be the second person’s turn. This person will have the choice of choosing a gift from the pile or taking the first person’s gift and again either unwrapping it, unwrapping it partway, or leaving it wrapped. If the first person’s gift is taken, they should choose another from the pile.

This will continue down the line with each person taking a gift from someone else or from the pile. Each person who has a gift taken from them should either take a new one from the pile or take someone else’s gift. At the end when everyone has a gift, all of the gifts should be unwrapped and shown off!

The most important thing at a party is to let loose. Talk to people you don’t usually get a chance to see at work and be willing to be a little silly and have fun with these games or whatever else you come up with! Enthusiasm, competition, and silliness are contagious and will always make for a fun party atmosphere.

Must Do’s for Business Email Etiquette

Doing business via email has never been easier or more convenient. From laptops, smart phones, or tablets, you can read and send emails pretty much anywhere at any time. Despite how easy it is to send an email, it is extremely important to make sure that you are always presenting yourself in a positive light. When sending business emails, employees, associates, and customers will always appreciate courtesy and respect. These are our “Must Do’s” for proper business email etiquette.

Business Email Etiquette

  1. The Subject Line – Make sure your subject line properly reflects the contents of the email. If the subject is too vague, the email may end up being accidentally ignored. If it is not spelled and cased correctly, it could end up in a Spam box.
  2. The Greeting – Always include a greeting. “Good Morning –“ or “Hi (Insert Name Here)” will open your email with a friendly tone so you do not sound demanding or brusque.
  3. The Message – Keep your emails as concise as you possibly can. It is overwhelming to send huge paragraphs and people may skim over them and miss what you’re really trying to say. Always spell check and read over your email before hitting send. Remember the email is a refection of you and your business.
  4. The Closing – Always  include a closing. As with the greeting, the closing indicates courtesy and keeps you from sounding too terse. Let them know you appreciate that they’ve taken the time to read your email or assist you. “I appreciate your help,” “Thank you,” or “Best regards,” are nice ways to close.
  5. The Signature – Do make sure you always include a signature in your email with your contact information so your recipients have this on hand without having to search for it.

Those are the most basic “Do’s” for composing a great, business appropriate email. Remember to follow similar rules when replying to emails:

  1. Reply in a timely fashion. If you do not have the answer or cannot reply when you receive the email, it is appropriate to reply that you have read the email and will find out what the sender needs to know and reply by (Insert time or date).
  2. Along the same lines, if you are going to be on vacation or unable to check your email for longer than usual, do set up an out of office reply with information on who the sender can contact instead while you are away.

The final “Do” is simply to always remain professional. Use the “Bcc” blind copy option courteously to hide contact info from large groups of recipients, not as a way to talk behind anyone’s back. Be careful of “Reply all” if you do not want everyone reading your responses, but always keep it professional regardless! Happy emailing! And don’t forget – for a birthday, anniversary, or holiday greeting, it’s always best to put down the smartphone and show you care with a physical card. Email is easy and convenient for conducting business, but it really shows effort, respect, and care to take the time to send a card for a special occasion!