|
17 Aug |
|
|
9:59 pm Posted by Kristy |
Much has been written and discussed about the best ways to handle an ex-spouse’s parents, especially when a child is involved. Special occasions that used to be family events are one of the greatest sources of anxiety for many divorced parents. This is especially true when it’s a recent split, a new baby arrives, or with remarriage and blended families. Here are some fairly common scenarios with suggestions for different ways to handle them. Would you do something differently?
NEW BABY: Do you send your ex in-laws your new baby’s birth announcement card? (your baby is with your new partner)
Depending on the friendliness and frequency of contact you keep with your ex-spouse’s parent(s), you may not need to consider including them on the birth announcement card mailing list. Sharing the good news about your new baby will naturally come to them from your older children well before the baby is born. Plus, your ex and his/her parents are likely to be involved in caring for your mutual children while you are in the hospital anyway. Unless the relationship is cordial and distant, this one is probably a no.
SPECIAL OCCASIONS: Do you invite your ex in-laws to school functions, sporting events and birthday parties?
Yes, most likely. This is one of the best–if not easiest–practices to maintain your child’s relationship with his or her grandparents. Whether your ex spouse is mindful enough to let his/her parents know of such events also depends on how well informed he/she is about them, so you will really have to work hard at being good communicators. To help facilitate this, it’s not a bad idea to get into the habit of sending your ex in-laws birthday party invitations and email reminders about important events in which you want to include them. Just make sure you copy your ex spouse!
THE HOLIDAYS: Do you include your ex in-laws in your holiday celebrations?
This one is tough. It depends entirely on how each of you has traditionally celebrated with your families during the holidays. Let’s face it, it’s hard enough for married couples to balance both families; many choose to take turns alternating holidays and years. When there’s a split, and a remarriage, there are extra sets of in-laws to consider. If you and your ex and parents have strong, set traditions, you’ll have to work together to figure out how your children can participate. If either one of you does not have established traditions, it may be best to take the initiative and include the other in your merging families for the sake of your children.
To find the best birth announcement card design for your growing and changing family, look no further than the special occasion stationery at www.looklovesend.com. All party invitations, announcements and cards can be personalized in your own text, and customized with the colors, font styles and paper choices that most suit your style.
|
16 Aug |
|
|
9:28 pm Posted by Kristy |
A few years back, a lighthearted column in The New York Times,” The True Meaning of Christmas, entertained the idea that Christmas in America has evolved into a multicultural holiday. No matter where you stand along the religious spectrum, Christmas is undeniably the biggest, grandest, and loudest holiday in America. For many, the perceived ‘War on Christmas’ rings a little hollow, despite impassioned arguments over public displays of cultural Christmas symbols.
In the age political correctness, ‘Christmas’ gets more easily stifled. But its commercial success runs rampant. We’ll all soon see red and green store aisles and hear the jingle-jangle of deals everywhere we go (or click)! If you’re thinking about planning a Christmas–er, Holiday Party–should you de-Christmas your holiday party invitations?
Let Christmas & Holiday Party Invitations Set the Tone
As we like to remind customers all the time, the first glimpse of any special occasion comes through your party invitations. So when it comes to holiday party invitations, or daresay Christmas party invitations, does it really matter what your invitations say? Despite the media-hyped ‘War on Christmas,’ U.S. News & World Report found only 12% of Americans have a strong preference for being greeted with “Happy Holidays” over “Merry Christmas.” The vast majority either had no preference (45%), or actually preferred Merry Christmas (42%)! The numbers change when filtered by age and political party (this may come as a shock, right?)
With this apathetic reaction to inclusive and politically correct holiday vernacular, maybe your focus needs to more on substance and style, not greeting, when you make holiday cards this season.
These two very different styles of Christmas party invitations work if you want to keep the ‘Christmas’ in your holiday party:
 'Jolly Christmas' by Vita Mechachonis |
 'Sophisticated Soiree' by Sneha Sheth |
These next two holiday party invitations drop the mention of Christmas, but the first is still packed with strong cultural references to Christmas through color and typography:
 'Holiday Toast' by Amanda Zoss |
 'Snow Globe' by Samantha Schroeder |
You will find many fabulous, fun holiday party invitations at www.looklovesend.com to inspire your holiday party planning this season. From traditional Christmas party invites to more secular designs, you’ll find something that fits your party style and tone. It’s a personal decision whether to express a strong Christian Christmas message in your holiday season. It’s also acceptable to tone it down if you celebrate with friends from different faith backgrounds. Most reasonable people understand the true message of the season: peace, love, joy, kindness, and eggnog.
|
14 Aug |
|
|
9:49 pm Posted by Kristy |
Remember that “Keep It Simple Stupid” phrase from a decade or so ago? It wouldn’t hurt to dust that one off again next time you’re dreaming up an end of summer party for the kids. And why not, if it helps avoid a bounce houses that could get airborne on a windy day, or the expense and hazards of a three-story high inflatable water slide in your backyard!
Here’s a starter list for some highly entertaining, low cost, safe and hassle-free party activities. Feature any of these in your next birthday party invitations, or just as an excuse to gather a few kids for an afternoon!
Low-cost, High-fun Activities Worthy of Birthday Party Invitations
- Nature Scavenger Hunt Kids love gathering the simplest of items. Sticks and stones become more interesting when points are attached! (Finding a blue jay feather is definitely worth 25 points!)
- Obstacle Course Use what you have. Swimming pool noodles and hula hoops are handy, as is your swing set and sandbox. Dress in camo, Sarge, and get out the stopwatch!
- Dress-up Relay Race Your own old clothes are perfect if you don’t have the requisite “dress up” box. Put those old bridesmaid dresses or shoulder-padded suits to some use after all!
- Treasure Hunt Bury a shoebox of candy and plot out the course as a map on a brown paper bag. Promptly wrinkle, fray the edges, and roll up the map pirate style.
- Water Balloon Toss No explanation needed, right?
- Yard Game Olympics Set up the old time favorites like badminton, croquet, horse shoes, boccie ball, or create your own modified yard bowling lane.
It’s up to you how elaborate to go, or whether to combine more than one of these activities. All of these suggestions are low to no cost, but do require a decent amount of supervision and intervention to keep things moving. Offer dollar-store prizes and set up an ice cream sundae bar to notch up the fun.
For your next set of fantastic, fun birthday party invitations or other party invites, look no further than the growing collection at www.looklovesend.com. You’ll find it easy to create birthday invitations in colorful, original designs you can personalize. Plus, orders ship the next business day!
|
13 Aug |
|
|
9:12 pm Posted by Kristy |
2012 has proved to be a year with stunning variety in wedding gowns. Three notable trends in wedding gown fashion are also showing up in wedding invitations, giving brides more choice and ways to express personal tastes and style than ever. Here’s a look at three gown-to-invitation trends we notice:
TREND 1: Vintage Lace
The Brit’s royal influence on the return of sleeves and lace is certainly unmistakable. But also responsible is the ongoing love affair with all things vintage. Maybe it’s our attraction to a perceived authenticity of items produced in an era before big box stores, a craving for uniqueness, workmanship, and hand-crafted quality. These are obvious qualities to the lace and intricate fabric detail seen on many of this year’s wedding gowns.
TREND 2: Shimmer
Another noticeable wedding gown trend has been the flash of metallic found in wedding gown fabrics. Shimmer is everywhere–and in some ways counters the resurgence in lace. A far cry from the minimalist simplicity of the nineties and into the new millennium, today’s designers put no limits to the flash with which they adorn their dresses. Slipping into some of this year’s latest designs is in fact like wearing a piece of jewelry on your body. (And in some cases the price tag may reflect this!)
TREND 3: Color
A third notable wedding gown trend is color. Whether a dash from a sash or belt, or the shading of an entire gown in a color, brides aren’t limited to white and ivory. We’re not saying the Vera Wang line of red wedding dresses seen at this spring’s wedding fashion week is going to overtake white. But there is a trend toward discerning your very perfect shade of white along the spectrum, along with champagnes, blushes, pinks and blues, and certainly silver and gold from the metallic trend just mentioned.
To truly appreciate how extensive these trends are in wedding invitations, look no further than the collection of unique wedding invitations online at http://www.looklovesend.com/wedding.cfm. Lace, shimmer, color, plus other highly original design elements create a gorgeous collection of complete wedding invitation suites with which you can coordinate your wedding day style. Enter our monthly Wedding Invitation Sweepstakes for the chance to win $500 towards your choice of wedding invitations, wedding save the date cards, and all your personalized wedding stationery needs.
|
12 Aug |
|
|
9:11 pm Posted by Nicola |
The bride’s gown and her bridesmaid’s dresses are certainly those that get the most magazine pages and guest anticipation on the wedding day. But the mother of the bride (MOB) and the mother of the groom (MOG) hold a very special role and should have an equally special dress to suit the occasion. All eyes will be on the MOB and MOG as they walk into the ceremony and are announced at the reception. Some tips for mom to find her perfect dress.
Shop Early: around the time that save-the-date cards are sent to wedding guests, the MOB should start looking for her dress.
Discuss the wedding vision: talk to the engaged couple to get an idea of how formal their event will be, where it will be located, etc.
 Adrianna Papell Beaded Draped Chiffon Gown |
 Alex Evenings Rhinestone Trim Dress & Jacket |
 JS Boutique Sequin Trim Jersey Gown |
[all featured dresses available at Nordstrom]
Pick your color: the MOB’s dress does not need to match the bridesmaids, but it’s a good idea to know the bride’s color theme to avoid an obvious color clash. It’s also best to avoid white, cream or ivory - leave that for the bride.
Communicate with the bride: if you have any strong opinions about your MOB dress, share them with the bride or, better yet, show her photos of dress candidates before you buy. For the hands-on bride it’s advisable to hear what she has in mind for your dress. Best to communicate (and compromise) upfront.
Communicate with the other mother: consult with the groom’s mom to inform her of the color and formality you are planning. No need to coordinate colors but it’s always preferable to ensure a cohesive wedding party look.
For MOB’s who are helping their daughters with wedding stationery selection, shop the diverse selection of customized wedding stationery at LookLoveSend.com, including save-the-dates, wedding invitations, and bridal shower invitations. And enter our monthly sweepstakes for a chance to win $500 off your wedding stationery order with us!
|
9 Aug |
|
|
6:38 pm Posted by Nicola |
Wouldn’t you love to get a baby thank you card in the mail that was just so sincere and grateful for your thoughtfulness? As fun as it is to shop for those cute baby outfits and tiny shoes, sometimes what a new mom loves best is a helping hand during those exhilarating but hectic first weeks of motherhood. So next time someone you know becomes a mom, gather a few friends, relatives or co-workers to chip in for one of the following gift ideas brought to you from the team of moms at LookLoveSend.
Easy-prep dinners: Any pre-prepared meal that can be eaten at home would be welcomed by a new mom (and dad!) Whether you bake a tray of lasagna, grab some ready-made dishes from your grocery store, or even pickup takeout from a local restaurant – our bet is that you can’t go wrong here.
Diaper delivery: New moms often under-estimate the number of diapers they need, or don’t realize how quickly a newborn can grow a size. Companies like Amazon and diapers.com both offer delivery services that can be easily setup by brand, size and schedule. No more 10pm runs to the pharmacy to grab an emergency pack!
Grocery shop: Even if you don’t know what the family buys on a weekly basis, it’s always a welcome gesture to send several bags of groceries to help the new family. Pick out some healthy snack options, fruit, fresh bread, cheeses – new parents may find themselves up at night more often than they’d like, so give them some great snacks to help them through.
Babysitting voucher: Don’t be offended if new parents don’t take you up on your offer to babysit right away, but after settling into their routine (and getting a little sleep) they may appreciate a few hours of babysitting so they can dine out, catch a movie, or simply catch up on some errands. Some new parents may be hesitant to ask, but their relaxation is important too.
Those early weeks with a newborn can be chaotic and tiring as much as they are joyful and exciting. The baby shower is a great time to buy outfits, baby gear and toys, but bringing a new mother the gift of help is sure to delight.
Shop LookLoveSend for a growing collection of baby-related designer stationery, from baby shower invitations to baby birth announcements and baby thank you cards. Our designs are fresh and 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
|
7 Aug |
|
|
11:10 pm Posted by Kristy |
With each passing season the number of personalized holiday cards with photos of families and especially children steadily grows in our mailboxes. Childhood friends, high school friends, college friends, friends of friends…hey, how did they get your address anyway? (And why are they sending you a card? Did you send them one? Wait, why should you? You didn’t ask for them to send you one…now what!?)
Colored Poinsettia by Sneha Sheth
More to the point, kids or no kids, the generic, store-bought holiday cards may be fewer in number these days. But certainly if you don’t have kids, or, if your children are grown and you’ve moved beyond wanting their cherubic faces on your holiday cards, you may be looking for personalized holiday cards that don’t incorporate a photo into the design.
You can find beautiful, stylish and unique holiday cards that don’t require you to upload a personal photo among the hundreds of designs at www.looklovesend.com. It doesn’t hurt that a non-photo holiday greeting card may get a little extra notice as something out of the ordinary anyway. And especially when such a card is as gorgeous and eye catching as any professionally-photographed family portrait or candid close-ups of kids.
There are certain benefits to not personalizing your holiday cards with photos if this style if more to your liking, or if you are just looking for something a little bit different this year. Ordering non-photo holiday cards enables you to hand-select photos that you can send to different groups of people on your Christmas card list. You may feel that different groups of people are interested in different aspects of your life–why should they all get the same photo? A folded card-type is a great format for enclosing separate photographs, or perhaps a personal letter, or your standard annual holiday letter.
Don’t forget too that when you order any personalized holiday card from LookLoveSend, whether flat or folded, you can print on the backside of your cards and coordinate your envelope liners with your favorite design. Upgrade and add your return address on the back flap of your envelopes too. We’ll continue to add designs now through the holidays, so be sure to browse our collection of Christmas and holiday cards today!
|
6 Aug |
|
|
4:59 pm Posted by Kristy |
Did you know the basic wedding invitation suite is really just three pieces of stationery?
- The Wedding Invitation
- The Response Card
- Response Card Envelope
That’s it! But the wedding invitations most of us receive these days can sometimes be maddeningly overstuffed with many additional components.
At LookLoveSend.com, we suggest ways to reduce clutter and achieve a level of formality in keeping with your wedding style. Among the more popular wedding enclosure cards, here are our favorites and why they’re useful:
Directions Cards - The bare minimum is to print this enclosure with the GPS address(es) for your venue(s), along with your personal wedding website. If you aren’t doing a website, print a one or two-sided wedding directions card with a map and writen directions.
Accommodation & Transportation Cards – Avoid the tacky slip of paper and print an enclosure with local hotel names and contact info, indicating where you’ve reserved blocks of rooms. A separate transportation enclosure is only necessary if you are providing for transportation to and from venues. Alternatively, list transportation options on the same enclosure as accommodations. As with all wedding enclosures, point guests to your wedding website (if you have one) for links to reservations.
At-home Cards – This enclosure’s origins are rooted in providing the newly married couple’s address for sending wedding gifts. It is now also helpful for revealing how a modern-day bride will change her name, if she chooses to do so.
Other Event Cards - Today’s weddings can be weekend-long affairs kicked off with barbecues, after-rehearsal-dinner night parties and post-wedding brunches. Consider what event cards you’ll need for events outside of the ceremony and reception, especially if posting this info online could risk some guests feeling excluded.
Remember that the key to elegant wedding invitations is streamlined simplicity. Your wedding invitation design needs to be easy on the eyes, but also easy for guests to find the details they need to plan for your event. Do not turn your beautifully designed custom wedding invitation into a bulk mail item (you’ll pay for it)!
Find gorgeous wedding enclosure cards to personalize your wedding event details online at www.looklovesend.com. Our enclosures coordinate with all of our original, stylish wedding invitations and print on the same premium quality card stock. Enter our Wedding Invitation Sweepstakes this month for the chance to win $500 towards your choice of a gorgeous, multi-piece wedding invitation suite!
|
5 Aug |
|
|
8:22 pm Posted by Nicola |
Let’s face it. By the time we receive a baby birth announcement in the mail, we often know the name, stats, and birthdate of the new bundle of joy. But the one detail that may be a birth announcement surprise is baby’s middle name. For some new parents, the middle name is an important part of the whole baby naming process, while for others it’s a filler name to adhere the first name to the last. Whichever your opinion, here are some tips on choosing a middle name for your baby:
- Say your baby middle name ideas with the first and last name together. The ideal middle name should flow easily.
- Vary the number of syllables in each name; if you have a long first and last name, choose a shorter middle name.
- If you are choosing a highly unusual first name, pick a more conventional middle name so your child will have the option of going by that middle name in later professional life if wanted.
- Use a family name if you want to honor a family member but don’t love the name. Many parents also use the mother’s maiden name for a middle name as a way to embrace both sides of the family.
- Don’t pick every name you love but don’t have enough kids for. Unless your family tradition says otherwise, choose just one middle name for your child – think ahead to all those official forms with limited spaces later in life!
- Don’t disregard the importance of a middle name. Even if you’ve settled on the perfect first name, don’t be tempted to skip the middle name. Again, thinking ahead to your child’s adult life, a middle name is helpful to confirm identify for background or credit checks – particularly in the case of a common first and last name.
Announce your baby’s middle name in style by selecting one of LookLoveSend’s fresh custom birth announcements. Shop for boy, girl, multiple or gender neutral designs, all printed on the highest-quality paper stock.
|
2 Aug |
|
|
10:07 pm Posted by Kristy |
Wedding websites are no longer just a trend–they have become a mainstay. They need not appear self-promoting or self-serving, but rather full of helpful, thoughtful, informative details and designed to serve guests. Certainly popular for destination weddings, but our highly mobile world of far-flung friends and family make many weddings virtually destination weddings.
General Website Guidelines
A good way to approach planning a wedding website is to think just like you would if you were planning a destination wedding. Your wedding is the destination, and getting guests to and from the event in comfort drives what information you put on your site. Much like receiving a save the date card, a wedding website makes it easier for guests to plan.
The Basics & Helpful Details
- Directions. Post GPS addresses, maps, written directions to and from transportation hubs, hotels, ceremony and reception venue, as well as any other event locations (such as rehearsal dinner, post-wedding brunch, etc.)
- Accommodation & Transportation. List hotel and transportation options, rates (reserved and other options), direct contact info and links.
- Event itinerary. Provide a list of events, locations, and times so guests can plan their arrival and departure times accordingly.
- Local Attractions or Points of Interest. Not all guests are invited to every event planned. Make their trip worthwhile with information about local things to keep them busy.
- Local climate Posting the local weather forecast helps guests plan what to pack and what to wear.
- Registry. Putting your registry information on your wedding invitations is a no-no, but your wedding website is the perfect place to post it, along with a link to help guests shop!
Personal Story
More than what save the date cards do, a wedding website offers the opportunity to make guests feel more connected to you as a couple. It’s not something everybody wants to include, but writing a short piece about how you met and became engaged is a highly personal touch that openly invites guests to be an intimate part of your special day.
Find inspiration for your wedding website in the beautiful designs available through www.LookLoveSend.com. Coordinate all your wedding stationery needs from a single wedding invitation design from the hundreds created by LookLoveSend’s talented artists. Personalize your wedding save the date cards with a photo that you might also use on your website. Be sure to include your wedding website address on your save the date cards!
