As the weather warms up, it’s time to start thinking about enjoying it with a company picnic! Choose from a variety of invitations r create your own invites on festive border paper and get your employees, and perhaps their family members, together for a fun afternoon outdoors. Help keep the party enjoyable with these fun game ideas for company picnic days.
Game Ideas:
1. Sack Race: This rowdy outdoor game will get everyone loosened up because it’s impossible to not look silly while hopping around in a sack. If you don’t have access to sacks, pillowcases work just as well.
2. Water Balloon Toss: There’s no harm in getting a little wet, and most people will in a water balloon toss game. Have people pair up and stand a few feet away and toss a water balloon from one person to the other, taking a step back with each successful catch.
3. Horseshoes: If your picnic area has a horseshoe pit, this makes a fun and casual game for people to play whenever they have a spare moment at the picnic. There’s not much as satisfying as hearing the clink of a horseshoe around the stake!
4. Bocce Ball, Bean Bag Toss, or Ladder Golf: These picnic games go along with nice weather and being outdoors. Consider building a branded game and give out prizes to the winner!
5. Three-Legged Race: If your group doesn’t mind getting a little crazy, pair off and tie your adjoining legs together for a classic three legged race. It’s amazing how well people can get along if they’re depending on each other to cross the finish line first.
6. Human Knot Challenge: Divide picnic attendees into teams and have each team get in a circle, put their hands in the middle, and grab two different people’s hands. Then challenge teams to untangle into a circle as quickly as possible without letting go.
7. Company Trivia: Get everyone together at the end of the day for a trivia game, asking about company history and fun facts. You can even keep the same teams from games earlier in the day.
8. Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest: This classic contest is fun for picnic attendees of all ages, even employees’ children! It’s also an easy one to play if you’re already planning to serve watermelon. Set up a starting line and mark the farthest seed each time with a golf tee.
With every picnic game that’s played at your company picnic, focus on having fun and getting to know each other in a context outside of work. If you want to heat up the competition a bit, shop for prizes and custom certificates for game winners, too.
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Serving in the military is one of life’s most honorable deeds, and feting returning soldiers is a cherished American tradition. Here are five patriotic party ideas to show love, respect and gratitude to your favorite vet with a “Welcome Home” bash.
1. Pay Tribute
Create a display as a testament to your returning soldier, his/her unit and others with whom they served. Include photos, letters, and other memorabilia. Encourage fellow guests to bring photos of themselves in uniform, as well as loved ones who served. Decorate the tablewith American flags and all things red, white and blue. The technologically inclined can also show a slideshow focused on the soldier’s patriotic journey.
2. Game On
While rigorously scheduling the party can detract from casual conversation time, planning a few games can help keep the party moving. Set out a table with cardboard cut-outs of Uncle Sam hats, glitter, pom-poms, streamers and other craft supplies, and encourage guests to decorate their own festive headwear. “Pin the Flag on Uncle Sam” and American trivia are also popular patriotic party games. And who doesn’t love a parade? Provide toy instruments, music and flags for children to to honor your favorite vet with a parade of their very own.
3. Festive Favorites
Most soldiers report missing out on the special touches of home while serving overseas.Prepare all of your honoree’s favorite foods for an unforgettable meal. An alternate approach? Serve an all-American barbecue with hot dogs, hamburgers and apple pie.
4. Say Thanks
No matter how many times you say, “thank you,” it’s never enough; but that doesn’t mean you stop trying! Give your guests the chance to collectively express their gratitude by offering an entry book or sign-in board where they can extend best wishes to the guest of honor. A personalized Welcome Home banner helps deliver the message in a high-impact way.
5. Capture the Moment
Don’t miss out on the chance to memorialize this special moment with so many friends and family members gathered in one place. Hire a professional photographer to capture all of the homecoming’s special moments. For a less formal take on this concept and one of our favorite patriotic party ideas, consider renting a photo booth. Stock up on patriotic props and costumes and let guests make their own creative photo ops which can be placed into a keepsake album for the guest of honor.
Welcoming home a vet is one of life’s biggest moments, and deserves an invitation which fully expresses the magnitude of the occasion. For an extra-special touch, enclose confetti or a small American flag within each invitation.
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So you want to host a golf tournament? Be warned – it takes a lot of planning. But if you do it the right way, golf tournaments can net you a lot of money – which is why they make such great fundraisers. But we repeat, it’s all about preparing for the tournament that dictates whether or not it will be successful. So with that being said, here are some tips for hosting a golf tournament:
The Basics:
Before you can really start planning the event, you need to tick a few important things off your “to-do” list:
Pick a course: Pick a course that golfers will want to play. Also, make sure the staff is accommodating to the type of tournament you want to run. We recommend shopping around for a course, see what things courses in the area are willing to offer.
Golfers: Decide how many golfers you’ll allow. Obviously, the more that play, the more money you can make. Generally speaking, however, we’d recommend capping golfers at 128.
Extras: Decide if you’ll do more than just the tournament. For instance, many tournaments offer post-golf lunch or dinner.
Promote it:
After you’ve got the basics down, then it’s time to promote your tournament. We recommend creating a brochure that explains the tournament in an easy-to-read format. Print this brochure on golf-themed stationary and include a registration form. Then, get to work passing brochures out. Leave a stack at the course’s front desk, pass them out to people in the community, ask local golf pro shops if you can leave brochures in their stores. You may even consider taking out an ad in the newspaper to get the word out.
Generate additional revenue for the tournament beyond just golfer entries by selling hole sponsorship’s to local businesses in the area. But be sure that these sponsorship’s are done well in advance so that the businesses you sell to have plenty of time to get their materials to you so their information can be printed correctly.
Get volunteers:
As the day of the tournament draws near, assemble a team of volunteers that will check golfers in, pass out goodie bags (tees, golf balls and water bottles make for great items in this) and monitor play on the golf course. Your team should be doing everything to ensure that the tournament runs smoothly to see that every golfer has a positive experience, win or lose.
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In business, your customers are your significant others. And just like lovers, customers need to be wined, dined and told repeatedly how much you adore and appreciate them. To show your customers just how much they mean to you around the Christmas holiday season, try spoiling them with some of the following customer appreciation event ideas.
Christmas Play
Buy a block of tickets for a Christmas play, such as “A Christmas Carol.” Make sure to arrange for a cocktail hour in a nearby location beforehand so that you can have valuable face time with your clients.
Concert
Know of a big-name act coming into town? Then purchase a block of tickets for your VIPs.
Christmas Party
Host a fancy Christmas party for your VIPs.
Rent a Suite
Spoil your VIPs with a suite at a football, hockey or basketball game so that your guests can enjoy the sporting event in style.
Fine Dining
Secure a private room at one of your town’s best restaurants and host a special dinner for your VIPs.
Buy a Table
Purchase a table at a well-known industry or charity event and invite your VIP customers to the special occasion.
Wine Tasting
Arrange for a wine tasting event either in a restaurant or at local wineries.
Casino Night
Set up gaming tables and distribute chips to your guests, which they can then turn in for prizes at the end of the night.
Amusement Park
Some amusement parks are open during the Christmas holiday, so why not take your VIPs out for a day of fun?
Cooking Class
Have a chef teach your guests how to make holiday meals or cookies.
VIP Night
If you own a retail store, schedule a night where your VIPs can enjoy special discounts, giveaways and refreshments.
Invitations
Use only high quality invitations for your VIPs, such as those available through PaperDirect. Your invitation is the first thing your customers will see and will be very telling about how you feel about them and the effort you are putting into your event.
Invite Key Personnel
It’s important to invite both important personnel from your company as well as the VIPs to your event so that they will have an opportunity to get to know one another in a non-work setting.
Presents
Treat your VIPs like the celebs they are and hand out swag. Include at least one promotional item with your company’s name and logo on it. But be sure that these items are not cheaply made, as this could reflect badly on your company.
Offer Transportation If your customer appreciation event will be including alcohol, it is in everyone’s best interest if you also provide transportation.
Treating VIPs to appreciation events is one of the best ways to cement long-lasting relationships with your customers, so don’t skimp. Remember, a customer in hand will always be one of your company’s most valuable assets.
When you have to be at work in the days leading up to a holiday, the least you can do is plan a fun event to keep everyone’s spirits high. This Thanksgiving, have an office potluck earlier in the week, or the week before. Not only will you get to eat delicious food, but you can also take the chance to try one of these Thanksgiving potluck recipes and see if it’s one you want to make again on Thanksgiving day!
1. Cranberry Dip: Someone always arrives a bit early for a potluck, so stave off hunger with a delicious spicy cranberry dip! Adding some horseradish, honey, and lemon to a classic jellied cranberry sauce turns it into something special. Serve it with miniature hot dogs and apple slices for dipping.
2. Roasted Brussels Sprouts: Even people who don’t typically like Brussels sprouts can’t refuse these delicious ones! An additional perk is that you’ll only need to spend about 10 minutes of active time making them. Here is a great recipe for roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts!
3. Cornbread Dressing: Instead of the typical stuffing from a bag that you may expect to see at a work potluck, make something more unusual. The Pioneer Woman’s cornbread dressing puts a bit of a twist on the classic dish by using cornbread instead of regular bread, and adding sausage and apples.
4. Sweet Potato Casserole: When people don’t want to wait until dessert is served to get a few bites of something sweet, they’ll appreciate a sweet potato casserole. The candied pecan topping is to die for, and the buttery sweet potatoes underneath are delicious as well.
5. Apple Cheesecake: Rather than debating whether to make an apple pie or a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, surprise people with these apple cheesecake bars. If you’re pressed for time, you can even start with a store-bought cheesecake and just make the apple cinnamon topping.
If you’re the one planning the Thanksgiving potluck, you have a few additional responsibilities besides bringing your dish. You’ll need to print out Thanksgiving invitations so people know about the lunch. It also may be worth assigning a specific type of dish to each person so you don’t end up with a whole buffet line of pies. You can even recommend some of these recipes to people who may be willing to cook them!
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Organizing a company golf scramble is one way to build stronger teams on the job and off-the-clock. While some company organizers work with the local golf club planner to develop a charity event or semiannual outing, there is nothing wrong with in-house planning to save some money. Make it more fun by tailoring the event to fit your group!
One of the first steps in hosting a successful scramble is getting the word out. Printing sign up sheets, personal invitations and bulletin notices on golf-themed paper will generate buzz and encourage participation. Here are five more tips for organizing a golf scramble:
Flighted or Handicapped
Making the competition fair and balanced means giving everyone a chance at winning the prize. Especially if you expect more than four to six teams, establishing flights is normally considered the best approach. Encourage everyone to list their skill level and handicap – if they have one – on the sign up sheet. Decide if you want to tee off both nines or use a shotgun start based on the number of teams and the skill level variance.
By the Numbers
Decide how many teams will be allowed, tee off times, how teams will be assembled and when registration fees are due.
Establish the Fee
Everyone wants to know the fee in advance – and if it includes a continental breakfast, a post- competition luncheon or a simple spread of beverages and snacks. Include this information on all invitations, brochures and flyers.
Coordinating envelopes and themed RSVP cards are available with many of our invitation styles. You could also design a PaperDirect custom postcard invitation that will double as an entrance coupon for the golf scramble.
Prizes, Gift Bags and Categories
Make if fun. If you are using gift bags, decide early what to put in each bag. Every office has someone that has that coveted entertainment gene. Enlist help from the office “party-girl” for inspiration.
Determine the payout and which flights and places will qualify for prizes. Some suggestions include longest shot, straightest drive and closest to the pin.
Need a Do-Over?
When printing the rule-handout, don’t forget the mulligan rule. Decide if mulligans are allowed and if so, publish the fee.
Planning a company golf scramble takes organizational skills and expert recording keeping abilities. Ordering your event banners, custom invitations and registration sheets online with PaperDirect will get you to the tee on time – no mulligan required.
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If you’re the one who has been assigned with the task of organizing a company benefit, you will likely feel as if you’ve got your work cut out for you. A typical office environment can play out a bit like a soap opera, and if there are guests from out of town, or even International visitors, it can make the task that much more challenging. When figuring out how to approach place card etiquette, it is best to take things one step at a time.
Making the Seating Chart
In the United States, seating at a business banquet or similar event has not always been a big concern. In other countries, for example China, this is taken very seriously. The driving force for making a seating chart is honor, or the perception if it. If a company gets this wrong, future business dealings could be put at risk, potentially costing the company money.
Identify who is supposed to be considered the host, and sit them near the head of the table. Many suggest that the host should not be exactly at the head because it invites a separation between the host, guests of honor, and other people who are attending the meeting. The most honored guest should be seated to the right of the host, and the next most honored should sit on the their left.
Several things might put a person in position of honor including position in the company,
Representation of an International branch of the company, or a partnering company
Executive or manager at a company where a merger or other major transaction is on the table.
A person who has recently received an award of recognition
A person celebrating a birthday or retirement
Of course, everyone wants to feel important, therefore there needs to be a protocol in place that will keep some members from feeling as if they are so far down the totem pole that they are insignificant. If there are any tense relationships within the group, for example colleagues that were once in a relationship, care should be taken to see that their place cards are not next to one another.
Addressing the Place Cards
The name you put on the place card is also important because it makes an impression and can play a large role in how much a guest or colleague feels respected and appreciated. If the banquet is an event where all parties may not know one another, tent cards should be used rather than flat cards. This means the occupant’s name should both face them and face outwardly in order to allow for networking.
Place card etiquette dictates that the formality be consistent throughout the addressing of the place cards. The most formal will have a title, and the full name of the guest, i.e.. Mr. Michael Jones, rather than Mike Jones. If he is the only “Mr. Jones” this is all that needs to face his place setting.
Whatever method you use, stay consistent. You may want to be formal for the top 3 or 4 guests of honor, and informal for subsequent guests. Much of the decision will depend on the company culture. A person’s everyday email signature may also indicate the appropriate way to address their card.
The Guest’s Role
In many cases, guests may not agree with seating arrangements, and may want to move a place card. Doing this without consulting the host is not advisable, and may make that employee seem unprofessional. However, guests that do make requests should be accommodated.
Ordering Place Cards
Regardless of the tone of the banquet, place cards need to look professional, and you can see that this is taken care of by ordering from Paper Direct. There are several designs to choose from, and the cards can either be ordered blank or preprinted, whichever is preferred.
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Congratulations on braving the first 365, you crazy kids! Your 1-year anniversary is just around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited. That’s because the theme for the inaugural year is paper! PaperDirect would be honored if you’d cordially invite us to help make your anniversary one to cherish.
Sure, paper may not be as lavish as pearls, silk or gold, but it is much more versatile, customizable and cost-effective. Gold edged paper, colored paper, and elegantly designed envelopes are just the beginning. Give your spouse a custom-made ticket for a romantic night together, write your loved one a love letter (insted of a love email). Or if you’re really ambitious, make a board game with paper pieces, paper dice, and card stock and play the night away!
Perhaps you just want to relive the memories that led to the altar. Put your feelings on paper with an enormous selection of greeting cards. Round up your craziest, most lovable photos and print them on our custom photo cards. Jazz up the dinner table with napkins in colors that match your wedding theme, and top it off with a place card or table tent bearing your names. If you’re a musician, print the sheet music for you and your spouse’s song on textured paper and jam away!
The possibilities with paper are truly endless. PaperDirect is confident that the quality, variety, and customizable options of our paper items will make your 1-year anniversary playful and romantic. Posters and prints, stationary, event accessories and more – you name it, we’ve got it. Go traditional, get creative, or go absolutely nuts! Have fun, and congratulations!
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Bring on the sunshine, pool parties and barbecues! Summer time is finally here and it’s time to celebrate. If you are lucky enough to have your birthday in the summer, you have been able to enjoy a lifetime having the day off when your special day arrives. Not only that, being able to plan your party when the weather is nice gives you endless possibilities.
You need to capitalize on the perfect party weather by throwing the birthday bash of the year! So let the planning begin! First off, you need a theme. Anything goes in the summer time, but beach parties and ice cream socials are always a big hit. After you have a theme decided, your next step is picking out the invitations. Your invitations are a vital part of your party planning. They are the first impression your guests will have about your party, so you want to make them appealing!
Invitations are your chance to let your guests know what to expect at your party. For example, the ideal beach birthday invitation will help your guests escape to a tropical paradise just by looking at it. Your invitation will make your guests excited to come to your party. If you opt for an ice cream social, you will want your ice cream birthday invitation to be fun, so your guests know they will have a good time.
Once your invitations are out in the mail, you can plan the rest of your party. Make sure to choose food, games, and décor that all stick with your theme. The more thought you put into the details, the better your party will be. With the help of PaperDirect’s professional birthday invitations, your birthday party is sure to be the hottest event of the summer.
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Your parents mean the world to you, so celebrate them on National Parent’s Day! Whether you live next door or halfway around the world, make time to say “thank you” with five thoughtful suggestions.
Write a Thank You Note
Handwritten notes are rare in this electronic age, but you can revive tradition with a handwritten thank you note. Choose beautiful paper or thank you cards from PaperDirect, and write down everything you appreciate about your parents. They will cherish your sentiments for years to come.
Take Them to Dinner
Home cooked meals taste delicious, but a meal cooked by someone else tastes even better. Treat your parents to a meal at their favorite restaurant. If possible, drop off flowers or balloons beforehand to surprise your parents when they arrive.
Assemble Photo Albums
Pictures tell the story of your family, but no one can see that story if the pictures are stuffed into boxes under a bed. Organize your family’s story into photo albums. If possible, label the pictures that commemorate your heritage and thank your parents.
Take a Trip
Enjoy a trip to your parents’ favorite vacation spot or find a new haunt when you give your parents a family vacation. Corral your siblings and kids on a multigenerational journey, and then make sweet memories as you enjoy spending time with your parents.
Complete a Home Improvement Project
No matter how spry your parents may be, they’ll appreciate your help fixing up their house. Repair the roof, paint the living room or install a new dishwasher. Your gift improves the value of your parents’ home and shows them how much you care.
Give your parents something they can really enjoy as you celebrate National Parent’s Day. Whether you spend time together or write a personal note on stationary from PaperDirect, plan now to appreciate and thank your wonderful parents.
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The snacks are ready, the grill is fired up, and the rockets are itching to be fired. This year’s party is going to the best! Now, how to get people to come… PaperDirect’s rich and elegant invitations will have guests flocking to your party like the British to Concord in 1775. Choose from clean and simple flat invitations, classy fold-up invitations, modern square invitations and more. Or if you’re feeling as bold as Washington and his troops crossing the Delaware, design your own call to celebration with your choice of paper, address labels and other DIY invitation tools.
When you’ve got your invitations just right, slide them into plain or designer envelopes. A Soiree or Black Tie envelope can help you stand out, while a plain white or cream envelope serves as a fully customizable canvas. Now, just seal ’em up and… wait, retract thy tongue! Before you send your invitations on their midnight rides, secure them with classy envelope seals (and not saliva). Browse over 60 types of envelope seals in a variety of colors and shapes. Scalloped seals fit the old fashioned theme; while “You’re Invited” seals help create a festive mood.
Creativity helped the colonists win the revolution and continues to make America great. While PaperDirect has a broad selection of designs, all of them can be tweaked, scrambled, dismantled and spliced with your own innovative designs as you see fit. If a design speaks to you, download a free template in Word or Publisher format to your desktop, and play around with it at no cost. You can print your invitations directly from your desktop, or order special prints using PaperDirect’s namesake papers. However many guests you want to invite, PaperDirect wants to make sure that they flock to your party as the bombs burst in the air and wishes you a majestic 4th of July.
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It’s barbeque season again, and it’s time for you to throw a great neighborhood BBQ! Dust off your grill, sweep off the deck and pull out the plastic silverware; because it’s time to party!
Every great BBQ starts with festive invitations from PaperDirect. They add excitement and anticipation to the celebration while making your guests feel honored to attend your big bash.
The decorations you choose should match the invitations. That means a Fourth of July event will feature tables cloaked with red, white and blue tablecloths; while a granddaughter’s birthday BBQ could feature pink and purple pastel streamers and tablecloths.
Once the invitations are mailed and the decorations planned, it’s time create an amazing BBQ menu. You could serve traditional ribs, burgers and hot dogs; or go for a unique meal of lamb, shrimp and fresh fish marinated in homemade spice rubs and marinades. Exotic side dishes like fruit salsa, oriental salads, grilled corn, eggplant and asparagus are great choices to accompany tender meat selections.
Keeping an outdoor refrigerator chilled will help keep your cold side dishes fresh and refreshing beverages cold. Or, fill a kiddy pool or aluminum tub with ice and set the food and drinks in it.
Like your drinks, you want your guests to stay cool, so arrange tables and chairs under the shade of the deck or backyard trees. Then provide entertainment with a karaoke machine (and if all the neighbors are your guest, you won’t have to worry about noise!) or other outdoor games like lawn darts, volleyball and even cards.
End the evening on a high note by providing guests a small party favor to take home. A bottle of homemade marinade, customized magnet or fresh flowers from your prized landscape shows how much you appreciate your friends and neighbors for attending your event. From the PaperDirect invitations to the personalized guest favors, you can relax because you’ve just hosted the greatest BBQ in the neighborhood!
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Summer is here and that means lots of outdoor play and weeks of family fun and memory-making vacations. Unfortunately, it also means an increase in accidents. Nothing destroys the fun and joy of a family outing faster than an accident, so make the pledge to keep this summer the safest possible by taking these few, simple steps:
1. What’s more fun during the summer than cooling down with a dip in a pool, lake or ocean? Water play is a great way to keep temperatures from soaring on even the hottest summer days, but it’s important for children and adults to take a few steps to make sure their summer swim sessions are as safe as possible. First, never swim alone. Drowning can occur even in relatively shallow bodies of water, and it can happen quickly. When your kids are in the water, provide full supervision and attention – no texting or talking on the phone.
2. Respect the sun. Wear plenty of sunscreen that’s strong enough to protect your skin type, and apply it after swimming and after playing sports. Use a hat to protect your scalp and sunglasses to protect your eyes.
3. Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water even if you aren’t involved in strenuous sports and seek shade if you start to feel overheated. Watch for heatstroke symptoms including headache, flushed skin, skin that feels hot, nausea and lack of sweat.
4. Avoid picnic panic by keeping everyone a safe distance from grills and open fires, and always keep a fire extinguisher or pail of sand on hand to put out a fire quickly. Don’t leave any fire unattended.
5. It may seem like fun to run or roll in a field of wildflowers, but bees like those flowers too. Wear shoes and have a first aid kit equipped to handle the pain of stings.
6. Wear a helmet when biking and review biking rules with kids at the beginning of the season. Gloves and kneepads may be a good idea for inexperienced riders.
7. Lots of people hit the road for summer vacations, so use special caution while driving. Make sure kids stay buckled and provide them with activities so they don’t distract you. Never, ever leave a pet in a parked car; even with the windows cracked, the heat can soar and every year, pets are killed in parked cars with open windows.
Kids love rewards, so make summer safety fun by offering safety award certificates personalized with their names. Use safety-themed Post-It® notes to remind kids how to remain safe; their sticky surface makes them ideal for posting on pools, play areas or in outdoor eating areas, and they’re ideal for when kids have friends over.
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Are you planning a Flag Day event to celebrate the nation’s most iconic symbol? As you are picking out the perfect patriotic party invitations and supplies and decide what you’ll toss on the grill, take time to think about those patriots who took Betsy Ross’ creation and made it the beloved treasure it is today.
George Morris – Credited in Kansas: a Cyclopedia of State History for suggesting Flag Day on June 14, 1777, George Morris never saw the holiday’s official declaration. His hometown of Hartford, Connecticut first observed Flag Day in 1961.
Bernard J. Cigrand – From the 1880s until his death, Cigrand traveled the nation speaking about respect for the flag, patriotic pride, and the need for an official observance of Flag Day on June 14th in honor of the date the Continental Congress officially adopted the Stars and Stripes. In his lifetime, he gave more than 2100 speeches and is credited by many as “almost singlehandedly” getting the holiday officially observed.
William T. Kerr – Kerr was the founder of the American Flag Day Association ofWestern Pennsylvania and served as the group’s national chairperson for fifty years. This patriot was lucky enough to attend President Harry Truman’s signing of the congressional act that made Flag Day an offical holiday in 1949.
Elizabeth Duane Gillespie – A descendant of Ben Franklin, Elizabeth Gillespie was also the president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania. She utilized the stronghold of her group to foster a resolution to require all of Philadelphia’s public buildings to display the American flag. Although unsuccessful, Pennsylvania became the first state to declare Flag Day an official holiday, and this is why many people credit Philadelphia as the home of the flag.
Theodore Roosevelt – An old oral tradition passed through generations may or may not be true, but it is rather funny in a patriotic sense. It is said that Teddy Roosevelt was dining out in Philadelphia one afternoon, happened to look out the window, and saw a man wipe his nose with something that resembled a flag. Infuriated, he stormed out and whipped the man with a stick for “defacing America’s symbol.” Unfortunately, the man was only holding a blue handkerchief with white stars, not a flag. Apologizing for his error, Roosevelt smacked the man once more for making him “riled up with national pride.”
All of these heroes helped make Flag Day possible in some vital way, and you can be the hero of your party when you shop for all of your patriotic party supplies at PaperDirect, where shopping is both fun and simple!
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After four years of late nights and last minute study jam sessions, your day to celebrate has finally arrived. Whether you are graduating from high school or college, you want to make sure your friends and family are aware of your special day. Unlike your cap and gown, your graduation announcements can reflect your unique sense of style and capture the joy of the moment.
You have so many choices, you may feel overwhelmed. First of all, decide what format you want to go with. Once you have chosen your template, choose your color scheme. Remember, you no longer have to stick to your school colors, in fact you can play around with different borders, whimsical accents or even use a photo collage of your senior pictures. To make this as easy as possible for you, PaperDirect has a wide variety of graduation invitations and graduation border papers in various formats and colors to choose from.
After captivating the invitation recipients with your own pizazz, you need to make sure the wording you choose is in a very readable font and includes all the important information about your big day. This part can be fun – if you consider yourself a poet, use your talents to announce your accomplishment in a fun four line rhyme! Of course, if you are a Senior in high school, your parents may want to have some say in the type of invitation you mail out. If they are demanding a formal, old-fashioned announcement like they sent out when they were graduating – just go with the flow. But order only enough to send to those people they have on their list. Then, because it is your big day after all, design an announcement of your choosing that you can send to your friends and loved ones. This way, everyone will be happy.
Most importantly, don’t wait until the last minute to order your announcements. In addition to giving your relatives plenty of time to mark their calendars, they get the opportunity to reward you with a special gift (usually fun money) that you can use on your Senior trip! If your loved ones are being inundated with graduations, birthdays and weddings, most likely the first one in the mail box will be a number one priority!
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The frenzy of March Madness is here, and there’s no better way to get your friends together than a basketball-themed party. You’ll want your guests to get excited about your party as soon as they receive their March Madness invitations, so you need to make sure that they truly capture the essence of the game. Take a look at these creative DIY party invitation ideas for inspiration.
March Madness Jersey Basketball
Draw a jersey onto cardstock to make a template the size you want the invites to be. Place your template onto folded cardstock and trace, making sure that the top shoulders of the jersey meet the folded seam, and then cut along the lines. Add a team name on the front, player number on the back, and appropriate colors before personalizing inside. You can even send guests invitations personalized for their favorite team or player.
March Madness Ticket Invitation
Make the main event March Madness with a ticket-style invitation. Work up a mock copy of your favorite team’s ticket, and fill in the party details in the same layout that you would see on an official entry pass. Make everyone feel like a VIP by laminating the tickets and attaching a lanyard so the guests can wear them at the party.
Basketball Theme Invitations
Cut out a perfect circle with folded cardstock, making sure to leave about one inch of the top of the ball connected at the fold. Use paint, markers, or crayons to bring your basketball to life.
Basketball Card Invites
Turn simple cardstock into a masterpiece quickly by gluing basketball trading cards to the exterior. Announce your projections of success by using your favorite team, or make your guests feel special by including their favorite team or player’s card.
Be sure to include any details about the festivities within your invites that you want your guests to know such as any items you would like them bring, any dress requests, and be sure to include a map to your event location and contact number.
As a fantastic opportunity to gather family and friends, St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to fire up the grill and hold an outdoor party to welcome the warmer weather of spring. Throwing the ultimate St. Patrick’s Day party can be loads of fun, but the planning stages may seem a little overwhelming for the uninitiated host, especially those on a budget. These decorating tips will ensure that your St. Pat’s Day invitation recipients are engaged from the moment of their arrival.
Get the Outdoors Even Greener with St. Patrick’s Day Decorations
Green or decorated, streamers, matching plates, napkins, and festive cups are a given. However, you can save some money by creating most of your St. Pat’s outdoor decor yourself with a few additional items from the party or craft store.
Shamrocks: Use green poster board to cut out various shapes of clovers, and don’t forget to include a few lucky four-leaf clovers. Punch a hole into the top to allow for hanging from the trees, patio, or fencing outdoors, and save a few to adorn indoor areas that guests will be using.
Streamers Leading to Pots of Gold: Get creative, and use rainbow hues to create twisted streamers draping across trees and indoor areas. Attach a pot of gold cut out on each end to give the leprechaun something to chase.
Centerpieces: Start hitting garage sales or secondhand stores early for green vases or containers, and pick up some white carnations. Place the carnations in water with a good dose of green food coloring to make the flower’s tips green, and then place into the vases just before the party.
Banners: Let everyone know where the party’s at or dress up your outdoor family gathering with a festive St. Patrick’s Day banner or two. Customize your theme and wording on a heavy-duty, weatherproof banner from PaperDirect that you can use year after year.
St. Patrick’s Day Game Ideas
Keep the fun rolling with some fun family games perfect for outdoor enjoyment. One favorite resembles Tag, called “Catch the Leprechaun.” A chosen player puts on a leprechaun hat and is chased until caught. Whoever succeeds first puts on the hat and becomes “it.” Another idea is to place chocolate gold coins, shamrocks, and other goodies around the house and hold a scavenger hunt. Divide into teams to keep the search competitive and fun for all.
Whether you are looking for creative invitations, banners, stationery, or other great outdoor decorating ideas for your St. Pat’s party, you can count on PaperDirect for fast service and top-quality products at affordable prices.
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From green beer to clovers to parades, the traditional Irish celebration of St. Patrick’s Day has been a fixture in the U.S. since the late 1700s.
But there’s a lot more to it than Guinness and folk dancing. The holiday’s namesake, St. Patrick, was born in Roman-controlled Briton in the 5th century. As a teen, slavers kidnapped him to Ireland. He managed to escape, but then returned to the Emerald Isle, bringing Christianity with him – and converting the local Druids along the way.
After his death on (you guessed it) March 17, legends surrounding St. Patrick grew, becoming ingrained into the celebration that bears his name.
Lucky Clover
Ever wondered why St. Patrick’s Day is associated with shamrocks? Legend has it that the saint used the clover, a native Irish plant with three leaves connected by one stalk, to represent the concept of the Holy Trinity to non-believers.
Today, perhaps no other symbol brings the holiday to mind quite like the shamrock. There’s no better way to dress up party invites, stationery or even post-it notes than with a touch o’ the lucky green clover!
Kissing the Blarney Stone
Another symbol of St. Patrick’s Day, the Blarney Stone, isn’t directly related to the saint himself. Rather, the legend involves a castle in the village of Blarney, just northwest of Cork, and an old woman with magical powers who was saved from drowning by an Irish king.
To thank the king for saving her life, the old woman granted him the power of persuasive speech – if only he would lean over and kiss a stone on top of the castle.
Today, tourists come from around the world to kiss the Blarney Stone – and the best day of the year to do it? March 17, of course!
Parades
For most of the U.S., St. Patrick’s Day means parades. From New York to Boston, Chicago to Dublin – Ohio, that is – St. Patty’s parades fill the streets with floats, bands, bagpipers dancers and leprechauns, all dressed in the brightest of emerald greens.
Speaking of green, what’s that “wear it or get pinched” thing all about? Apparently, leprechauns – who are know for their mischievous nature and their love of tripping, kicking and otherwise bothering unsuspecting humans – can’t see the color green, rendering anyone wearing the color safe from unwanted leprechaun attention.
If you forget to wear green, a pinch will remind you to armor yourself in emerald to guard yourself against leprechaun mischief. However, with all the celebrating going on around the country on March 17th, green might just be impossible to forget!
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Is your anniversary coming up and you’re trying to think of a unique anniversary celebration idea that won’t cost an arm and a leg? Throwing a party for someone (or yourself) doesn’t really have to cost a lot of money. You can still have a well-decorated party with lots of tasty food and yummy drinks on a tight budget–you just have to be a little creative and open-minded. Here are some suggestions that aren’t the same old thing you see at every anniversary celebration.
Celebration Ideas that Don’t Cost a Lot
While lavish gifts are nice, they may not be quite as meaningful or thought-provoking as another gift that will not cost nearly as much. Check out these anniversary celebration ideas that can be incorporated into just about any party to celebrate a couple’s love:
Arrange for a replica of your wedding cake to be made. This isn’t terribly expensive and will be a sentimental touch for your anniversary party. If you have a good picture of your wedding cake, most any bakery should be able to make the exact cake with any changes you’d like to make.
You can have family help create a video to memorialize your life together. This costs absolutely nothing, really, and will be a treasure you will have for the rest of your lives. Start with pictures of the happy couple as children, include pictures from when they dated, then got married, had children and so on. Arrange the pictures and videos into one and set to music. If you want to pay for a professional videographer to put this together, it’s money well spent. You and your spouse and family members will have this to watch and enjoy for years to come.
Prior to your anniversary party, ask family and friends to write a short paragraph or two about a special memory they have of you and your spouse. Compile all the snippets into a scrapbook and display it on the table for all guests to see. You can also have family members to make poster boards of family photos. These can be displayed on easels all around the party venue. You can also ask family to put old movies on CDs so you’re able to watch home movies anywhere you like with ease.
Whether you’re throwing a huge bash or are just having a few people over for a quieter, more intimate gathering, PaperDirect has anniversary party invitations, banners and even thank you notes for all the lovely presents you’ll receive! Shop online–it’s easy, fast and convenient!
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Easter Sunday is March 31, 2013, so now is the time to order all your Easter holiday supplies like invitations, flyers and banners. Are you planning a big Easter egg hunt for all the kids in the family, or is your neighborhood having a special outdoor celebration on Easter? If so, you need to get the word out with Easter flyers from PaperDirect. You’ll love all of our selections in a variety of lovely pastels and festive designs to suit all tastes. As you contemplate your Easter flyer choices, check out some interesting Easter facts and maybe you can include some of this information in a game for the kids or adults. Why not make a learning experience out of your Easter celebration this year?!
Easter Facts
Easter is one of the oldest and holiest of all Christian holidays, even more so than Christmas. What does Easter celebrate? Christians believe that Jesus was crucified on the cross and on the third day, He rose from the dead. Known as the “Resurrection of Christ,” Easter is believed to bring joy and relief to Christ’s followers, who began to celebrate this day to commemorate the blessed event. Here are some interesting facts about the most important Christian holiday of the year:
The word “Easter” comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg
Easter will always fall between March 22 and April 25
The egg has long been considered the symbol of rebirth
The earliest Easter egg baskets were the shape of birds’ nests
Approximately 90 million chocolate bunnies are made each year for Easter
Second only to Halloween, Easter is a huge “sweets” holiday
About 76% of people who eat chocolate bunnies eat the ears first
In business, your customers are your significant others. And just like lovers, customers need to be wined, dined and told repeatedly how much you adore and appreciate them. To show your customers just how much they mean to you around the Christmas holiday season, try spoiling them with some of the following customer appreciation event ideas.
1. Cranberry Dip: Someone always arrives a bit early for a potluck, so stave off hunger with a delicious 
3. Cornbread Dressing: Instead of the typical stuffing from a bag that you may expect to see at a work potluck, make something more unusual. The Pioneer Woman’s 
5. Apple Cheesecake: Rather than debating whether to make an apple pie or a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, surprise people with these 
Easter Facts
birds’ nests
