Children's Birthday Parties are Expensive

My son turns four this weekend. I'm preparing for his Mickey Mouse themed party at his preschool. Oh my how quickly the bill adds up!

Large plates for the pizza come in packs of 8 for about $2 each pack. There are 35 kids in total, so that's about $10 for plates that will get thrown away right after they're done eating their slice of pizza (costing about $45 to buy the pizza itself).

Small plates for the cake also come in the same amount and for about the same price. Throw in the caprisun juices, the spoons, pinata, candy, decorations, balloons, and the CAKE, so far I've spent a good $140. And this is just a small cake cutting at the school.

But at the end of the day, he only turns 4 once and if Mickey is who he really likes, then I'll do my best to please him. So Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse here we come...

Thank You Christmas Tree

In the spirit of teaching my 3 year old to be more grateful and appreciative for all his blessings (and toys) received this Holiday Season, as I took down the Christmas decorations and ornaments from our tree today, I said to him,

"Shouldn't we say Thank You to the Christmas tree? Say Thank You Christmas tree for keeping my toys safe, for having a place for Santa to place my presents, and for making my house more beautiful."

So he did. He said Thank You Christmas Tree for keeping my presents safe.

Then, after I finished putting everything away and the Christmas tree was completely bare again, we began to drag it outside for disposal.

My son screamed from the window:

"Thank You Christmas Tree."

Ahhh...I was touched. The first time I had prompted him to say Thank You. But it had been well over an hour since this exercise when he himself said Thank You to our Christmas tree all on his own.

There's hope that our future generation is more grateful and appreciative. Next time you take your tree down, ask your kids to say Thank You to the tree. It's a nice exercise in teaching them to be more grateful.

What to do with all those holiday cards?

Most people look forward to the Holiday season. Spending time with family, drinking egg nog and hot chocolate (unless you live in Miami like I do and it felt like summer the entire month of December), and going to the mall to take advantage of some deep discounts.

Well, that's at least a nice vision of what the holiday season should be like. For many of us, it's a very stressful time of the year. We're rushing to get our houses cleaned in time for all of our guests (especially if your in-laws are staying with you) and figuring out what to get all those hard-to please people on your list. Then of course is the sometimes dreaded holiday cards.

Well, now that the holidays are over and all this seems but a blur, what are you going to do with all those holiday cards anyway?

I love saving all of my cards until next Christmas just to make sure that when I'm mailing out my cards I don't miss someone who sent me a card the previous year. On another blog I also saw someone suggest you take photos of the cards and use them as the picture for that person on your phone. Pretty clever.

Or maybe you'd like to do a collage and put it in a frame as part of your holiday decor for next year. Some cards people send you are beautiful and would make excellent center pieces at your school's or office party.

How about you, what will you do with all those holiday cards?

To handwrite my wedding invitations or not, that is the question!

There's much debate over whether or not handwritten invitations is something you should spend your time and/or money on. After all, in this economy, we're all trying to watch our wallets and will your guests really even notice that you took the time to handwrite a personal invitation for them?

Even though you can go to a business supply store and purchase clear address labels, if you really want to stand out and impress your friends and relatives, I would tell you to take the time and/or budget in handwritten invitations.

It's classier, nicer, and sets you apart from everyone else. Many of us plan on walking down the aisle only once (despite the horrible statistics), so why not invest the time and energy into doing it the right way.

Proper etiquette calls for handwritten invitations. Calligraphy is a nice touch, but it can be expensive. If your budget allows it, leave the calligraphy for the actual wedding invitations and just handwrite your save-the-dates, announcements, bridal shower invites, etc.

There are many sites nowadays that'll do the handwriting for you in case you don't have the time or neat handwriting yourself.

Visit us at mercibysofi.com and see how we can help. Either way, congratulations!

Growing your business

If you're looking for inexpensive ways to grow your business, try sending your clients and business partners birthday cards. Everyone likes to be remembered on their special day. Sending a customer a birthday card lets them know that you appreciate their business and consider them more than just a customer.

There are already a few companies that do this. When it's my birthday I usually receive about three cards from businesses. Some of them come with coupons to their stores or some other call to action. I put it up with the rest of my cards.

Sometimes I've forgotten about that particular company and receiving a card from them puts them back on my mind.

Think about what this small gesture can do for your business? There are many sites and stores that sell birthday cards in bulk at discount prices. It's better to send out a handwritten birthday card to add that extra personal touch, but if you don't have nice handwriting, the time to sit down and address all those cards, or the budget to outsource it to a company like ours, mercibysofi.com, then at least have a generic birthday card with your company's logo on it and send it out in time for your client to receive it on or before their birthday.

It's an easy and inexpensive way to grow your business this year.

Teach your children to say Thank You

How do you teach your child to be grateful?

I have two children, a soon-to-be 4 year old and a 16 month old. This Christmas as my son ripped open present after present, he asked me, "can I open more presents?"

Mind you, he had opened about 8 different gifts at that point. He had received a Cars book with miniature vehicles and a mat to play on, a nerf gun to shoot his dad and sister with, a giant house that he can color, a plane that was almost bigger than he, and so many other toys.

I thought to myself, "he's not even interested in the actual toy, just in the ripping open presents part." What's wrong with this picture?

How do you teach your children to be grateful and not be spoiled brats while still spoiling them (after all, you are their parent and you want to get them these goodies)?

So I sat down with my son and asked him what his favorite toy was and what was the best thing to do. So we called the person who gave him his gun, my brother, and sent him a picture of my son holding his new toy. We said, "Thank You".

Then I thought, now that my son is learning to write his name, when he turns four in eight days, I'm going to sit down with him and have him handwrite his name on individual thank you cards to give to everyone.

Hopefully he'll see how much work goes into handwriting each card and think twice the next time he opens a present. I'll keep you posted to see if it works!

Don't forget the bridesmaids!

Weddings can be so stressful! How does the one thing you've been dreaming of all these years turn into something so laborous and exhausting? So many details, from finding THE dress, who's going to do your makeup, choosing your wedding song, the invitations, the cake, dj or live band, and the list goes on.

Most brides are left with the entire wedding planning completely on their own. Their fiance is either too busy with work, or you just can't simply trust his taste to choose the wedding. Come on, he still drinks straight from the juice bottle and wipes his mouth with his sweater!

So the bride relies on her mom or friends to help her with every detail, and there are so many!

Remember when you are opening your presents and staring at the pile of Thank You cards that came with your invites and save the dates, you didn't do it alone. Remember to send a separate Thank You card to your bridesmaids, mother, and/or anyone else who really kept you sane during this important event in your life.

So many people overlook the power of gratitude. It's so easy to strengthen your personal relationships by just two words: Thank you.

Who are you going to thank?

Should I send Thank You cards after a funeral?

The passing away of one of our loved ones is always a very hard time in our lives. This is when you find out who your true friends are.

Once you've grieved and you can start thinking about resuming your normal life again, it would mean a lot to those people to took extra care and time to be with you during your time of sorrow and let them know just how much you appreciate them.

You can write something like this on a Thank You card or note:

Dear Jane,

It means a lot to me to know that I can count on you for support and love during this difficult time in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Yours truly,
Stacy

It's short, sweet, and will get your message across. Even though it's not expected, it will definitely make an impact on the recipient and you can bet they'll be there for you through thick and thin.

Remember when you were taught to say "Please" and "Thank You"?

There are many instances that call for you to express your gratitude. When someone gives you a present during a baby shower, bridal shower, birthday party, graduation, bar mitzvah, or any other event, it's proper etiquette to follow with a personalized, handwritten Thank You card.

I know that personally I have taken the time to get one of my friend's children a present for the holidays. I took the time to go to the store, look around to figure out a present that her daughter would like, bought wrapping paper, wrapped it, put a tag and a bow, and then put it in a box, took it to the post office by my house, and placed it in the mail.

Do you know that an entire month went by and I had not heard ONE thing from her? I didn't know if maybe the present didn't arrive, or maybe I had put the wrong address. Or maybe she did get it but just didn't like it.

Well, a month later when she was down for a gathering, I ran into her and asked her about it. She said, "oh yeah, thank you. She loved it."

Ok...then why hadn't she called or sent an email or even a simple text saying Thank You?

So many of us blame lack of time for lack of good manners.

Then I began to think if perhaps I had ever been guilty of the same crime.

So I ask you, "Have you ever received a present, a card in the mail, or something nice from a relative or friend and delayed expressing your gratitute to them?"

The answer will surprise you.
Check out mercibysofi.com and don't delay sending out those Thank You cards!