College Care Packages, Done Right

Shameless promotion - yup! And here's why ... My oldest son recently made his way back to the West Coast to begin his college career. So far so good.

Last week, I received a bubbly email from the Parent Association about sending Care Packages to the students. The timing seems great, they're just about missing home. Here's what didn't sit right ... they were asking for 100% parent participation to send sugar-packed, sodium-filled, junk food at a ridiculous price! I was mortified. I'm no health food guru, but come on people, send them something slightly healthy!

I started thinking ... would my son want a box of junk food or a few extra bucks to get what he wants. And wouldn't it be just as much fun (for me) and more nutritious (for him) to give him a gift card for Trader Joe's or Whole Foods so he can stock up on good grub? And what if Aunt Sue in Seattle and Uncle Max in Minneapolis want to pitch in and give him a few gift cards, like maybe one to Whole Foods, iTunes and one to Staples (because the mechanical pencils are so much less expensive there than at the campus bookstore)? I don't know, it's just a thought, and I like it.

So, I've created Gift Card Bundles at from: Everyone. Three different price points (but feel free to spend more) and 2-4 gift card choices from our entire lineup. How I would have loved a 'care package' to Trader Joe's, Starbucks, or Gap - yeah that's kind of cool! Anyhow, I'm really excited about this idea,busy  researching campus locations and nearby stores so from: Everyone can offer the discerning college student a smattering of choices and the happy parents some peace of mind!

Don't forget your manners

And this is why it's good to keep up on who's talking 'group gifts'! Blogs are such an awesome way to share information and learn something new. I use Google Blog alerts to keep up on a lot of things, who's saying what about me, what my competition is doing, and who's talking about group gifts.


This gal (apologies Ms. Post), Leigh, has a blog called 'Etiquette for the Modern Couple' you've got to check it out, it's good stuff. She wrote about the dreaded Office Gift, sharing appropriate strategies to manage the process. I had to respond and share my thoughts, as did she, in kind. Hopefully, it wasn't just her good manners that spurred her on! Here's what she said ...
 
Thank you Leigh for your post and I hope you get a slew of new readers, after all, manners and etiquette go a long way!

And BTW, anyone who's brave enough to list The Sound of Music as their favorite movie is OK in my book!

Paula

Thank you Stephanie

I just love it when people get it, and this woman is singing my song. Say YES to the gift, but say NO to the hassle ... check out Stephanie's post.

Thanks for the kudos Stephanie, we'll take 'em!

Geek Sugar likes from: Everyone

Wow, it's great to be noticed, thanks Geek Sugar!

Here's hoping a million Angela's jump on the virtual group gift band wagon.

Thank You Washington!

Call it good juju or good planning, but I'm happy to report that from: Everyone is catching on. A group of Executive Assistants in the gorgeous state of Washington have joined together to give a Thank You gift to a co-worker and they've used from: Everyone to make it happen. Leave it to the savvy EA's to know a good thing when they see it: make it simple, save time - no more passing around the envelope, no more collecting checks, and no more rushing out on your lunch hour in search of the perfect gift. Thanks for your support and we hope you'll spread the word!

You just never know ...

After a sluggish holiday season on the group gift front, I'm happy to report business is picking up at the start of the New Year - thanks everyone!

I'm not one to pass on causes, but this one feels different. I had an Organizer this week who was scrambling at the last hour to get her contributors to pitch in on a birthday gift for her boyfriend. Turns out they're a bunch of college kids from the west coast (shout out!) and they really like this guy. This girl was able to rally 13+ people in less than 24 hours - I was impressed. Makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy about the youth of our generation, a) wanting to show their generosity and b) being able to pull it off successfully in a limited amount of time. It turns out, time may be this young woman's greatest motivator. Read more about her and see if it doesn't pull at you just a bit (facebook link to Janet Liang). And if you're brave enough, register.

Thanks,
Paula

Group Gifts Make Sense

It's already November people, time to start thinking about shopping early for the Holidays. It'll be here before you know it, and we'll all be kicking ourselves - AGAIN! So put on your holiday thinking caps and get to it. And while your at it, give a serious nod to the idea of giving together. You might just save some precious time, gas, and money!

Group Gifts Make Sense. Times are 'financially challenging', no question, so pooling money together enables you to give more. If ten of you contribute $10 each, that's a heck of a nice gift card to Williams Sonoma for Aunt Sophie, or Eddie Bauer for Cousin Joe, right? I don't know about you, but I love getting gift cards and choosing what I really want, so much better that ten little knick knacks. And what about for the boss, did you get stuck with passing the hat around again? No worries, there are a plethora of sites (see previous post) that let you bypass that ardous task and still get your 'real' work done.  No one should have to beg for money, but anyone can send an email.

Organizing a group gift is 'green' - well, sort of right? It is if you do it online. There's no driving around wasting gas to collect money or searching for the perfect gift. Thanks for sparing the air on that one. I've even read that some companies are recycling gift cards; brilliant (kudos to Rodd Gilbert @ Earthworks)! It takes a minimal amount of your time to organize online, (and a minimal amount of electricty for your laptop), which leaves plenty of opportunities to bake cookies, get together with friends or just bask in the joys of the holidays.

Now go pour that second cuppa, boost up your laptop, it's almost Christmas people.

Happy Holidays,
from: Everyone