Having a two year old myself, I have entered into the land of birthday attending and birthday party planning.
Not only are places like MY GYM, Kidnasium, Gymboree, Dan the Man, and other gymnastics places convenient, they are a ton of fun for the kids and great for the parents.
You can't just drop off the kids and leave, but there is a trained staff who entertains your kids and know what they like depending on the age. There are swings, bubbles, ball pits, trampolines and a safe (and usually) enclosed environment for your kids to crazy in. You get to sit back, relax and enjoy!
And the clean up....a breeze!
One of Bumpercards most popular children's birthday invitations are our Kid Gym Boy and Kid Gym Girl. When creating the invitations I am always amazed at how my great gym places there are across the country! Enjoy!
It's officially on the record! Bumpercards is launching TYKECOON TM T-shirts for Tykes!
0 comments Posted by Michelle at 4:33 PM
After much consideration and research, Bumpercards is venturing into the world of infant and toddlers t's.
We have always known our designs would translate onto t-shirts and we are excited to welcome Tykecoon to the Bumpercards family.
The official launch will be May 2008 at The Silver Spoon Dog & Baby Buffet, but we are offering the 6 following designs for sneak peek: Robot, Owl, 3 Totem Owl, Giraffe, 9 Squares, and Elephant
The above designs also coordinate with Bumpercards personalized stationery, gift stickers, address labels and mommy calling cards.
For Babies: Babies are always receiving gifts and all mother's want to properly thank everyone for their generosity. Even if it's hard to get them out in a timely fashion.
For Toddlers: You may (or you will) end of writing most of the note yourself, but it's good place to color and let your friends and family know you are thinking about them. And there are so many cute options out there!It's simple fun to buy.
For Pre-Schoolers-3rd: What better way to show off your new found mastery of the alphabet and your advancement with language skills?!
For Tweens and Teens: You know you have to write thank you notes and with the right stationery you may even be psyched to send a letter.
Graduates (High School and College): Now that you are to be "responsible", it's always smart to have stationery around to send thank you notes after job interviews as well as the usual thank you note for grad gifts and simply keep in touch as everyone moves onto their own life's journey.
20 something: May not be on the top of your 100 item to-do list, but writing thank you notes after a birthday or sending a congratz note to a friend is still the right thing to do.
30-40 something: Your momma always told you to be thoughtful! Now you may be wanting to set a good example for your kids. Hey, maybe you even like to collect stationery!
For your 50's and 60's: It's a personal gift that you know can be used. You can never have too much stationery. Each occasion you send a note for may need a different sentiment.
And 70, 80, 90....157: Stationery is never outgrown even when the use for it is constantly changing from congratulations notes to sympathy cards and anywhere in between. It's fun to give and fun to receive.
Simplify Birthday Season w/ Gift Stickers! Yes, there is a Birthday Season!
0 comments Posted by Michelle at 4:14 PM
Children’s birthdays obviously happen all year round, but there does seem to be busy season in April and September. It helps to have a few sheets of gift stickers laying around that say, “Happy Birthday from Jack” or “ A gift from Daisy.
Being able to slap that sticker on the top of child’s gift saves money as well as makes your life easier. There is no need to stress about what to write on a card or have to run out to get one.
Gift stickers are also great as gift favor tags, "Thanks for coming to my party! Love, Hayden", as well as for Family gifts and Holiday season.
Anything that helps makes life a little bit more organized and less stressful is worth it. It’s the simple touches that make the difference.
Bumpercards has been looking into creating an eco-friendly stationery line for about 2 years now. There is so much information out there and many different levels of eco-friendliness.
While researching paper, printing and the environment we found out we have always been "eco-friendly", yet there is more we can do. Most of our papers come from the bigger paper brands and these companies are in the forefront of creating greener options.
There are many different standards to call your company eco-friendly and I will give a summary of a few of the main ingredients to look for:
(Information below has been directly taken from http://www.neenahpaper.com, http://www.wausaupapers.com, http://www.mohawkpaper.com/ , http://www.legionpaper.com/Eco-Friendly.htm)
1.FSC CERTIFIED:
Ensures that the paper meets the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) standards for responsible forest management.
2. GREEN SEAL CERTIFIED:
Signifies that all of our recycled papers are made with a minimum of 30% post consumer fiber and that mill processes, including packaging, are environmentally preferable.
Green Seal Certified is awarded by a nonprofit that rigorously evaluates paper production with standards set for PCW content as well as inking, bleaching and other processes.
Founded in 1989, Green Seal is a non-profit standard-setting organization that awards the Green Seal of Approval to products that cause less harm to the environment than other similar products as defined by their certification standards. Green Seal both develops environmental standards and carries out the actual certification.
This certification insures the delivery of premium papers that are manufactured free of chlorine chemistry and from sustainable raw materials.
Processed chlorine-free or PCF indicates that no dioxin-releasing chlorinated compounds were used to bleach the product.
Additionally, the PCF-labeled product must be 30 percent PCW. Less desirable is "Totally chlorine-free," or TCF, which is made from virgin fiber. This label is regulated by the Chlorine Free Products Association.
Green-e identifies products made with certified renewable energy, including but not limited to wind power, solar power, low impact hydropower, and biomass.
As stated by Green-e, “Green-e is the nation's leading independent consumer protection program for the sale of renewable energy and greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market. Green-e offers certification and verification of renewable energy and greenhouse gas mitigation products.”
5.CARBON NEUTRAL:
A voluntary and legally binding greenhouse gas emission reduction and trading system. As a member, Neenah Paper has committed to reduce its carbon footprint, or net greenhouse gas emissions,
6. 100% POST CONSUMER FIBER:
Post Consumer Fiber describes paper that has reached its intended end-user and then discarded. This paper, recovered from curbside collections, is considered to be post consumer.
Post-consumer waste or PCW means that the product's pulp was made from paper once used by consumers;
100 percent PCW is most desirable, but rare. No independent certifier regulates its use.
The idea behind 'mommy' calling cards is to create a business card for the professional mom so she can stay in touch with other moms and arrange play dates, carpools and a mom's get-a-way night. Mom is a pretty amazing job title!
When you are at a park or drop off/pick up, it is hard to locate a pen and paper as well as completely concentrate to write your personal info down.
Whether you make them yourself or order a set, be sure to include information like phone, cell, email, kids names, family website or blog, etc.
The calling cards are also great for pre-teens and teenagers, who don't yet have business cards, but want to share their email, cell numbers, myspace pages, etc.
Bumpercards also recently created a special calling card design for mother's with autistic children. It is a great way to pull together resources, share helpful websites and create awareness for autism.
We live in a world where when you go to a party it is polite to bring a gift. And in most cases it is also your pleasure.
So what do you do when someone says “no gifts please”? Do you listen?
4 out of 5 people don’t. This means while “no gifts” on an invitation may sound polite, it is not effective.
A good alternative to no gifts is “in lieu of gifts” please make a donation to (your favorite charity here). This doesn’t mean your guests will always listen, but there is a much better chance of them feeling ok with showing up “empty handed” and feeling good about making a donation.
To go one step further, I recently did an invitation for a one year old boy who has a big brother and his birthday falls right after Christmas, so their son really doesn’t need too much. On the back of their invitation they made it very clear how and where to make a donation. They listed the charities, what they do and what they need. They also suggested if you want to bring a present to bring diapers, new clothes, etc. and they will deliver them to the charity. Their son was truly given the greatest gift all. He is being taught about the world around him and that caring, sharing and giving are all gifts.