All About Thank You Notes

When planning any type of event or celebration, a thank you note is an element that is just as important as the invitation. There are lots of traditions surrounding the writing and sending of thank you notes. It is important to become familiarized with these traditions to help write the perfect thank you note.

When should you send thank you notes?  Thank you notes can be sent for any occasion where guests offered gifts or services. In many cases, such as a wedding if guests brought a gift or simply attended the wedding, it is proper to send a thank you note for the guest being a part of the special event.  A celebration or special event typically takes quite a few people to keep things organized and just simply to get things done.  A thank you note is the perfect time to recognize all that friends and family have done to help make the occasion special.

What should the thank you note contain?  Thank you notes can come in a variety of styles and themes. While some thank you notes will have thank you written across the front, it is traditionally accepted to send a blank card. This leaves more room for personal messages. Thank you notes should always be hand written.  A typed or template thank you message is too impersonal and does not genuinely convey thanks to guests.  Thank you notes should coincide with the theme of the event.  A good idea is to purchase thank you notes at the same time as invitations.  This will save time in the long run and help to keep a consistent theme.

Why are thank you notes important?   Thank you notes are important to show appreciation to guests, friends, and family.  Thank you notes should be sent promptly following the event.  It is helpful for those writing the notes to do so quickly so the events are still fresh in the mind.  Thank you notes give people the opportunity to sit down and write out thoughts on paper to guests and when hand writing letters, people typically are able to express feelings that cannot be conveyed simply by a verbal thank you or a phone call.

Thank you notes are the finishing touch to any event.  Whatever the event, whatever the reason, sending thank you notes should not be pushed aside or forgotten.  It is the guests who help make the event, and it is the guests who shape the guests of honor.  Without the guests, they would not be who they are.

Product Description

Stylish and sophisticated, these sweet red and green polka dotted thank you notes are a perfect way to spread your Christmas gratitude! Colors include: red, green, white Package includes 12 flat panel cards and 12 white envelopes. Paper: 50% recycled, eco-friendly, Bright White, Heavy Weight Stock Size: 5.5 x 4.25 All printing is flat printing This is a stock item

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentines Day is finally here!  I hope you and your loved one have a wonderful day together. 

Tomorrow, we will start getting ready for St. Patricks Day…March 17th…and Easter…April 12th.  Make sure you keep checking back for great ideas for the holidays! 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This is my favorite thing in the world!  I had these for the first time when I was in high school.  My boyfriend took me out to eat on Valentines Day and the restaurant was serving these to everyone for dessert. 

 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients:

* 12 large strawberries

* 6 ounces package semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Rinse and thoroughly drain strawberries. Chill for 20 minutes. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Meanwhile, transfer chocolate chips to a zippered sandwich bag and place in a bowl of very hot water until chips have melted.

Dry bag carefully and set into a small bowl. Spread open top of bag. Hold leaves and stem and dip strawberries, one at a time, into chocolate to coat to within about 1/4-inch of leaves.

Allow any excess chocolate to drain back into bag, then place strawberry on baking sheet. Any remaining chocolate may be refrigerated in the same bag for another use.

For best appearance, set berries aside in a cool place until chocolate is firm and serve immediately. Refrigerate for longer storage, but this may cause condensation to form on chocolate.

 

Decorate Your Bedroom For Romance

Decorating your bedroom for romance doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. You can really let your creativity run wild here.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you want to soothe all of the senses to both take away other distractions and relax completely. This should be your oasis, your refuge to reconnect and enjoy your partner’s company.

A great place to start is lighting. Get rid of the glare, and you’re well on the way to more romance!  Candles, candles and more candles can bring a lot of romance into the bedroom for a pretty small investment. Candles, both large and small, tapered, pillar or votives all generate a warm, inviting, flickering light to the room. Group them together in several areas of the room for the best effect.

Adding a dimmer switch to lighting can also be quite effective in designing bedrooms for romance- and cost very little as long as you can install it yourself. It isn’t as difficult as you might think!  Placing mirrors around the room to reflect your softened light will add more depth to your bedroom.  

Window dressings that are plush and appealing should darken the room and prevent lights from traffic or other external noise from interrupting the romantic mood you are creating. The window treatment can match or contrast the bedding and often can be found as an accessory to the bedding set you select. Draperies that billow and flow can add a touch of romance to the bedroom as well.

The bed, of course, is the focal point of the bedroom in most cases, and the bedding you select for romance can set just the perfect mood.

Many people think of silk and satin when thinking of romantic bedding. Both silk and satin can be costly and a bit slippery on the bed. The good news is that the same luxurious effect and feel can be created with 100% cotton sateen sheets if you don’t want the added expense of genuine satin or silk linens.

Choose bedding for your romantic bedroom that centers on relaxing, romantic colors. Avoid using too much grey, yellow or pink. Red, black, white, blue and green is very popular. Newer colors like pearl, bronze and even gold can really create the feeling of luxury and are quite romantic.

Remember that all of your senses should be involved for the perfect touch of romance- so adding interesting texture for bedding can be another opportunity to bring out romance. Velvet, faux fur and velour are rich, soft to the touch fabrics that can be used for comforters, blankets and throw pillows.

Peacock Alley is one of the most well-known luxury bedding makers. They offer an especially warm, romantic bed linen set called the Marrakech Ebony. It features shades of green, gold and ebony in prints reminiscent of the African plains and looks especially romantic when highlighted by candlelight. 55% linen and 45% rayon create luxurious sheets which are easy to care for.

The Vienna Ensemble from Peacock Alley is 100% Egyptian cotton in white on white featuring eyelet lace. Euro sham, coverlet, boudoir pillows add wonderful interesting detail to the bedding which brings back the romantic 1800s.

And if you’d prefer to keep your expenses down abit, then you could go for the shabby chic approach, which means focusing on your own sense of style, mixing just about any romantic touches into the bedroom- as long as the overall result is soothing and relaxing. You don’t have to follow anyone else’s idea of romance. Just be creative!

If you really want to go all out, you could add a canopy to your bed. You can easily create the same effect of a canopy bed with about 10 yards of material like linen, silk or satin and four hooks placed in the ceiling. Simply drape the cloth so that it billows and flows to just above the bed linens. This touch will enhance any spacious bedroom and can provide a bedroom with low ceilings a more spacious feel.

Finish your new romantic bedroom with abit of soft music, maybe some potpourri and some fine chocolates and champagne, and there you have it!  You can live in a bedroom that surrounds you with romance every night if you wish. Simply bring together your own creation of romantic touches and enjoy.

Memory Foam: The Perfect Gift

Still haven’t found the right gift for Valentines Day?  Does that someone special seem to have everything?   Memory Foam makes a perfect gift for anyone you know.  Your wife, girlfriend or significant other would be thrilled beyond words with any of the many choices of gifts that are available in memory foam.

Memory foam sleep masks make a great, low cost, gift idea for someone who likes it dark in the room they’re sleeping in.  They’re also ideal for those who enjoy “sleeping in” but don’t want the sun shining into their eyes and waking them up in the morning.  How about a memory foam sleep mask as a gift for a shift-worker or someone who likes an afternoon nap to catch up on sleep? They’d always be rested and ready for that big night out on the town.

The non-pressure feel of memory foam makes it a perfect material for sleep masks because the won’t cut off circulation and they remain comfortable to the sleeper all night.  Expect to pay from $10 to $30 for a quality memory foam sleep mask.

Another low cost Valentines Day gift idea is a pair of memory foam slippers.  These slippers work equally well for indoors or outdoors.  They’re ideal for someone wanting a quick, easy to slip on shoe to run out for the morning paper or to keep your feet cozy and warm while lounging around the house.
 
The memory foam cradles your feet in comfort by conforming to the exact shape and size of your feet.  Warm, cozy and comfortable, these memory foam slippers will make someone very happy.  Expect to pay $39 to $79 for this gift.

Memory foam pillows are especially welcome because your loved one will dream of you as they enjoy the cozy custom fitted and supportive feel of the memory foam around their neck and head.  It might even help stave off a “head ache”.
 
Memory foam contour pillows are the ones, you see a lot on television, that have a “roll” on one side to put the proper curved support in your neck while you sleep.  There are normal pillows that are made from memory foam as well, and there are even memory foam body pillows.  The body pillows are especially wonderful for expectant mothers who need special support while sleeping.  There are smaller memory foam travel pillows, either contoured or u-shaped to surround your neck.

Memory foam pillows vary widely in price, but you can expect to pay $79 for the travel size to $165 for a good king size or body pillow.

If you have more money to spend, you might consider a memory foam topper.  Toppers range, in quality, from the very low to the very high.  The low end toppers are made from less dense foam…usually, 2 lb. to 3.5 lb. density, and they don’t give you the proper support that you would expect from memory foam.   You can count on the foam returning to it’s shape for about 6 or 8 months on the cheaper toppers.  After that, they are pretty worthless.

The better toppers are made from 4 lb. to 5 lb. foam and will hold up for several years.  They will give you better support and last much longer than the cheaper ones.  A high density memory foam topper will provide the most support you can expect from a memory foam topper, but they aren’t in the same league as a full memory foam mattress set.

Cheaper toppers will, typically be in the $99 to $299 category.  You’ll pay $299 to $499 for a middle grade topper and $500 to $900 for the best toppers.

Now matter how you slice it, a gift of memory foam will make you mighty popular with the person of your dreams.

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