Punchbowl Blog

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

A few weeks ago, we launched the latest personalized party product on MyPunchbowl — personalized soda. We partnered with our new friends at Jones Soda to provide a new area of our site called MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda.

Here are some of the great things you can do with MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda:

• Choose your flavor: try Root Beer, Creme Soda, Orange & Cream, Strawberry Lime, Pure Cane Cola, and many more
• Upload a photo: add some personality to your soda by uploading any photo on your computer or provide the URL of a high-res photo available on a web site
• Choose a 6 pack or 12 pack
• Add a customized saying on the back of your soda.

Add Personalized Soda to your party and your guests will be very impressed. They also make a great favors for your next get together or company event.

I didn’t want to wait for my next party to make some personalized soda, so I ordered some a few weeks ago. They came in and they look great. The root beer is pretty good too! So what are you waiting for? Go order some MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda today!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

Our most recent release includes a feature we’ve all been anxious to have on the site: fun RSVP styles! Now when you send an invitation you can choose or customize your own phrases and sayings for your guest RSVP responses. For example, let’s say you’re throwing your annual Talk Like a Pirate Day party (coming up on Sept 19th). You might want to use our Pirate RSVP style for your guest responses.

Here’s how it works:

1 - Create your event and design your Invitation

2 - When you get to the Invitation Options page, choose Yes under “Show the guest list and the responses on the invitation?“

3 - Click the RSVP Styles button

4 - Choose one of our preset RSVP Styles or write your own!

The interface includes a preview of what it looks like on your invitation:

Enjoy!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

We’re really excited today to announce our partnership with Excitations, the nation’s premier provider of unique experience gifts. Through this partnership, we now provide MyPunchbowl Experiences on our site.

Experience gifts, which range from hot air balloon rides to gourmet cooking classes, create memories for the recipient that will last a lifetime. They are exciting and unique, so it’s easy to see why these gifts are the newest way to celebrate milestone birthdays—including sweet sixteen, 21, 30, 40, and even 100.

MyPunchbowl Experiences offers an extraordinary selection of experiences that will engage the recipient’s personality and passions—ranging from skydiving, first flight lesson, helicopter tour, and stock car driving to model for a day, create your own wine, glass blowing and a private safari. The possibilities, like the memories they create, are endless—and there is something for every budget and age to enjoy.

MyPunchbowl Experiences is the latest addition to the start to finish party planning capabilities that are available on MyPunchbowl. Unlike other party planning sites that start and stop with the invitation, MyPunchbowl brings your party to life with ideas, invitations, party favors, gift registries, and even photo and video sharing, and more. With the addition of MyPunchbowl Experiences, you can now make your next party an unforgettable experience party.

Check out the official announcement and share it with your friends!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

Our latest site update includes a welcome new feature for all the eCard senders out there. We’ve taken the “Dashboard” concept from our Party Planning site and applied it to our eCards site.

What does this mean? Sign in to your account to view all your past, present and scheduled ecards on your eCard Dashboard page! Here are the highlights:

• Save - Want to create an eCard but save it for later? Just sign in, design the card then save it. It will be saved and waiting on your Dashboard until you want to send.
• Add Recipients - Already sent an eCard but want to sent it to more recipients? Just click “Add Recipients” next to the card on your Dashboard and you’re on your way.
• Edit - Sent an eCard with an embarrassing mistake? Just click “edit” on the Dashboard to change the card. It will be updated for all future viewers.
• Share - Want to share your card on Twitter or Facebook? Click “Share” from the Dashboard.
• View - Just want to bask in the glory of past eCards? You can view them all on the new eCards Dashboard.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

A few weeks ago we launched a fun new section of our site called Reasons to Celebrate. In the few weeks since our launch we’ve already gotten some great feedback about the site. Bloggers have written about some of the quirky reasons to celebrate in July, including the math holiday, Yellow Pig Day (7/17).

People are also talking on Twitter and Facebook about some of these crazy days. Last Friday there was a great conversation on our Facebook page in response to Mutt’s Day (8/31). Check it out:

And there are plenty of great reasons to celebrate to look forward to in August: National Root Beer Float Day (8/6), S’mores Day (8/10), National Creamsicle Day (8/14), and National Banana Split Day (8/25). Good luck getting through August without gaining a few pounds!

Want in on the fun? Get daily updates on the day’s Reason to Celebrate by becoming a fan of MyPunchbowl on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Jim McCann, the founder and CEO of 1-800-Flowers. When Jim first came into the room he greeted me warmly and proceeded to ask about my background and family. I was struck by how much time he spent asking questions about me as a person. He wanted to know about my upbringing, where I went to high school, jobs I’d held since college, and some of my hobbies. In about ten minutes, Jim learned a lot about me.

I was reminded of this experience today when I had an introductory call with a MyPunchbowl partner. I had never spoken with this person before, and we didn’t have much on the agenda. So I borrowed a line from Jim McCann’s biography called Stop and Sell the Roses: Lessons from Business and Life — first make a relationship, then do business.

In just a few short minutes, I learned that this person had grown up in Indiana, spent the last 20 years living the Washington D.C. area, had one daughter who was currently in college for enviornmental science, had a dog that died last winter, and now has a 5 month old puppy. My questions led to her asking me questions, and she learned about where I live and some other personal details.

An outsider may have heard the conversation and asked “Why did Matt just spend ten minutes of his day learning esoteric details about this woman’s life?” And to that I would answer: “In just a quick ten minutes, I’ve formed a solid foundation and relationship that will spill over into every business transaction we do together.” Indeed, I learned a valuable lesson from Jim McCann a few years ago, and it’s something that I practice often. Business is about relationships first, then about numbers, statistics, logistics, goals, and money.

Ask yourself next time you meet someone new in a business setting: “Did I take the time to form a relationship first or did I just get right down to business?” Try to spend more time getting to know the person on the phone or sitting across from the conference room table. Perhaps you’ll find out that she’s expecting a baby or buying a new house. The more you learn about the person, the more effective you’ll be when it is time to get down to business.

Remind yourself: first make a relationship, then do business. And watch as your business relationships grow.

By the way, if you haven’t read Jim McCann’s book, I would recommend it. You can buy it here: Stop and Sell the Roses: Lessons from Business and Life