Punchbowl Blog

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO, @mattdouglas

Whew! It’s been a very busy week with two big announcements. I wanted to take a few minutes to share our great news with our blog readers. On Tuesday morning, we sent out two press releases:

1) MyPunchbowl inks a deal with Oriental Trading

2) MyPunchbowl expands leadership team with veterans of Evite.com and Pizza Hut

Here’s a little more information about each release:

We announced a multi-year technology-licensing agreement with Oriental Trading Company, the nation’s largest direct merchant of value-priced party supplies, arts and crafts, toys and novelties. The deal includes deep technology and product integration, including the development of a party planning site for Oriental Trading called Party Planner. We’ve been close partners with Oriental Trading for about a year now, and this is a significant expansion of our relationship. It gives us the resources to keep making MyPunchbowl great.

Second, I’m proud to announce that the former General Manager of Evite.com, Harry Lin, has joined the Punchbowl Board of Advisors. During his tenure at Evite, Harry fueled brand growth and the site experienced 50% growth in revenue. Prior to operating Evite, Harry was vice president of ABC.com where he led new initiatives in e-commerce. He is currently President at Photometria Inc., the technology company behind Taaz.com, a site for virtual makeovers. This is a great win for our Board.

Additionally, brand-marketing expert Bob Perkins has joined the Board of Directors. Bob Perkins, former SVP of Marketing for Pizza Hut and head of Global Marketing and Licensing for Calvin Klein, has a distinguished career managing global brands. Bob also served as President of Chiat/Day New York and lead director for 24/7 Real Media Inc. where he led the company to a successful acquisition. He is currently President of Consensus Research Group, providing global strategic research and consulting for leading consumer brands and media companies.

The pair joins a distinguished group of experts on our Board of Directors and Board of Advisors.

Want to learn more about these announcements? Read the official Oriental Trading partnership announcement and the official announcement about the expansion of our leadership team.

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

I was excited to see that today (April 26) is National Pretzel Day. I celebrated two days early with one of my personal favorite baseball traditions - a soft pretzel at the Red Sox game this weekend! It was delicious!

Some sporting events are famous for the food and drink associated with the game. Take the Kentucky Derby as an example. Mint Juleps are one of the first things to come to mind when you think about this famous horse race, the first of the Triple Crown races, happening on Saturday, May 1. If you can’t make it to Churchill Downs this year, you can still plan to celebrate. Send a themed invitation to spread the word, then get some ideas for what to serve and fun activities.

Sports aren’t your thing? Everyone likes a good dance party! Celebrate International Dance Day on Thursday, April 29 by rounding up some friends and heading to your favorite dance club. It’s also a great day to finally take that dance class you’ve been talking about.

Here’s what else is going on this week:

• April 26: National Pretzel Day
• April 27: National Prime Rib Day
• April 28: National Blueberry Pie Day
• April 29: International Dance Day
• April 30: Arbor Day
• May 1: Kentucky Derby
• May 2: National Truffle Day

As we close out April and enter May, it’s also important to note that May is National Bike Month, National Strawberry Month, and National Hamburger Month - how appropriate as we kick-off summer and grilling season!

Enjoy the week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

We’ve been asked a few times recently….do you make up these daily reasons to celebrate? No, we don’t make up these holidays. I know it’s hard to believe that Lima Bean Respect Day (April 20) or Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day (April 16) are holidays, but they are! 

Okay, so they might not be federal holidays like Memorial Day or Presidents Day or religious holidays like Christmas or Hanukkah (all of which are also listed as Reasons to Celebrate), however they are actual, real celebrations created by someone else, sometime in history. We just report the facts.

Let’s take a look at a few examples:

Friday, April 23 is National DNA Day. This day commemorates the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, as well as the discovery of the double helix. The National Human Genome Research Institute provides educational resources for teachers, students, and the public to learn more about genetics and will run an online chatroom all day to celebrate!

Yellow Pig Day is July 17. It’s origins date back to the 1960s when two math students at Princeton were given an assignment that drove them nuts. Read about Yellow Pig Day and tell us if we could have come up with something like that!

How about National Waffle Day (August 24)? You probably noticed that there are a lot of food holidays. This one celebrates the first patent of the waffle iron on August 24, 1869 by Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York.

Still think we make these holidays up? Sign up to get daily Reasons to Celebrate email updates and be the first to know about these quirky and unusual holidays!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

This week marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day! Celebrated on Thursday, April 22, Earth Day teaches people about the importance of the environment and inspires people to do their part to protect the planet. How will you celebrate Earth Day? If you want to participate but don’t yet have plans, find out how you can participate!

Another cool holiday this week is World Creativity and Innovation Day on Wednesday, April 21. People all over the world, in businesses, schools and organizations, will spend the day generating new ideas to create a brighter future for generations to come. Have great ideas to share? Follow @worldcreativity on Twitter or visit the official website to share your ideas or read about others’ great ideas.

Here’s a look at the other holidays this week:

• April 19: National Amaretto Day
• April 20: Lima Bean Respect Day
• April 21: World Creativity and Innovation Day
• April 22: Earth Day
• April 23: National Picnic Day
• April 24: National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day
• April 25: National DNA Day

Also, today is a big day in our area. The 114th annual running of the Boston Marathon is happening just a few short miles from our office. I will be joining our CEO to cheer on some friends and hand out paper towels along paper towel mile! Good luck to the runners!

Have a great week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Looking at the week ahead, there are definitely some terrific reasons to celebrate. As you know, the whole month of April is National Grilled Cheese Month, but if there was ever a day to indulge in a classic grilled cheese sandwich, today is the day! That’s right, today is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day! In fact, there’s a cute diner down the street from our office (shout out to J&M Diner) that serves up delicious grilled cheese sandwiches…hopefully I can get the team to head down there with me to celebrate!

On Friday, April 16 you can give your friends and neighbors a high five. Not only is it National High Five Day but you can celebrate the end of tax season (reminder: you only have a few more days to get your taxes in!). Ever wonder who came up with the high five? The story about the invention of the high five is actually pretty interesting. Goes to show, you never know what will catch on!

Here’s a look at the rest of the week’s celebrations:

• April 12: National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
• April 13: National Peach Cobbler Day
• April 14: International Moment of Laughter Day
• April 15: Tax Day
• April 16: National High Five Day
• April 17: National Cheeseball Day
• April 18: National Animal Crackers Day

Another holiday of note is Friday, April 16—it’s also National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day. Would that holiday fly in your office? Does your office celebrate any quirky holidays during the year? Let us know!

Have a great week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

As we continue through National Bake Week, there are a lot of delectable holidays for you to mix, bake, and enjoy! Try your hand at making home-made caramel today or whip up some delicious cinnamon croissants for breakfast on Saturday. Maybe even coordinate a baking party or friendly bake-off with your friends and neighbors!

Looking for another reason to get people together? National Cheese Fondue Day is a great opportunity to host a potluck. You provide the cheese, then use our Potluck feature to list out some options for dippers — like bread and veggies — that your guests can choose to bring. You can also suggest some wines for friends to pair with the cheese and turn your gathering into a wine tasting-cheese fondue celebration!

Here’s a quick look at the rest of this week:

• April 5: National Caramel Day
• April 6: National Tartan Day
• April 7: National No Housework Day (Yes, you read that right - enjoy!)
• April 8: National Empanada Day
• April 9: National Cherish an Antique Day
• April 10: National Cinnamon Croissant Day
• April 11: National Cheese Fondue Day

Have a great week!