Punchbowl Blog

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

We’re starting to see lots of family reunions planned on MyPunchbowl lately. Summer is a great time to catch up with family members that you only see around the winter holidays. Whether you plan a day at the beach, a family cookout, or a weekend up at the lake, the combination of warm weather, great food, and family make for a terrific family reunion.

Planning a family reunion for your family this summer? We have a few suggestions for how to make the event personal and memorable for the whole family!

1. Use a family photo on your invitation. Choose a summer-inspired invitation design that fits your reunion activity (beach, cookout, etc.) and customize it with a picture of the whole family from the last time you were together. It will definitely get everyone excited for the event!
2. Ask relatives to bring their famous dishes. Make the event a potluck and have relatives sign up to bring certain items. Everyone in the family is famous for something, whether it’s Aunt Theresa’s apple pie or Cousin Jimmy’s chicken wings!
3. Personalize favors for your reunion. Surprise everyone at the reunion with custom t-shirts! We’ve seen everything from old family photos and the family name on a shirt to the location of the reunion with the family name and date. The more creative, the better. You can even print up matching signs and banners to put around your campground or lake house.
4. Plan a family slide show. Collect family photos—old and new—from everyone and put together a slide show. You can set it to songs like “We are Family,” “Homeward Bound,” “Forever Young,” and “These Are the Times to Remember.”
5. Take video and send highlights after the reunion. Using a Flip, iPhone, or even the video option on your digital camera, take video of the reunion. After the reunion, send an eCard to everyone who attended that includes the video you took of the event, or even just one particularly funny/touching moment.

Your relatives will have such a wonderful time at this reunion, they’ll want you to make it an annual tradition!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

This is a big week for national celebrations! Not only does this Sunday, July 4th mark our country’s 234th Independence Day celebration, but this Wednesday, July 1 is Canada Day (also known as Fête du Canada).

Both July 4th and Canada Day are often celebrated with fireworks, parades, and cookouts. If you have not already done so, there’s still time to plan your own patriotic celebration. Choose an invitation and start planning now!

This week also has a bit of an “out of this world” theme with Meteor Day on June 30 and World UFO Day on July 2. Both are a good reminder to take a look up at the stars and imagine what’s up there. Maybe even pull out your telescope to get a better look!

July 1st also kicks off National Grilling Month and National Ice Cream Month—what could be more perfect reasons to celebrate throughout July? So fire up the grill and get your ice cream scoops ready for a fun summer ahead!

Here is the full lineup of Reasons to Celebrate this week:

• June 28: Paul Bunyan Day
• June 29: National Waffle Iron Day
• June 30: Meteor Day
• July 1: Canada Day
• July 2: World UFO Day
• July 3: National Chocolate Wafer Day
• July 4: Independence Day

Have a great week and a happy July 4th or Canada Day celebration!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Stumped for ideas on where to throw your next party? MyPunchbowl can help solve that problem with Venue Finder!

Since venue availability can often influence event date, Venue Finder is one of the first steps in the party planning workflow. To find a venue, first start a new event. Once you’ve answered a few simple questions about your event (when is the event, what type of event, etc.), you’ll proceed to Venue Finder.

Your event type will be pre-populated based on your answer from the preview page so all you need to do is enter your zip code and hit the “Search” button.

The results for relevant venues in your area will look like this:

You’ll see a combination of Featured Venues at top of the search results as well as Additional Venues in your area that meet your criteria. You can also zoom in/out on the Google map to get a better idea of the venue locations.

Once you find a venue, click the “Select” button. This will give you the option to add the venue directly onto your invitation.

When you choose “Yes, continue” and select an invitation design, you’ll notice the venue name and location will be automatically pre-populated onto your design.

Even if you have an event venue in mind, it doesn’t hurt to do a quick search in Venue Finder. You might learn about a terrific venue in your area that you didn’t even know existed!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

An event is only as good as its guest list. Imagine a bachelorette party without the maid of honor, a baby shower without the grandmothers, or a class reunion without the class clown. Even summer cookouts and birthday parties are dependent on that core group of people who make your events unforgettable.

It’s often a nightmare to try to find a date that works for your VIP’s, let alone your entire guest list. Enter MyPunchbowl Date Decider. Date Decider allows hosts to collaborate with friends on the best date before sending the invitations.

To get started, just start planning your event on MyPunchbowl. You’ll be prompted to enter when you want to send invitations. Choose this option:

Next, write a brief message to your guests and enter the possible event dates that you have in mind. You can also rank these dates according to what works best for you, as the host.

From there, enter the email addresses of the guests that you’d like to confer with and send the Date Decider.

The rest is simple! Just wait for your guests to respond to find out the best date. Keep in mind that as guests respond you might notice the recommended date could change. That’s why it’s best to wait for everyone to respond, especially anyone marked as a VIP.

Once you have the event date, you’ll be able to really start planning the party. All of this without ever picking up the phone, sending around endless strings of emails, or stepping on anyone’s toes!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Well, it’s officially summer! Monday, June 21 is Summer Solstice and the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Kickoff summer with a trip to the beach, a relaxing day at the park, or a nice walk out in the bright sunshine!

Wednesday, June 23 is a great day to schedule a volunteer activity because it’s Public Service Day. Contact your town or nonprofit organizations in your area and find out ways you can help. Maybe even take on a summer-long project that might otherwise not have gotten done.

Wrap up the week on Saturday with a fun overnight right in your backyard to celebrate the Great American Backyard Campout! Pitch some tents, roast some marshmallows, and tell stories into the night. Who knows, maybe it will become an annual tradition!

The rest of the holidays this week include:

• June 21: Summer Solstice
• June 22: National Chocolate Eclair Day
• June 23: Public Service Day
• June 24: National Pralines Day
• June 25: Take Your Dog to Work Day
• June 26: Great American Backyard Campout
• June 27: Sunglasses Day

Another important note is that July 4th is less than two weeks away (as is Canada Day for our friends to the north). Start planning your cookouts and patriotic celebrations today!

Have a great week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

If you received an email from MyPunchbowl about sending a Father’s Day eCard, you may have noticed a couple pictures of two new dads with their cuties in the email. Those new dads are Matt and Sean, Punchbowl’s co-founders, with their daughters. Yes, that’s right, they are both celebrating their first Father’s Day and we wish them—and all of the dads out there—a terrific Father’s Day weekend!

Here’s the email in case you missed it:

Want to send your dad an eCard? MyPunchbowl has dozens of Father’s Day eCards that you can customize with a photo, video, colors, and of course, a personal note. You can even create your eCard now, but schedule it to arrive on Father’s Day!

Have a great weekend!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

One of the most time consuming tasks on any party planners’ to-do list is finding and securing the party vendors. First, you need to identify the vendors you need. Next up is finding a few options to explore their services, see examples of their work, and discuss availability. Then, it’s on to determining which vendor to hire and working out the specific details of your event.

Depending on the type of event, your local vendor needs will vary. For a large-scale event like a bar mitzvah or wedding, you’ll likely need to find a venue, photographer, band or DJ, caterer, bakery, attire, florist, event rentals, and maybe even transportation. For an event like a kid’s birthday party, you’ll probably need balloons, bakery, party rentals like a bounce house or cotton candy machine, and entertainment like a clown or magician.

MyPunchbowl Vendors can easily help you find party vendors in your area for all types of events from life milestones like baby showers and birthdays to corporate events to weddings and anniversaries and everything in between.

To begin, select the type of vendor you need from the drop-down menu and enter your zip code as shown below:

Your search will return several pages of results. Some search results pages include “Featured” listings. These are enhanced listings that often include a photo gallery or a link back to the vendor’s website.

Here are a few examples of the types of vendor listings you’ll find on MyPunchbowl:

• Bliss By Design Events 
• Jumping Beans of Greenville, LLC
• DeVault Family Vineyards

Start the search for local vendors for your next event! It’s never too early to book vendors for the busy holiday season!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Hang your American flag high on Monday, June 14 because it’s Flag Day! Today, we commemorate the adoption of the American flag. You can leave your flags up all week though because it’s the start of Flag Week. And, you might as well keep the flag up right through July 4th which is less than three weeks away. Start planning your July 4th celebration!

There are also some delicious reasons to celebrate this week including National Lobster Day on Tuesday, June 15 and National Fudge Day on June 16. Friday is also International Picnic Day—a great excuse to grab a blanket and a sandwich and head for the park to enjoy your lunch!

Also, don’t forget that this Sunday, June 20 is Father’s Day. You’ve still got time to plan a Father’s Day cookout or send a personalized eCard. The great thing about MyPunchbowl eCards is that you can design your eCard now, but schedule it to send on Sunday.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s going on this week:

• June 14: Flag Day
• June 15: National Lobster Day
• June 16: Fudge Day
• June 17: Eat Your Vegetables Day
• June 18: International Picnic Day
• June 19: Juneteenth
• June 20: Father’s Day

Have a wonderful week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Now that we’re pretty much into the start of summer, I’m definitely looking forward to Reasons to Celebrate that relate to the season. Thursday, June 10, for example, is Iced Tea Day. Just this past weekend I had a peach iced tea and forgot how good it is! Iced Tea Day is a great excuse to go out and get a case—maybe I’ll even share some with the Punchbowl team.

Friday, June 11 is an interesting holiday. It’s the Hawaiian holiday, Kamehameha Day. To celebrate, Hawaiians attend carnivals, parades, and even hula competitions. Celebrate in your own way by turning your backyard cookout into a luau! Luau makes a great theme for a graduation party, birthday, or even just a simple dinner party. Decorate with tiki torches, greet guests with beautiful leis, and create an island-inspired menu.

Here are the rest of the holidays for the week:

• June 9: National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day
• June 10: Iced Tea Day
• June 11: Kamehameha Day
• June 12: National Peanut Butter Cookie Day
• June 13: Sewing Machine Day

Another important note for Broadway fans…this Sunday, June 13 is the 64th Annual Tony Awards. See who will walk away with the big awards and catch the amazing performances, including one from American Idiot, the Green Day musical—that’s the one I’m looking forward to most!

Have a great week!

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

Yesterday, we made an announcement about our new Digital Invitation Studio. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can try it out now.

We’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of comments from our users. The common theme: our users already love our site for its start to finish party planning functionality, and the new Digital Invitation Studio is an exciting and impressive addition. I thought I would share a few emails that I’ve received in my inbox to give you a sense of what people are saying. I’ve received over 100 emails in the last few hours. These are all direct quotes from real users:

I just tried the Digital Invitation Studio and found it to be very easy to use; very impressive, indeed. 

I love MyPunchbowl, and have used it for my husband’s 65th birthday, my son’s Rehearsal Dinner, and a Christmas Open House. Your new presentation with the envelopes is great.

Great design and very user friendly. As a fundraiser, I can see the value of this elegant design to invite our constituents to our events. They will be impressed.

I checked out your new Digital Invitation Studio and those were beautiful invitations! I will definitely use them in the future!

HUGE FAN!!!!! This looks awesome!!!  Can’t wait until it’s ready to use!

I just viewed the new Digital Invitation Studio on mypunchbowl. Just beautiful. Lovely patterns and colors very elegant! Great job! Makes me want to host a party!

Logged in and played with everything. Love it. Will definitely use it.

This is seriously cool. Crazy to see how far you’ve come …sounds cheesy, but I’m proud of you guys.  Well done.

this is a really unique idea and I love it! It’s a little more formal than just doing a regular punchbowl invite but not as formal as sending out an invitation through the mail. It’s perfect for things like birthday parties, cocktail or dinner parties, and graduations.

Hello Mr. Douglas, Very impressive! Thanks for making me among the first to know and experience your Digital invitations. I can tell you now that I will using that a lot whenever you are ready for us to use it.

What a lovely new innovation. I think the digital invitation is spectacular, to say the least! 

I love it.  Very professional looking!  I have been using MyPunchbowl.com for 3 years now and it is so user friendly.

When will it be ready for me to play with???  Looks easy, fun and a chance to be creative with what’s going out to friends and family.  Good luck with the launch

Punchbowl was fun to begin with…. The enhancements are divine!  Thank you for the roll-out.  We will be using this.  We are hoping it will have a bit more creative freedom than everything else.  Good job and we can’t wait to use it!

Thank you for sharing this new invitation idea with us.  These are lovely.  We wish you the best on this new feature and look forward to another event to try these out.

LOVE IT!! I am new to Mypunchbowl and fell in love with it from the beginning. With these new changes, I’m even more thrilled!  The new invitations are trendy and unique. Looks like we can have alot of fun designing them! 

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write to me. Do you have more comments? Email me directly at ceo@mypunchbowl.com