Punchbowl Blog

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Can you believe August is already over?? The summer always seems to go by so quickly! With Labor Day coming up on Monday, September 6, the unofficial end of summer is truly upon us. Do you have plans? There’s still time to plan an impromptu cookout with friends and family. Need a little more incentive? Here are some tasty (and easy) recipes you can try: baked beans and beer margaritas.

Another fabulous reason to enjoy the late August sun is Eat Outside Day on Tuesday, August 31. Grab the kids, your coworkers, whoever, and go find a nice spot to enjoy lunch outside. Lunch doesn’t work? Have dinner on the patio or picnic in the backyard.

This week marks another extremely popular Reason to Celebrate. Sunday, September 5 is National Cheese Pizza Day! A favorite with kids and adults alike, it no wonder this classic meal has its own day. One idea we love is a Make Your Own Pizza party. You can use our Potluck feature to have guests sign up to bring the toppings!

Here are all of the week’s Reasons to Celebrate:

• August 30: National Toasted Marshmallow Day
• August 31: Eat Outside Day
• September 1: National Cherry Popover Day
• September 2: National Blueberry Popsicle Day
• September 3: National Welsh Rarebit Day
• September 4: National Macadamia Nut Day
• September 5: National Cheese Pizza Day

Have a great week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

As August winds down, this week’s Reasons to Celebrate remind us to sit back and enjoy a few summer treats. Grab a cherry popsicle on Thursday, August 26 for National Cherry Popsicle Day.

If you’re a big fan of bananas, embrace the true banana lover in you on Friday, August 27 — Banana Lover’s Day! That leads us to another summer treat that can be enjoyed by banana lovers and non-banana lovers alike, the banana split. That’s right, Wednesday, August 25 is National Banana Split Day. Stack yours with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and your favorite toppings!

Labor Day is also approaching on Monday, September 6. It’s a great time to get the family together for a cookout or round up your neighbors for a block party. It will be here before you know it, so send your invitations today.

Here are the rest of the week’s Reasons to Celebrate:

• August 23: National Sponge Cake Day
• August 24: National Waffle Day
• August 25: National Banana Split Day
• August 26: National Cherry Popsicle Day
• August 27: Banana Lover’s Day
• August 28: National Cherry Turnover Day
• August 29: Chop Suey Day

Have a great week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

As we move into fall, we start to see a lot of group events and fundraisers (PTO events, walk-a-thons, etc). Those are often events for which there is a need to collect money. Enter PayPal.

If you need to collect or raise money for an event, use the PayPal feature built right in to the party planning workflow to request donations via PayPal or credit card.

To use the PayPal feature, go to the Invitation Options page and answer “Yes” to the question, “Request contributions via PayPal or credit card?” You’ll see the options below where you can enter the name of your event or what you’re raising money for, a suggested contribution amount, and your goal.

When your guests RSVP, they will have the ability to contribute to your charitable cause or simply help alleviate your expenses. Here is what guests see:

Hopefully you’ll be able to take advantage of this useful feature so you don’t have to worry about awkwardly tracking guests down for donations!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

If you love eating everything from entrees and sides to desserts and snacks, this is the week for you! Nearly all of the Reasons to Celebrate this week have to do with food and they pretty much cover every meal from bratwurst and potatoes to spumoni and soft ice cream.

This week we also celebrate a favorite summertime beverage: lemonade. Friday, August 20 is National Lemonade Day. If you’re looking for a way to celebrate and cool off from the heat, you can make an Arnold Palmer (half lemonade and half iced tea), which are pretty popular in our office. Or, you could help your kids make a big pitcher of traditional lemonade and set up a lemonade stand.

Also, don’t forget that Labor Day is just a few weeks away. If you’re thinking about having a family cookout or some kind of get together, why not invite a few more people over to celebrate one last summer hurrah?

Here’s a snapshot of all the week’s Reasons to Celebrate:

• August 16: Bratwurst Day
• August 17: National Vanilla Custard Day
• August 18: National Soft Ice Cream Day
• August 19: National Potato Day
• August 20: National Lemonade Day
• August 21: National Spumoni Day
• August 22: Be an Angel Day

Have a food-tastic week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

As the leader in start to finish party planning, we try to take care of the small stuff so that you don’t have to. Perhaps no part of “the small stuff” is more maddening than giving out directions.

Guests come from all over, and busy hosts rarely have the time to sit down and dole out custom directions to friends coming from all different locations. MyPunchbowl gives you the ability to eliminate the stress of giving out directions: include a map with your invitation!

If you’d like to include a map with your invite, the first thing to do is make sure you enter the correct address of your venue (whether it’s a restaurant, park, or even your house). The address you populate in the Event Details section is the address that displays on your invitation.

Once you’ve finished designing your invitation, proceed through the workflow. You’ll want to go to the Invitation Options page to turn on the map feature (select “Yes”, you do want to include a map for guests). Then, confirm that the address is correct.

When guests receive the invitation and respond, they will see a Google map where they can easily click a link to get directions from their location.

Here’s one other thing to consider - when you’re on the Invitation Options page you can enter a different address than the one on your invitation if you need to. Whatever address is in the Map section of the Invitation Options page is what will show up the invitation for your guests.

Hopefully you’ll use this feature to include a map with your next invitation. Doing so will likely save you time providing guests with directions so you can focus on the details that really matter!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Can you believe we’re almost halfway through the month of August? The nights seem to be getting a little cooler and the kids are getting ready to head back to school. But summer isn’t over yet, so make the most of it with this week’s Reasons to Celebrate!

Tuesday, August 10 is S’mores Day. Invite some friends over to sit beneath the stars, relax by the fire, and enjoy this classic summer treat. A traditional s’more is comprised of a toasted marshmallow and piece of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. Have you ever tried any alternative recipes? At a cookout over the weekend, we thought peanut butter or caramel would make a fun twist on the traditional recipe. If you have any other ideas, let us know!

Our second Reason to Celebrate that honors a summer favorite is National Creamsicle Cay on Saturday, August 14. The combination of orange and vanilla has pleased kids and adults alike for many, many summers. Get them from the ice cream man, your local super market or make your own!

Another interesting holiday this week is Left-Handers Day on Friday, August 13. This day acknowledges and celebrates left-handed people around the world. Are you a lefty? Join the club—literally!

Labor Day is also just a few weeks away. If you are still trying to figure out a theme for your party, why not make it a Strawberry Splash Labor Day party? Strawberries are one fruit that definitely evoke a summer feel and there are lots of delicious recipes that you can make with strawberries.

Here are the rest of the week’s Reasons to Celebrate:

• August 9: National Rice Pudding Day
• August 10: S’mores Day
• August 11: National Raspberry Tart Day
• August 12: International Youth Day
• August 13: International Left-Handers Day
• August 14: National Creamsicle Day
• August 15: National Relaxation Day

Have a great week!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

MyPunchbowl has been on Twitter for some time now. We use it to check-in with users and get feedback, share party ideas and advice, and keep our followers updated about company news and information. If you’re not already following @Punchbowl on Twitter, here are a few good reasons why you should start:

1. You will get updated on our daily Reasons to Celebrate! These fun, quirky holidays are completely real—we didn’t make them up—and they make for great retweets if you’re at a loss for things to share with your own followers on any given day.
2. If you ask a question, you will get a response. People regularly contact us through Twitter to ask for ideas for a theme party or to find recipes for a cookout. We also get customer support questions via Twitter. We are always happy to answer any of your questions about MyPunchbowl or start to finish party planning.
3. We always post our contests and giveaways on Twitter. Follow us to stay on top of the most up to date information about special offers and promotions.

You never know what other interesting tidbits we’ll share. To find out, sign up and follow @Punchbowl on Twitter!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

August is a time to enjoy what’s left of the summer before the kids go back to school and we return to the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Sit back and enjoy this week’s Reasons to Celebrate. Thursday, August 5, for example, is Sister’s Day. It’s a great excuse to grab your sister and head to the beach or grab lunch together.

Saturday, August 7 is National Mustard Day (always the first Saturday in August). It’s a great day to plan a cookout. Ask all of your guests to bring a different kind of mustard and have a taste test on your burgers and hot dogs!

Here are the rest of the week’s Reasons to Celebrate:

• August 3: National Watermelon Day
• August 4: National Coast Guard Day
• August 5: Sister’s Day
• August 6: National Root Beer Float Day
• August 7: National Mustard Day
• August 8: National Zucchini Day

We’re also starting to see lots of Labor Day cookouts and Back to School parties in the works. Start planning your Labor Day cookout or Back to School party today!