Wordless Wednesday is Spa Party Favors

Pampering Party design #100, redesigned

Word of the Year: Unfriend

Today's word isn't just our word of the week, it's the Oxford Word of the Year for 2009: unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Every year as the holidays near, the New Oxford American Dictionary announces the year's word. This is the first Word of the Year that originated on the Internet, and it's an interesting choice given that social media is gaining popularity, not losing...people are generally adding friends to their networks, not removing or "unfriending" them.

Each person on Facebook has to make a decision about what constitutes a "friend", and apparently some people reconsider that decision even after they've friended someone. There are so many other ways to avoid posts that you find annoying or offensive, I wonder what would be an unfriend-worthy offense? Have you ever unfriended someone? What would a friend have to do for you to unfriend them? Please share your opinions!

Quinceañera and Sweet Sixteen Favors

We've been working on Sweet 16, 15th birthday, Quinceañera, and other special birthday favors lately and will be adding some new spa favor ideas soon. There are lots of kid-friendly designs here, but you can also choose from any of our other designs and we'll customize the text and the colors to your theme. If you don't see your theme, contact us about a custom design!

Apart from lip balm favors, we also have lotion and bath gel favors, sugar scrub and bath salts. What are your favorite products for a special birthday favor? Let us know if there's anything you'd like to see!

If we don't have it, we'll help you find it...

I've been working on holiday products this week, so my "lab" smells like gingerbread, pumpkin pie, and red currant! To help me get in the spirit so early in November, I popped in Miracle on 34th Street to play in the background. I like the original movie a lot, but this week I've been watching the 90s version with Mara Wilson. While I pour balm and tie favors, I listen to the holiday music and hear the cute things little Susan Walker says as she decides (along with all of New York) whether she believes in Santa.

One of my favorite parts of the movie is how Santa provides the idea that eventually saves the store. When parents complain about the prices or lack of certain toys at Cole's, Santa directs them to different stores where they can find the gifts they want. As the store's manager explains to Dorey, "If Cole's doesn't have what you're looking for, we'll find it for you, even if it means sending you somewhere else."

That doesn't seem like a logical thing for a business owner to do, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I love what I do and of course I would love to work with you to make gifts and favors for your holiday parties. But I also understand that not everyone is looking for what I make! That's why I'm telling you about this amazing site where you can find lots of other independently owned businesses. Wickedlychic.com features fantastic alternatives to big box shopping. Find jewelry, stationery, candles, fashion, cosmetics, products for children, goodies for your pets, and so many other gift ideas! They also have a super Holiday Gift Guide with featured businesses offering all kinds of discounts through the holiday season. Lots of the holiday sponsors are also offering coupons (you can find us--and our coupon--among November's sponsors!).

If we don't have what you're looking for, I'm pretty sure you'll find it at Wickedlychic.com!

Wordless Wednesday is Veterans Day

photo from istockphoto.com

Word of the Week: Dragons

As the story goes, way back before remote areas of the planet were explored, map makers put dragons, sea serpents and other creatures on maps with the words, "Here be dragons." I suppose it was a kind of warning, like saying, "Approach at your own risk."

Now in reality, this statement was only used on the Lenox Globe, but I like the story. I see it as one of the many ways we express our mistrust of the unknown, our fear of new and unexplored areas. I also like to think that there are people out there who, coming upon a map like that, would be intrigued: Dragons? Really?! That sounds cool! When can we leave?!

It seems like there are always many unknowns in life, that in order to find new opportunities we have to head into unmapped territory. Winston Churchill said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." I'm starting this week searching for dragons. How about you?

Wordless Wednesday is Holiday Lip Balm

Holiday Lip Balms - In Tubes!