For one, I love thinking of new ways to show my own my Mother how much I appreciate her and everything she has done for me during my lifetime and two…I love feeling that extra splash of love and affection from my own daughters that day.

This year I’ve already started plotting different ways to spoil my Mom and by Sunday May 12th I’ll be ready to celebrate!

So mark your calender:

Mothers Day 2013 falls on Sunday May 12th

Have fun and enjoy the Motherhood in your life…

Going through the stores this weekend, I couldn’t miss all the Easter candy, baskets and pastels displayed in the aisles.

Which had me going back to my calender to figure out exactly when Easter is in 2013.

In just a couple of weeks, on Sunday, March 31st, we’ll all get to celebrate Easter is all it’s sweetness.

Mark your calender, make plans….

Easter Weekend 2013 is March 31st. 

Have a Beautiful Easter Weekend!

Christmas Card Messages

Experience at writing messages in Christmas Cards has taught me the quickest and most enjoyable process is to pick one or two messages ahead of time and repeat those same messages in every card. If you are doing less than 10 cards, it’s easy enough to write personalized messages in each, but when you are writing 20, 30 or more Christmas cards, originality is tough for even the best writer.

The following are some examples I’ve wrote of Christmas Card Messages that would work for just about any Christmas Card. Feel free to mix and match to find a message that feels the most natural for your type of personality.

Christmas Card Messages: 

Happy Holidays from our family to yours! We wish you the very best during this joyful season.

Merry Christmas to our dear friends. We miss you and hope you are having a wonderful Holiday Season.

May your Holidays be full of good cheer, beautiful memories and a lot of love.

From our family to yours during this Holiday season, we wish you the very best in good cheer.

Talked to Santa, you should know you are IN this year. Merry Christmas!

During this Holiday Season we wanted to wish you the very best and a Happy New Year.

Tis’ the Season to be full of cheer, laughter, smiles and ever lasting memories. Wishing you the best.

Happy Holidays to your entire family this season from our home to yours.

Merry Christmas from all of us! We will be thinking of you during this Holiday Season and wish you the best.

Wishing you memories that last a lifetime during this Holiday Season. Be well and know we are thinking of you.

 The Holiday Season is about family and friends coming together and we can’t wait to spend time with you. Wishing you the very best during this magical time of the year. See you soon! 

May the Magic of the Season surround your family and bring joyful cheer, happy memories and beautiful moments to your world. Merry Christmas!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!

Rebecca

Think of it like this, Christmas Cards are typically a brief greeting or holiday sentiment that one sends out to family and friends. But by including a yearly Christmas letter that goes along with your Christmas cards, you can update everyone who knows you about what’s happened over the course of your last year.

If you don’t want to include it in your Christmas Card or if you would prefer to just send one Christmas letter out (instead of doing Christmas Cards) that’s perfectly acceptable as well!

Just make sure you purchase matching envelopes with your Holiday letterhead.

Now, about what could go into a Christmas letter. First off, anything you’d like.

Usually people use this form of Holiday correspondence to highlight or recap their personal year. This is a wonderful way to touch base with family and friends if you don’t live near them. Include pictures in your letter! Most writing software allows images to be included, so don’t forget to give the reader of your letter a visual image as well.

As for an example I could offer, this is a quick write up of something akin to what I would send out this year:

Dear Family and Friends,

Another year has past us by and we (or *I* if this is a personal perceptive letter just about you) have been busy in our family!

In January, Robert started a new company that has kept us really busy and feeling blessed by his success. In this economy, we know start ups are risky, but thankfully with the support from everyone around us, we are doing well.

In March we celebrated both girls birthdays and I can’t believe they are 20 and 17 this year. For teenage girls they have been nothing but a joy and for that we are grateful.

In April we moved into our new house and we have loved being here. The neighborhood is great, we are close to family which is wonderful and best of all, we are close to the high school and college the girls go to. I’ll call it a gas saving move!

Sadly we lost our old Lab Sako this summer. She had a great long life for a dog, but we miss her!

Shelby is successfully wading through her 2nd year of college and centered on focusing on a criminal justice degree. She continues to amaze us and we couldn’t be more proud of how solid she is moving into adulthood. She is still dating Austin and as always, loves when she gets to go shopping, hang out with friends and give smiles to those around her.

Kaitlyn is in her senior year in high school and is working on a full AP schedule of senior classes. She loves her artwork, music and hanging out with her boyfriend Steven. She’s still looking to be a scientist someday and we have no doubt that’s exactly where she’ll be headed. Until then, we just get to enjoy spending time with her.

I’ve been keeping really busy this year. Supporting Robert with his newest endeavor keeps half my time tied up and the other half is spent writing, maintaining clients and running my other businesses. Sadly, this is the last year I get to claim I’m in my 30′s, but I’m putting on a brave face for my upcoming 4-0 (gulp)

We hope this letter finds all of our family and friends doing well and we hope to see many of you this holiday season. Know we are thinking of you and sending our blessing and good wishes. Enjoy the magic this season and don’t forget to smile, laugh and create lifelong memories.

Love the Us Family

That’s an example of a Christmas Letter I could send out this year. Of course more or less details can be shared in your Christmas letter. Pictures are a huge bonus that will connect with whomever your reader is.

Obviously, one would personalize it and the information included is completely individual to you and your life. But this really is a wonderful way to update family and friends and this is a great time of the year to do it.

Christmas Letter stationery pictured above via Amazon:  Winter Flakes Holiday Letterhead ~ 100 count Letterhead. Size: 8.5″ x 11″. Cost at the time of this posting was… $12.95

Funny Christmas Messages are appropriate for friends, family and acquaintances. While letting someone know that you are thinking of them during the Holiday season, you’ll also give them a chuckle that will stand out from all the other Christmas Messages they get during the season.

So go ahead, make someone laugh in your Christmas Card. The following are some Christmas Messages, funny style that I’ve written. Feel free to use, mix and match, twist and twirl to help you find the right message to give to your loved one.

Christmas Messages Funny:

• Santa called the other day. He needed someone to vouch for your ‘goodness’ this year and you should know, I got your back. Merry Christmas my friend!

I heard a rumor that you made the ‘good’ list this year! See my friend, it’s never to late to turn a new leaf!  Be good, be safe, and have fun this Holiday season.

• Cookies, sugar plums, eggnog and good cheer. Let’s just live it up this Christmas Season and then we’ll join the New Years Eve exercise mob. Merry Calorie Christmas!

How many Reindeer does it take to decorate a Christmas Tree? I don’t know either but as soon as you get a chance come over to my house, help me decorate and we’ll find out. See you soon and Happy Holidays my friend!

• As always, your secrets are safe with me so you shouldn’t have any issues with the big guy from the North bringing you everything on your Christmas list. Merry Christmas my Friend!

Remember, Santa doesn’t count calories against us during the Holiday Season, so eat up, be merry, have fun and we’ll worry about it all when the bills come in January. Merry Christmas!

• This is my Christmas message for the year. Had I been more creative you would feel all mushy and warm inside. (I got a smile there…didn’t I?!) Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Card Pictured Above via Amazon ~ Angry Cat Christmas Card – Funny

• Funny cat attacks Santa Christmas greeting card.
• Inside Card: Wishing you the special joys of the season.
• 12 cards/ 13 envelopes.
• 5×7 paper greeting cards

Make it personal with smiling faces from your company! Click photo for purchase options…

If your company has a handful of employees, you might want to consider having a Business Holiday Card with a company photo created for your Holiday Cards this year.

Not only is a Holiday Card with a photo more personal, it’s a great way to get you and your employees  ’smiling and welcoming faces’ in front of your clients.

When I searched around the Internet, I found quite a few options in the personalized business holiday cards department, especially over at Tiny Prints. Right now (I’m not sure how long they’ll offer this since it says limited time offer) they are offering 3 free samples of stationery with the code: 3FREESAMPLES

Remember, a Business Holiday Card is most effective if it’s hand signed as well as imprinted with your Company name…so don’t forget that important step!

For information about the Business Holiday Card pictured above, visit:
Tiny Prints: Business Holiday Cards Scrolled Border

For the full line of Business Holiday Cards available at Tiny Prints, visit:
Tiny Prints Business Christmas Cards

With so many choices available in personalized Christmas cards, you shouldn’t have any issues finding the perfect Christmas Card to suit your business style and brand.

Keep in mind that a personalized Business Christmas Card can be pre-printed with an unique message straight from your company, but save the actual signature for a handwritten touch.

A pre-printed business name signature is impersonal and lacks the spirit of the season.

Go that extra step with your Business Christmas Cards and hand sign them!

Business Christmas Cards Pictured (link via Amazon):  Personalized Christmas Cards – Holiday Swirls

Offer greetings of the season to family, friends and customers with personalized Christmas Cards! Select from 19 different verses or write your own personal message! Verse and personalization are printed in your choice of 6 ink colors and 8 font options for a style all your own. Greeting cards measure 5″ x 7″ folded. Includes crisp, white envelopes for mailing. Enter your personalization and immediately preview your card, so you know exactly how it will look! Printed on premium heavyweight card stock; choose glossy or matte finish to be printed on front of the card.

One sunrise for everyday.

Get up early, grab a cup of coffee and step outside to greet this beautiful early morning gift.

The rest of your day will thank you for it…

Thought of the Day: Nature offers up one Sunrise a day.
Get up Early and Greet it… 

This thought of the day

I used to be a book collector. Or hoarder if I may be so blunt.

I’d read a book and lovingly place it on a bookshelf to collect dust and wait patiently for me to never open it again.

If I lent a book, I expected it back.

But after a time as I gazed at the enormous amount of books on the shelf, I realized that there was no reason to collect so many books over the years. Books I knew I’d never open again.

The truth is, some books will connect within and I’ll read them over and over. I love them that much. Some books I enjoyed, but they weren’t something I’d read over again.

So I sifted through my bookshelf, only keeping the ones I’d read more than once and was left with exactly 18 books. My new permanent library.

The hundreds of other dusted and neglected books were donated to bring enjoyment to others.

As books should….

Thought of the Day: A book you can read again and again should go in your permanent library. A book worthy of a single read should be donated…

Between my own Dad, the Dad of my daughters, my Father-in Law and the other Dad’s I know, I think I can safely say that all of them appreciate the simple things in life.

A note that is handwritten, from the heart, is something they all would love and treasure.

The following Father’s Day Messages and Wishes are more general and can apply from all types of relationships. Feel free to mix and match, change ‘daughter/son’ etc around and make the sentiment your own…

Father’s Day Messages and Wishes:

Happy Father’s Day to you! Wishing you a wonderful day that is full of relaxation, laughter and beautiful memories.

Dad, On this Father’s Day I wanted to thank you for always being the most important man in my life. You’ve been my pillar of support, the anchor to my world and the inspiration to live my life at it’s best. You amaze me. Happy Father’s day to the best Dad in the world. Love…

Dad, it’s been many years since I’ve engaged in a “My Dads better than Your Dad” banter, but I have no doubt I’d still win. Thank you for always being the biggest, the strongest and the smartest Dad in the WORLD. Love you and Happy Father’s Day!!

Dad, you taught me to fish, to hit a ball and catch a football. You showed me how to take my bike off a jump and how to rake leaves into a huge pile we could jump into. At the time I thought we were just having fun, but I realize now how much you taught me growing up. I’ll always remember to have fun, take pride in my accomplishments and enjoy the little moments. Happy Father’s Day

Dad, I know it wasn’t always easy raising me into the person I am today, but you should know, with your guidance and support, I am proud of the person I’ve become and I owe it all to you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me over the years, but most of all, thank you for being the amazing Father that you are. Happy Father’s Day!

They really should have Father’s Day more then once a year so I would have extra reasons to celebrate such an amazing person in my life. I’m grateful everyday to call you Dad. Happy Father’s Day!

Dad, I doubt there are enough words I could use to describe how amazing I think you are, so for this Father’s Day, I’ll keep it simple. You are incredible and I’m so grateful that I am the lucky one who get’s to call you Dad. I love you!

When I needed a fun rolling Dad, you were there for me. When I needed a Father that provided support and guidance, you were there for me. Thank you for being my Father, my Dad and one of the most important people in my world all of these years. Happy Father’s Day to an amazing Dad.

 Happy Father’s Day! I hope your day is spent fishing in the morning, golf in the afternoon and an evening topped off with your favorite meals. You deserve a day that’s ALL for you!

Wishing all the Dad’s out there a wonderful Father’s Day!