The Shipping News

As I was packaging up holiday gifts to send to my nephews who live out of state, I had a brainstorm on how to make any old boring brown cardboard box more festive.  {Additional feature:  the gift wrap will cover old shipping labels — they’ll never know the box originally came from jcrew.com.}  I cut a piece of gift wrap slightly smaller than the top of the box leaving about an inch of the box showing on each side.  As the shipping label, I grabbed a piece of paper from the top of my Snow & Graham noteBLOCK and wrote their address + our return address.  To complete the package, I covered all of the wrap + the address label with clear packaging tape.  Keeps it safe from those “destroy-a-box” machines at the post office.

And what I love most is that this can be done with any wrap, at any time of year… Valentine’s Day, birthdays, new babies, anniversaries, etc.!

Bon Voyage

If you’re like me, traveling with the kids over the holidays throws me into panic mode.  Not only am I overwhelmed with packing the gear, gifts and games, but how do muzzle the tykes for the plane ride {I don’t actually mean a real muzzle, but hmmm…interesting thought}?  Our Thanksgiving travels taught us that something as simple as a tape measure can be a absolute life-saver.  My mom had one of the animal ones with the fuzzy tail that sent my 1 year old into peals of laughter.  Really?  Really.

My three year old was enamored with her piggy flashlight on the plane.  An Inspector Gadget in the making perhaps, but I say whatever works.  Just don’t shine it on the guy snoring behind us…

Happy Travels!

A truly adorable gift idea…

This stylish silver tin wrapped in ribbon and filled with cocoa and marshmellows just arrived from our oh-so-fabulous friends at tastebud tart and green olive design who KNOW how much the RedStamp.com ladies LOVE chocolate…

This little sticker was attached…”marshmallows and cocoa to keep you toasty. makes ten yummy cups, great for a chestnut roasty! Happy Holidays!”

If you like the sound of the ribbon wrapped tin, you will love green olive design’s handmade banded notes {$5.25} ::

p.s. And if you want to experience yummy things like chestnut roastys…click HERE to experience tastebud tart…

Display your Holiday Collection

I will admit one of  my most favorite parts of the holiday season {besides watching the kids in awe + excitement over their Christmas gifts} is going to the mailbox every day to see what cards have arrived.  To me it’s like opening a little gift.  In past years I have struggled with how to display all of the cards {most with darling photos that are too cute to simply go in a pile or be placed in a basket never to be seen again.}  The refrigerator is stainless steel + not magnetic, I don’t have a corkboard large enough, and those wall-mounted card holders never hold enough, so this year I have created a holiday card collage on a kitchen wall — almost like wallpaper, if you will.  I use a small piece of blue painters tape {made by our local friends at 3M} on the back of each card.  {Note:  this tape is very friendly to your wall and the paint on it!}

Now we can enjoy everyones’ cards throughout the season.  My 3 year-old daughter especially loves to see all of her friends up on the wall!  Maybe next year the collage will decorate the pantry door or a wall in the entry way…

Enjoy the Memories

As I was decorating the house for the holidays this year, I had a revelation of what to do with my holiday photos from years past.   {You know those photos that are so darling but never make it off your hard drive?}  Why not put away all the framed photos I look at for the rest of the year {clean off the entry table, the bookshelves, the mantel} and bring out a special holiday collection every year?  I plan to pick one {or more if I really can’t decide} fabulous holiday photo from each year and frame it.  Last year’s photo from my son’s first Christmas is a “framer” for sure… who can resist a baby in a diaper + a Santa hat?  I’m going to use Eccolo’s gorgeous frames and mix it up with a variety of leather {black + burgundy} and their fabulous Brussels wood frames.  I know this will be my favorite thing to bring out every December…

Happy decorating!

P.S.  Also makes a great grandparent gift – every year add a new framed photo to their holiday collection.

‘Tis the Season to GIVE

In our house with two young kids, we’re drowning in stuff – everywhere.  So we spent the past weekend clearing our house of clutter.  Not only do we need to make it easier for our kids to actually find the toys they have, but more importantly, we want to teach them the importance of sharing our good fortune with others who don’t have as much.  With that in mind, this  Christmas we aspire to  practice what we preach.  Our loved ones don’t need any more things from us that will inevitably get pushed into the back of a bookcase.  Instead, give a gorgeous handwritten card, like this one…

And give it with a gift certificate from DonorsChoose.org - a fabulous nonprofit that we at RedStamp.com have been big supports of for a while.  Donors Choose helps public schools in need around the country.  As a donors {of any dollar amount}, you can choose exactly what project you like kids of a specific age, income level, specified city, etc.  Last year, I sat down with my daughter who said she liked to paint so we found a 2nd grade classroom in Indiana where the kids didn’t have any.  It only took us a few minutes and a few weeks later, we received handwritten thank you notes from every child in the class, a letter from the teachers, photos of the project and a receipt detailing exactly how our money was spent.  Brilliant.  Charitable.  Personal.  Perfect.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

December 6th is the day we celebrate St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children. And the man behind Christmas. To honor St. Nicholas, children all over the country celebrate this wonderful holiday by waking up to find their stocking or shoe filled candy and small presents {for those who are nice} OR coal {for those who are naughty}.

At RedStamp.com, we celebrated St. Nicholas Day by waking up to find our exclusive Santa’s Little Helper Kit in the Daily Candy Kids Holiday Gift Guide. Which is why TODAY ONLY you can find our Christmas Correspondence Kit on sale for $15.00 {normally $18.00}.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

On outsourcing holiday cards

Dear Gentle Readers, 

Lately, RedStamp.com has been garnering quite a bit of press about the widely spread + widely read Associated Press article on outsourcing holiday cards. Some people think it’s the greatest concept they’ve ever heard of…Others are bewildered by why anyone would outsource such a personal task. 

We often compare our send-for-you service to sending flowers. The card you receive with the arrangement is usually written by the florist, but that doesn’t make the action of sending flowers any less thoughtful.

We have debated this issue with friends + family since we launched our send-for-you service 2 years ago. And our bottom line has always been the same. While we recognize the service isn’t for everyone, the clients who choose to use our send-for-you service have always been thrilled by how personal + rewarding the process is. Personal because the sender is always involved in creating the sentiment. Rewarding because of the follow-up phone call or letter from the recipient stating how great it was to receive a “real” card instead of an email or {gasp} nothing at all.  

Regardless of how you feel about RedStamp.com’s send-for-you service, we welcome your thoughts and appreciate the opportunity to share ours.  

Keep in Touch,

Erin + Renee