Archive for the ‘White Elephant Gift Exchange’ Category

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This statement represents the PartyWeDo “Cause”…

Our cause began as a result of real events, and the passion for it is based upon real emotions and real needs.

There are three supporting pillars to the cause:

People

Memories

Giving

Genesis Statements:

* The love for our family is real and is the most powerful motivation for our actions.

* The years of real memories have addicted us to the need to keep generating more.

* Support for those we love requires real giving, which cannot be virtually substituted.

To Sarah and me, the PartyWeDo cause is very personal. We are motivated to contribute because of the people and the memories that we love.

You may have similar people and memories in your life, for which this cause might be valuable as well. If so, we hope that you will join us in making the internet experience like REAL.

The AlbinoPhant party, and the others that will follow, make gift giving on the internet as real as possible.

We are passionate that the virtual experience should somehow send people back into the real world and provide real support.

Memories are not built in a vacuum, so these parties should link real people into an activity that adds to the stories, emotions, and the laughter of great personal connections.

It is hard to stay real in a world built on keyboards, bandwidth and servers. Nevertheless, our cause is to make some of this virtual world like REAL.

NOTE: Thanks to Jesse Stay for suggesting that we publish our Cause for you to read…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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I have been a student of party engagement and event interaction for many years, even before we began our online party application.

Sarah is a trained recreational specialist and has been involved in party leadership for most of her adult life, so I have had many opportunities to be a “fly on the wall” and observe how people enjoy a social event.

It is fascinating to watch the personalities that blend together during each phase of the party experience. From the first greeting, through many social interactions, and up until the departure, the individual personalities display a variety of tendencies.

I have often thought that there is a hierarchy of individual party personalities; from the quiet spectator known as the “wall-flower”, to the extremely engaged “party-animal”.

These levels seem to be based upon some sort of imaginary social ladder. The rungs of this ladder represent the comfort level that people feel in putting themselves on display for others to witness. On the lower steps stand those who are guarded or very reserved, and at the top are those who have no fear of being noticed and even welcome attention.

But there is one personality that seems to always be critical to the success of any party experience…

Social Butterflies…

These people build the bridges between most of the personalities in the room and keep the conversation flowing.

Valeria Maltoni, a professional conversationalist and author of the Conversation Agent introduced me to a social ladder concept that really fits these party personalities very closely.

Her discussion suggests that the conversation is central to good social networking on the internet and that “Conversationalist” are the connectors in these social spaces.

My party observations would suggest that without one or more conversationalist on the guest list, the party could be a dud.. Therefore, an understanding of the social party ladder, and a personality assessment is critical for party hosts, as they work on their invitation list.

The social scientists have just recently added the “conversationalist” rung to the accepted social ladder discussion. Jason Falls suggests that “This development is interesting because for years social media evangelists have been preaching that, “it’s all about the conversation.”

Before this addition to the social ladder, there were only 6 rungs; Inactives, Spectators, Joiners, Collectors, Critics and Creators. Now, the Conversationalist is thought to make up about a third of all social media interactions.

How does a social media ladder relate to my party observations and to the success of a party?

Well, I believe social media activities on the internet closely parallel the mechanics of a party, and that the social ladder measurements fit pretty well. (I would probably throw out the Collectors rung for this discussion on parties, but the others are a really good fit).

We could say that the Inactives are the least desirable party guests, due to the effort that it will take to get them to attend and to join in any of the activities planned for the event. I am not suggesting that you leave anyone out, but realize that an inactive will be less engaged in any of your planned activities. Luckily, there are just a few of these personality types to worry about.

The next rung on the ladder are the Spectators…This is a big group!  The responsibility of the host is to move the spectators out of their comfort zone and into the Joiner category.  Left on their own they will just watch the event unfold, so pushing the right buttons of Spectators will move the fun needle up a notch at any party.

These lower ladder levels can be greatly impacted by the Conversationalists on your guest list. Given the opportunity, they will bridge the fear gap and encourage these quiet personalities to become more involved in each party activity.

Critics are perfect personalities for Conversationalist. They work together to spool up the conversation and tend to send discussions into a variety of directions.  Many times the debate will pull the Spectators into the discussion. The host much watch the critics closely so as to ward off contentious conversations…

The top of the ladder rung are the creators, or the people who will partner naturally with the host to find ways to improve the experience for everyone. This personality group will recognize the Communicators in the group and leverage them to build a better experience for themselves and every other personality involved….

Knowing the social ladder and working with the personalities on the guest list will make your next party climb to new heights. Find the social conservationists and then let them work their magic in the room…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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We were never Helicopter Parents, but we always stayed close to the landing pad.

Our home was the take-off strip and the landing zone at the beginning and at the end of many great adventures. We viewed our job as part air traffic control, part runway maintenance, and part TSA or emergency response team. The job took most of 30 years and we loved every arrival and each departure…

It was four years ago that our youngest left and we began searching for a way to maintain connections and still provide worthwhile ground support to the crew.

Like millions of other Boomers, Sarah and I have an empty concourse and gates that go mostly unused.

Today, most of the adventures happen thousands of miles away, making hovering impossible.

Regardless, there were two traditions that we desired to maintain for our dispersed family, as we moved forward with life… Game play and gift giving. We did a lot of both of these activities in our family room over the years, and we didn’t want to stop.

We decided to build a temporary landing strip on the internet, were everyone could touchdown for a short refuel of family connection between their individual adventures… We started a virtual family party, mimicking the birthday, holiday and wedding gatherings of our past.

We tested our family game for three years to make sure that it would fly and then we rolled it out for others to use. It is a gift to our children and to our friends who also find themselves hovering outside of new landing zones.

This game will not turn back time, or refill our home with the traffic of the past. But for a few days there are landings on every runway, and we can experience the excitement and renewed connection of every arrival and each departure.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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Amazon runs huge product warehouses. In fact, there are now 24 of these massive distribution centers world-wide, stocking everything from CDs to bicycle tires.

The online retailer moves 3-times as much product through these warehouses than it’s next closes competitor.

Over 40% of the products that move through the supply system are sold by merchants other than Amazon itself. There are over 1.3 million suppliers who provide the products that are for sale on Amazon.com and through these other merchants.

When consumers  rank the trusted technology companies for privacy, they usually put Amazon in the top 5.

In 2009 PartyWeDo was looking for an e-commerce partner for the gift party application, AlbinoPhant. The natural choice was Amazon.

Amazon works great for a gift merchandising application because of their massive selection and top-notch customer service.

The gift exchange system uses a level pricing system for each custom AlbinoPhant marketplace. Each host selects the level at which their invitees will spend for the gift and the AlbinoPhant software sorts through the Amazon Warehouse to display products in that pricing category.

PartyWeDo hired the Utah based e-commerce software firm Gyrofly, to build the special interface that would allow each party guest to pay one price and cover the cost of the gift, the shipping and the fun.

The resulting markets are filled with thousands of gifts that can be used to share in the fun of a Yankee Swap or White Elephant Gift Exchange.

When any gift is selected from one of the AlinoPhant markets, it is identified by a unique number. This number allows us to use the image of the gift during the game play period and also ship the correct item from the Amazon warehouse to the correct players doorstep.

This system allows the virtual world of the internet to marry seamlessly with the real world of gift shopping and delivery.

All of these marvelous technologies and efficient shipping systems allow family and friends to purchase gifts, share them online and then receive a present at their home.

Thank you Amazon, for joining the party!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Hosting any event requires determination and ingenuity. We appreciate the efforts of a party host who takes the time and energy to pull off a great social experiences.

We really give a tip of our hat to the host who goes the extra mile to make the party memorable for everyone involved. It is amazing how even the small differences can make a huge change in the level of fun and engagement at the party. It is the host’s responsibility to find the “little extra” that will turn the party into a social explosion.

One of the galvanizing aspects of any group event involves joining attendees together in a common activity, like a party game. These activities are proven social bonding tools that turn mundane events into great social experiences.

Our family uses the gift exchange format to add a spark to our gift giving parties and create unity. But this year we went a bit further and added just another dimension to the fun.

On the day of our Christmas Eve party we invited all of the attendees to meet us at the local Goodwill store, just before coming to the event. We suggested that if they had not purchased a gift for the exchange, that this would be a good time to find the perfect present…

But we had another surprise in mind.

We asked everyone to shop for a silly hat to wear to the party, and it would be our treat.

The hat selection was fabulous and the variety was amazing ( it is interesting to realize that someone paid retail for some of these at one time!). The store was soon filled with laughter as our guests discovered hats and then modeled them for anyone who would pay attention to them.
Down several isles of the store walked grown men with furry or floppy hats, still displaying the price tags. Women that were trying on hard hats and football helmets were giggling like school kids.

The party had started at Goodwill and the excitement was spreading.

The regular store customers and clerks were entertained by this odd display, and our guests were getting into a very festive mood. We didn’t even need to ask the group to continue wearing the hats as they made their way up to the checkout, they just kept them on and delighted the other shoppers.

These unusual hats became the uniform for our party and added a social-glue among the participants of the evening’s activities.

The hats cost about $2.00 a piece, but their value as a group bonding tool was priceless. It created a memorable event for those who attended.

We take our hat off to the host who takes the extra steps to build a better party experience for family and friends.

What have you done to add something extra.?

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

You have been invited to attend an online gift party like no other.

Your host has used a special offer code (1234) to begin a “test-drive” party that allows you to experience a gift exchange without spending any money…

Like a real test drive!

Here are the step by step instructions on how to get the invitation, RSVP, find a gift (virtually), get it wrapped and then join the party.

It is really easy, once you have done it one time!

Step #1 (these screen shots seem to display better in Firefox than on Explorer browsers, sorry)

Step #2

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Final Step: HAVE A GREAT TIME.. You are going to love this party!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Hosting a regular party is hard work, but you know what it takes, Right?
Doing an online party is completely new, so you need to learn the ropes before you feel comfortable hosting something for real.

AlbinoPhant is the first of its kind…. A REAL online gift sharing party!

We have provided a way for you to take a “hosting test-drive” and to learn how much like a real party this really is. You can test this system with OFFER CODE 1234.

Here are the steps: Begin by joining the application HERE
Now follow these screen shots and balloon messages to start your test-drive…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Party hosting is not for the weak or timid. Successful parties are the result of the extraordinary efforts of a committed host.

For any event to succeed, someone steps up and takes on the responsibility to lead. It is amazing that millions of parties actually happen every month, when we measure the effort it takes.

We appreciate the efforts of the host…

There must be a compelling reason that drives a host to be a host. The fact is, the rewards of completing a successful party must outweigh the work, or parties would never happen. The recognition and gratitude of guests push a host to invest their time and resources.

In the end, we are all grateful to our host for putting out the effort on our behalf.

Parties require many tasks that are not visible to the attendees, but yet are on the checklist of any host.

• Guests see the invitation, but the tasks of collecting of the addresses, designing and printing the cards are invisible. The labeling, the sealing of envelopes, the stamp placement and the delivery to the post office are all completed behind the scenes.

• A guest enjoys the venue and decorations, but misses seeing the reservation process, the running of the streamers and the clean-up of the room.

• The cake and the drinks are enjoyed openly, but bakery visits and the punchbowl filling are hidden from view.

Even with this large checklist, a host moves through these tasks knowing that the finished result will reward them with social capital, or just a sense of accomplishment.

We salute the host and pay tribute to the extra effort it takes to provide the party for us.

At PartyWeDo, we stand ready to assist a host in providing a fun party atmosphere, when they decide to host a party online. We are building applications that will expand the opportunities for hosts and hopefully make their job a bit easier. We want family and friends to find a way to make a party work for them, even when distance stops personal attendance. There is no reason that parties cannot be hosted from any computer in any local.

The advancements in internet tools, partnering with committed and willing hosts, will move parties into a new dimension, and we are happy to assist in the process…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

The Christmas season is perfect for a hot cup of soup on a chilly evening. What would warm the spirit even more would be sharing soup and conversation with family and friends.

Caroline, the author of Whipped, hosts a soup swap every year and,  in her own words describes: “…an event that embodied all of my favorite things: gathering with friends, eating together, talking about food and sharing food.”

This got us to thinking about how soup could be used as a part of a white elephant or Yankee Swap party. Here is an idea that we came up with… But you could expand this in many directions.

1. Develop an invitation list from those whom like to cook and those who like to visit.
2. Tell everyone that this is a themed gift exchange event around the word SOUP.
3. Ask everyone to bring a quart of their favorite soup for a group tasting.
4. Let everyone know that they don’t need to use soup as the gift, just have the gifts be soup related.  This is where the creativity of your friends will shine!
5. Ask all attendees to bring some 3-cup containers of soup for general swapping among the attendees. Have them include the recipe on a printed card.

Now you can fill the evening with several social experiences.. Soup tasting, a white elephant gift exchange and a swap of soups.

NOTE: Caroline added a few other helpful ideas for hosting a Soup Exchange, so you should read her tips section.

When it is all said and done, your holiday soup exchange will probably become a holiday favorite and warm the hearts of family and friends on even the coldest night.

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Princess Phant
Daughter of the King of Burma
Caretaker of the AlbinoPhant Parties