Posts Tagged ‘Christmas and holiday season’

One of the results of a changing economy is what the new austerity has wrought upon the American public. It seems that the trendy “go-go-consumption” trends have turned on a dime and now traditional priorities are winning the day. This is especially true when we discuss the holiday season this year.

A recently released study by Sears, and reported in Marketing Daily suggests that; “Some 90% of those it surveyed say that because of the challenging economy, they are more focused on celebrating family traditions.”

Other studies are suggesting that more than 75% of Americans are realizing that connecting with traditional family activities is what will make them happier during the holidays.

New family traditions are also a high priority, and the Sears study suggests that group gift giving activities like Secret Santa gift exchanges will be a priority this year. Setting spending limits on these gift opportunities is also an important consideration during tight financial times, and the study suggests that 63% of us will do just that. Gift exchange formats also reduce the overall gift purchasing volume needed among the family, saving even more resources.

Some marketers are skeptical that this new traditionalism will have staying power, once the recession is past and better times arrive. But it is possible that the rise in social networks and the fall in expendable income will alter family trends forever.

One trendy industry is going to really benefit from these traditional family leanings. That would be social media, and some web-based mimics which provide traditional experiences for family members. Facebook has positioning itself as the alternative solution to actually driving to Grandmas house for Thanksgiving. Especially for those who can’t afford the fuel this year. Images and comments are not a perfect substitute for the taste of turkey, but at least it is a connection to the traditions of the past. As more learn the systems and find them to be acceptable substitutes, the mimics will become the new traditions for family gathering. Online solutions break down distance constraints and expand the connections far beyond what was possible in Grandma’s confined living room.

The social activities like White Elephant parties or Yankee Swaps can now combine traditional family gift sharing and conversation, without spending money on fuel or travel. These online mimics provide, at least in part, the family feeling that would be lost by not being able to show up in person.

So the economic realities of today are building a desire to reconnect with the traditions of the past, while creating the systems that will become the trends of the future.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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A Christmas Party Doesn’t Have to be Expensive

By: Candace Martin

In these stretched economic times even festive celebrations are falling onto hard times. The past couple of Christmases have seen a bit of a downturn in the level that folks were willing to pay for gifts along with the celebration itself, and the upcoming season looks to be about the same. If you are affected by budget issues but need to prepare for a holiday celebration, you do not have to let those things impact the quality of the merrymaking. There are lots of ways to throw a good gathering with limited funds.

The number one thing to keep in mind is that seasonal events take place each year and pretty much everyone you are acquainted with participates in them. Basically everyone you are acquainted with is also accustomed to putting up decorations for them. This means that, once you choose a spot to hold your party, you can almost certainly decorate the whole thing at no cost. All you require is to acquire the contribution of a few of your guests. Ask them to give or loan their preferred ornaments, or even only those that they don’t use any more.

You can also decide to have your gathering at a restaurant or at a bar. Despite the fact that doing this nearer to Christmas is typically challenging as those venues will have restricted room and won’t very likely offer you the space free of charge, near the beginning of December you won’t have much trouble obtaining a location. As long as they are not busy those venues will in fact give you a reduced rate on meals in contrast to making you pay you for space! What’s more, bars and restaurants are bedecked for Christmas from early winter, which means you won’t need to worry about putting up decorations for yourself.

Food is an added concern you will likely be concerned about. Well, at locations such as those mentioned there’s not much flexibility on meals. If you host it at a home or a different place there are lots of alternatives available to you. The ideal thing to do for spending less on the food for your Christmas party, apart from making it a potluck, is to make as much of the food on your own as feasible. In this respect, choosing a dessert buffet in comparison with a complete meal is likely your best bet. And keep in mind, punch isn’t just the cheapest beverage you can provide, but it is in fact a drink that everyone expects to find at a seasonal party.

As for crafting the right atmosphere, you do not need to pay a lot of money. Christmas events can have live bands, DJs and other expensive musical alternatives. Producing a good Christmas ambiance, though, does not require all that flash. Even for sizeable events the most fundamental things are often the most enjoyed. Consider sing-a-longs and gift exchanges. For a gathering where the guest list is loaded with folks without a lot of spare cash, try out the idea of throwing a Dirty Santa type of gift exchange where individuals actually have to re-gift (ie: they have to give gifts that they have received themselves, but didn’t care for.)

The bottom line is to be imaginative and not to be concerned about asking for assistance. Don’t forget that the key consideration of any seasonal party is people, and as long as they are together they’ll accomplish nearly all of the tasks by themself. If you aren’t content with that though, then spend the week after Christmas shopping for all the holiday merchandise that are on sale so you can throw an all-out celebration next year.

Author Resource:-> Get shopping tips, find Christmas games and activities, and learn strategies to get you through the stressful holiday season at Christmas Ideas.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

With the launch of AlbinoPhant only days away, we are starting to get in the artwork for the white elephant gift exchange on Facebook.

This application is a bit more complex than most of the simple social games that are found in Facebook. AlbinoPhant parties involve the sharing of real gifts in a long-term party and therefore integrate eCommerce shopping and secure payment systems into the process.

We want players to realize that after they purchase a gift in one of the AlbinoPhant markets, they wait while others do the same thing. So we felt that a cute and artistic message might make players feel at ease while they wait for the party to begin.

We hired a talented designer from Tuscon, Arizona by the name of Jay Pierstorff. He has created several creative and cleaver images to help players understand the steps in the game play process.

So when a player has used PayPal to purchase their selected gift for the party, and after they virtually wrapped it in some fancy or interesting box, the Armed-Elephant will store it safely in the AlbinoPhant Palace.
The virtual gift box and the image of the gift will be used on the gameplay page during the party. The real gift will actually remain in the control of Amazon, until we know who gets the gift after all the stealing and swapping are finished in the party.

The AlbinoPhant management system will see that all the gifts are sorted out and that all the players get the correct gifts delivered after the game ends.

At the end of the party another fun artistic message will be displayed to remind players that they should be looking for a shipping company to show up with the gift that they won in the party.

We know that family and friends will find AlbinoPhant a fun and easy way to connect and share real gifts together this holiday season.. These humorous images of elephants should assist in making the experience all the more fun.

Your are going to love this party!!!

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King Thibaw
The Royal Thibaw, Golden-footed Lord of the White Elephant, Master of a Thousand Gold Umbrellas, Owner of the Royal Peacocks, Lord of the Sea and of the World, Whose face is like the Sun.

McMinnville — The social networks can now be used for friendly larceny, with the launch of an online white elephant gift exchange party called AlbinoPhant.

This Facebook application allows family and friends the opportunity to party together in a virtual gift exchange, just like they would if gathered together in one location. They exchange real gifts, share friendly banter and enjoy the holiday spirit, through the online party.

Gift exchange parties are social events that focus on sharing gifts with family and friends and then “stealing” gifts from one another in an organized party game

AlbinoPhant brings people together to participate in the party on a common game-play page, where wrapped gifts are displayed, opened, stolen and where comments are shared. This application facilitates gift giving among those who would be sharing gifts with each other anyway. AlbinoPhant just provides a fun, conversational and social way to pass out the gifts.

Traditional white elephant parties build lively conversation and great stories around the gifts as they are opened. With the enhanced sharing tools on the web, the online version allows more expressive conversation than ever before. The AlbinoPhant comment stream allows party participants the opportunity to post YouTube videos and images to assist in making the exchange party a real fun game. There are even opportunities to share some of the conversation outside of the party in other social networks, allowing the party atmosphere to spill over in other corners of the web.

The online white elephant party uses a combination of eCommerce and social networking tools to build the party system. AlbinoPhant is a gift purchasing and sharing facilitator, displaying hundreds of Amazon items in level pricing markets for convenient shopping. The host and each party participant use these single pricing markets ($15 to $50) to select gifts for the party. This leveling feature is used to keep the gift spending closer to equal among all of the players, reducing the “big-spender/cheap-skate” issues.

When all of the gifts are virtually wrapped, opened, discussed, stolen and re-stolen, the game ends. The application’s management system then sorts out who gets which real gift and sees that each present is delivered to the correct address.

The online gift exchange is a labor of love by the Christensen family, who are new to Facebook application development. The Christensen’s have tested the online gift swap party with their scattered family members for several years. They hired a team of Facebook developers and other web professionals to take their simple family party exchange and turn it into a fully operational Facebook application. Now they are eager to share this fun exchange, AlbinoPhant, with others.

This holiday season the networks will play host to thousands of gift thieves and promote friendly banter to liven up holiday parties. What is more social than a lively party?

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Some good ideas and great causes come from a loss or tragedy. I learned of a wonderful way to use the gift exchange concept to share with children this season.

Julia Chambers, crochet artisan and the author of several blogs, including “The difference between a duck”, shared a stocking stuffer gift exchange that has its genesis in a personal loss. Some family friends were tragically killed in an accident near Christmas.

She and her daughter decided to gather small gifts for children and wrap them for a gift swap, as a way of healing the wounds of the community. They started a stocking stuffer swap for kids in their area.

“The gifts were meant to carry on the spirit of gratitude to our community, both givers and receivers.  To bless friends and neighbors…” Julia Chambers

All ages appreciate a great party, and a White Elephant / Yankee Swap party is a great way to be social in a group. I would caution that small children may have trouble grasping the “stealing” component of the white elephant style of gift exchange, so an alternative might be better.

I would recommend for the child-version, that you stick to just a simple exchange of wrapped gifts.  Make sure that you mark boy or girl gifts and share them appropriately. This is the style that Julia and her daughter have chosen and it seems to be working well for them.

Every challenge in life can be turned into an opportunity, with a little creativity and some care. The stocking stuffer exchange sprung from a challenge, but with thought and charity it shows others what it means to truly care.

Have a great holiday season of sharing.

Thanks to Turn Back to God for image

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

In our ongoing effort to Save the Elephant Joke, we are hosting a car wash here on the AlbinoPhant website…  Not just any car wash, but a real honest to goodness elephant car washing…

We have some video of the efficient washing crew… Notice how clean the driver’s side window is getting.

All proceeds from the car wash will be used to Save Elephant Jokes for children this holiday season…

Roll-up your windows and lower your antennas….

Thanks to the Oregon Wildlife Safari for the idea and the video….

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists