In today’s corporate landscape, fostering a sense of community and team bonding is essential. One way to achieve this—even in remote work environments—is through the creation of employee recipe books or cookbooks. These delightful (and tasty) collaborations not only bring colleagues closer and celebrate workplace diversity but also serve as a cherished keepsake.
To help you decide which platform suits your workplace’s unique needs, we’ll compare five popular websites: Create My Cookbook, Heritage Cookbook, Newlywords, Family Cookbook Project, and Recipe Card Cookbook. Each platform has its strengths, making it best for different circumstances. Let’s find the one that’s right for you.
Comparison Table:
What is an Employee Recipe Book?
As we shift from face-to-face office interaction to a more remote environment, finding ways to develop relationships, build team cohesion, and simply bond is becoming more challenging. One way organizations have tackled this obstacle is through fun, collaborative projects such as creating a recipe book.
Employee recipe books allow staff members to contribute their favorite recipes, as well as the stories behind their significance. This not only allows team members to know each other better, but it also celebrates the diversity of your team. Depending on the platform you use, creating an employee recipe book can be an incredibly bonding and collaborative experience as your team works together to gather photos, stories, and recipes to make a cookbook they’ll refer to again and again.
Create My Cookbook:A Recipe Book Enthusiast’s Dream
Create My Cookbook shines in the “Easy to Collect Recipes” category, earning a 9. Its intuitive interface simplifies the process of gathering recipes from employees, and robust features even help you save time by typing in recipes for you. Whether focusing on creating a space to share diverse recipes or simply developing a fun workplace keepsake, Create My Cookbook is a great choice.
When it comes to design options, Create My Cookbook excels, offering a vast array of templates, customization features, and design tools, earning it a perfect 10 in that category. The book quality is commendable, providing a professional touch to your cookbook.
However, pricing may not be ideal for all workplaces, although price varies widely based on the length of your cookbook, binding, and how many copies your organization needs. Customer reviews are generally positive, highlighting the platform’s reliability and design capabilities. Create My Cookbook is a top choice for those who value creative freedom and are willing to invest a bit more time in their employee recipe books.
Heritage Cookbook:A Classic Choice
Heritage Cookbook may not lead in any specific category, but it offers a well-rounded recipe book experience. It scores a 7 in “Made for the Workplace,” indicating that it caters to the corporate setting only reasonably well. Collecting recipes is straightforward, and employee contributions are also accommodated with relative ease through the platform’s system.
In terms of design, Heritage Cookbook provides classic templates and customization options but doesn’t stand out significantly from other platforms. The book quality, however, shines, with a high-quality finish and paper. Even with the high-quality printing, the pricing is reasonable, making it accessible to a wide range of workplaces. According to reviews, customers appreciate the platform’s simplicity and affordability, making Heritage Cookbook a solid choice for organizations seeking a classic and budget-friendly solution.
Newlywords: – For the Modern Workplace:
Newlywords takes the lead with a stellar score for being made for the workplace. It understands the corporate environment’s unique needs and offers an ideal platform for creating employee recipe books. Its sleek and user-friendly interface ensures easy recipe collection and employee contributions.
One unique feature is the recipe collection page, a customizable questionnaire that is sent to all contributors. Prompt employees with fun questions, invite them to share pictures and memes, and ask for the stories behind the recipes they share. This feature alone creates a truly collaborative experience for your employee recipe book.
In terms of design, Newlywords offers a wide range of customization options, allowing your cookbook to reflect your company’s brand identity, culture, and aesthetic preferences. The book quality is impressive, with excellent paper and printing, earning it a 9 in that category. Pricing is competitive, with options for various budgets. Lastly, customers applaud its reliability and innovation.
Overall, Newlywords is the go-to choice for modern workplaces aiming to create memorable and lasting employee recipe books.
Family Cookbook Project:Bringing Families Closer
While Family Cookbook Project focuses on preserving family recipes, the overall goal of fostering a sense of togetherness also makes it a great option for the workplace. Collecting recipes is a breeze with its intuitive platform, and with its higher-level membership pricing, it allows for unlimited employee (or family) contributions.
Design options, while not as extensive as some competitors, are still impressive. The book quality is reliable but doesn’t stand out from other platforms. Limited binding and paper choice, as well as an emphasis on printing your own PDF cookbook, make it less than ideal for large bulk printing.
Customer reviews highlight the platform’s user-friendliness and community-building features, with a score of 7.9. Family Cookbook Project is an excellent choice for smaller workplaces that want to emphasize a sense of family among their employees.
Recipe Card Cookbook:Budget-Friendly Option
Much like its name implies, Recipe Card Cookbook provides a way to compile images of your old recipe cards into a single printed cookbook. With a pricing score of 9, it is certainly a budget-friendly option, which is reflected in the final product. Collecting recipes is straightforward, and it can meet corporate needs, but the end result is a compilation of recipe card images versus a professional-looking cookbook collab.
Design options on Recipe Card Cookbook are limited compared to most competitors. The design system is a pared-down version of Family Cookbook Project. While you can still type out each recipe and upload your own photos, the idea behind Recipe Card Cookbook is to quickly and easily collect your recipe cards into a simple book.
The printed book quality is decent, and customers appreciate its affordability, with a score of. Recipe Card Cookbook is an ideal choice for small businesses or startups with budget and time constraints.
The Best Employee Recipe Book Platform for Your Company
In the world of collaborative cookbook websites, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for your employee recipe book project. Each platform excels in different areas—design, print quality, collaboration tools, and pricing—making them suitable for various workplace needs. Newlywords stands out as the best choice for modern workplaces, with a focus on workplace dynamics and collaboration features that accommodate organizations of all shapes and sizes.
Not only is the final product a high-quality keepsake that your employees will feel proud of creating, but the platform’s tools make the process of collaboration fun, practical, and easy. Create My Cookbook caters to design enthusiasts willing to invest time and creative energy into customization. Heritage Cookbook offers a classic and budget-friendly option, while Family Cookbook Project emphasizes togetherness and family recipes. Recipe Card Cookbook is the go-to choice for organizations on a tight budget and with little time to invest in creative design
Before making your decision, carefully evaluate your workplace goals, budget, and design preferences to select the platform that aligns best with your needs. Whichever you choose, creating an employee recipe book will undoubtedly enhance team cohesion, celebrate diversity,leave a lasting, flavorful impression.
In today’s ever-evolving work landscape, remote work has become the new norm, and celebrating holidays with your employees requires a little extra creativity. Many employees are experiencing “Zoom fatigue” due to the countless online meetings, so it’s crucial to find innovative ways to engage and uplift their spirits, especially during the holiday season. If you’re unsure how to celebrate the holidays with your remote workforce, consider trying these eight unique approaches.
The Gift of a Memorable Meal
While traditional office parties might be out of the question, you can still create a memorable holiday experience for your remote employees. Consider giving each team member an American Express Gift Card to enjoy a special dinner with their significant other. This not only allows employees to relish a delicious meal but also strengthens their personal connections, a crucial aspect of remote work. Depending on the size of your team and how much time you have, you can take it up a notch by giving gift cards to each employee’s favorite restaurant or somewhere new and fun they wouldn’t normally treat themselves.
Virtual Piano Bar Extravaganza
Who doesn’t love an entertaining afternoon at the piano bar? While you can’t treat your employees to an afternoon out on the town, you can break up the monotony of virtual meetings by organizing a Zoom session with a guest piano player. Instead of talking shop, your team can offer up song requests and enjoy some music and some relaxing fun. This musical journey will not only provide entertainment but also bring your team closer together as they bond over their favorite tunes.
Gingerbread House Decorating Competition
Bring some festive fun to your remote workforce by sending gingerbread house kits to each employee’s home address. Host a virtual gingerbread house decorating competition where team members can showcase their creative skills. Encourage them to share their final masterpieces during a virtual gathering. Or better yet, have your team build their houses live over Zoom to see what they can create with some fun, competitive pressure. You can even offer prizes for the most imaginative creations!
Secret Santa Gift Exchange by Mail
Secret Santa is a classic holiday tradition that lives on, even in today’s remote work landscape. Use a Secret Santa generator website (such as this one) to assign each employee a gift recipient and set some gift-giving parameters. Then, have everyone mail their chosen gifts directly to their assigned colleague. The anticipation and excitement of receiving a surprise package will add a touch of magic to the holiday season.
Collaborative Memory Book
Create a sense of togetherness and preserve memories from the year by crafting a collaborative memory book. A platform like Newlywords helps you compile stories, photos, and achievements from each employee. It even allows you to invite your team to contribute their own photos, encouraging thoughts, or fun memories. You could do a company yearbook or even a team holiday recipe book. This digital (or printed) book not only serves as a keepsake but also acknowledges and celebrates your team’s accomplishments.
Virtual Cooking Class
Bring a culinary twist to your remote holiday celebration by organizing a virtual cooking class. Collaborate with a professional chef or even a local restaurant to guide your team through preparing a festive dish or dessert. Most programs offer a prep packet so your team has the right ingredients and tools in place to make the most of the experience. Better yet, you can send out gift cards to cover the cost of the materials needed for the cooking class. This interactive experience is a great way to spread some holiday cheer while allowing employees to learn new cooking skills and enjoy a delicious meal together.
Online Escape Room Adventure
Escape rooms have gained popularity over the past few years as great team-building activities. Now, thanks to technology and demand, you can book a virtual escape room experience for your remote team. Solving puzzles and riddles together, even in a virtual environment, might improve morale and foster stronger teamwork. Not only that, but it can be an exciting and challenging way to celebrate the holidays together.
Customized Virtual Trivia Night
Trivia night doesn’t just happen at your local pub. Test your employees’ knowledge and create a competitive yet enjoyable atmosphere with a virtual trivia night. To make it more personal (and provoke some solid laughs) customize the trivia questions to include company facts, inside jokes, and holiday-themed queries. If you’re new to the trivia scene, platforms like Trivia Plaza to make trivia night planning a breeze.
Bonus Ideas for Your Virtual Holiday Celebration
Online Art and Craft Workshop
Get your team’s creative juices flowing with a holiday-themed virtual art and craft workshop. Ship art supplies to your employees’ homes and arrange for an art instructor to lead the session on your company’s preferred digital platform. This hands-on activity allows team members to explore their artistic talents and create holiday-themed masterpieces (or at least have a good laugh while trying something new!).
Virtual Talent Show
Unleash your team’s hidden talents by hosting a virtual talent show. Encourage employees to showcase their unique abilities, whether it’s singing, dancing, stand-up comedy, or even magic tricks. Add a little holiday flare by challenging your staff to make their talent holiday-focused. This lighthearted event will not only entertain but also foster a sense of community among your remote workforce. Not familiar with talent show etiquette? Check out these great talent show tips and ideas.
Celebrating holidays with remote employees requires thinking outside the box, especially when traditional office gatherings aren’t possible. These creative ideas not only break the monotony of endless Zoom meetings but also promote team bonding, recognition, and the festive spirit. By embracing these innovative approaches, you can ensure that your remote workforce feels appreciated and connected during the holiday season, no matter where they are located.
Planning a memorable celebration for someone’s retirement, birthday, anniversary, or other occasion can be a joyous but daunting task, especially when you want to involve a large group of people. Thankfully, creating group gifts and cards is easier than ever with websites designed to help you gather content from the crowd and create a heartfelt surprise for your loved one or colleague. In this blog post, we’ll compare seven popular platforms: Kudoboard, GroupGreeting, RecoCards, Newlywords, Group Greets, Group Together, and Send Wish. Each of these platforms offers unique features for creating group greeting cards, gifts, and memorabilia tailored to different types of celebrations. Ready to find the best online platform for your next group greeting card or gift? Let’s dive into the details.
Comparison Table
The Best Collaborative Platforms for Group Greeting Cards and Gifts
We’ve compared each online platform based on six different categories. Creating the perfect collaborative greeting card or gift requires top-notch technology, so each platform is graded on a scale of 1 to 5 in the following categories: user-friendliness, message privacy, types of media that can be utilized to create your card/gift, design options, physical gift options, and customer reviews. Which online platform is best for your colleague’s retirement, Grandpa’s 80th birthday, or your remote office holiday party? It depends on your goals, how easily you want to collaborate with friends/staff, and whether or not you want a digital card or a tangible gift to give your colleague or loved one.
Based on the chart above, we’ve unpacked the seven popular online platforms based on their main offering and their strengths and weaknesses in each category.
Kudoboard
Kudoboard is known as the go-to platform for creating digital group greeting cards. This platform shines with its user-friendliness and the variety of media types it accepts, making it perfect for tech-savvy celebrants. It is a popular choice for large companies that wish to create a more personalized celebration experience for their employees. However, for those looking to create more than a digital surprise, its physical gift options are somewhat limited. Also, while there is messaging privacy, Kudoboards are visible to all participants, so your contribution may not be as private as you hope. All in all, the online reviews are generally positive, and it boasts an overall rating of 4.5, making it a top choice for most occasions.
GroupGreeting
GroupGreeting is another popular choice for businesses, as it claims to be used by over 20,000 workplaces and 80% of Fortune 500 companies. While GroupGreeting offers decent user-friendliness and message privacy, it falls short in terms of media types accepted and design options. Users can upload images, add personal messages, and include an e-gift card, but the options end there. It’s a suitable option for simple celebrations with an overall rating of 3.8.
RecoCards
If privacy is your top concern, RecoCards has you covered with a perfect score of 5 in that category. Not only that, but 99% of RecoCards features are free to any user, and their premium plan is only a small monthly fee compared to other platforms. However, its user-friendliness and design options are more limited, which is to be expected with a (mostly) free platform. RecoCards is a safe choice for intimate occasions, with an overall rating of 3.7. For large group events that require more options and pizazz, another website might be the better option.
Newlywords
Newlywords excels in message privacy and also comes out on top as the best platform for creating physical gifts. While other platforms focus on greeting cards, Newlywords provides the tools for businesses and individuals alike to create collaborative memory books. One great feature is that the memories and stories you share on Newlywords are not visible to other participants, which means you can get sentimental without feeling self-conscious. It does lag slightly behind in media types accepted, but the tradeoff is the ability for large groups to upload photos, stories, memories, and even recipes to create both a digital and printed book which makes the perfect physical gift for remote companies, retirements, family celebrations, and more. Finally, Newlywords scores well in online reviews and with an overall rating of 4.5, it’s a great choice for those who want a physical keepsake gift.
Group Greets
While Group Greets falls a little behind other platforms with an overall rating of 3.2, the greeting “card” website offers something unique to other options. Group Greet focuses on creating a more personalized eCard experience with AI-generated photo montages, slideshows, and multimedia mixes. It’s touted as “More like a movie than an Ecard,” making it a great option for groups that wish to send a virtual movie-like greeting without all the fuss of finding the right editing platform. Group Greets may be is average across the board in our six categories, but it is a suitable option for straightforward celebrations and groups that wish to emphasize personalized video content.
GroupTogether
GroupTogether takes a different approach to collaborative celebrations by offering both group gifts and group eCards. The platform lets users contribute toward a group gift that can be chosen from over 150 eGift cards (sorry, no tangible gift here, folks). While very user-friendly and a great way to gather funds toward a collaborative eGift, GroupTogether doesn’t stand out in other aspects. Its overall rating of 3.2 makes it a middle-of-the-road choice for your next celebration.
Send Wish
Send Wish is both a group greeting card and invitation platform, making it a great option for those planning a physical event. While the website offers excellent user-friendliness and decent message privacy, is fully digital, which means it lacks any physical gift options (apart from the ability to download a PDF of your group greeting card). The platform does provide a way to schedule eCards, making it a great choice for individuals, families, or managers who want to stay one step ahead of busy birthday and holiday seasons. With an overall rating of 3.7, Send Wish is a decent choice for all things digital when it comes to corporate or private celebrations.
Which Online Platform is Right for Your Celebration?
The perfect platform for your special occasion depends on your specific needs. Whether you’re a manager planning digital corporate celebrations for a large staff or the family member responsible for finding the perfect way to invite scattered relatives to participate in a group greeting for a loved one, there is an online platform that fits your goals.
Among the seven platforms on our list, Kudoboard and Newlywords certainly come out on top in terms of overall ratings and features offered. Kudoboard offers a well-rounded experience for both corporations and individuals and is the most well-known of all the websites. It is user-friendly and provides great design and media options. Just remember that each “board” is public to all participants, so go easy on the inside jokes. Newlywords, on the other hand, is a better fit for those wishing to create a physical group gift for any occasion imaginable. From corporate team-building to Mom and Dad’s 40th anniversary, the platform makes collaborative gifting a breeze (and keeps your sentiments private so only the recipient sees your loving message). Next time you’re in charge of organizing a collaborative greeting card or gift, consider your priorities and goals and select the platform that allows you to create a memorable celebration for your loved one or colleague.
Famous American chef, James Beard, was noted as saying “Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” In a world where we often find ourselves apart from our community — whether due to remote work, pandemics, or simply living far from family — how do we continue to celebrate the power of food, our common ground? Enter the collaborative recipe book. In the past, sharing our favorite dishes meant coming together in the kitchen to cook, swap recipes, and gather around the table. While being together in one place is not always an option, collaborative recipe books allow us to still share food, recipes, and community — even from afar. From corporate community-building to collecting family memories, here are our best tips for creating a collaborative recipe book with a group of colleagues, family, or friends.
What is a Collaborative Recipe Cookbook?
A collaborative recipe cookbook is a way to gather and publish a diverse collection of recipes from any group of people. Collaborative cookbooks can be built simply by one person collecting and compiling all of the recipes into one place — say a spreadsheet or document that is easily printed. Other ways to create a collaborative recipe book include utilizing virtual tools built specifically for the task — which we’ll touch more on in a moment. No matter how you choose to collect and publish your recipe book, the goal is collaboration: gathering a diverse selection of recipes from among your family, your book club, your home group, your child’s graduating class, or your company. The experience of sharing a personal recipe, and receiving a finished cookbook that allows you to try new recipes from friends and colleagues, is what makes a these cookbooks so unique.
Good Reasons to Start a Collaborative Cookbook
Collaborative cookbooks come in all shapes and sizes, and each serves a unique purpose. For many people, creating a collaborative recipe book was a great way to stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. In place of family dinners, they were able to cook together over video calls and share tips and tricks.For others, it is a way to preserve family recipes passed down over the years. Collecting all of the family recipes and handing out cookbooks at a family reunion is a fun and memorable way to keep family traditions alive. Need a creative way to bring together your team of remote colleagues? One of our favorite uses for the collaborative recipe book is as a corporate team-building activity. Large remote companies use tools such as Newlywords to gather recipes into a collaborative recipe book that gets printed and shipped to each employee. Individuals can then experience the joy of trying each other’s recipes in their kitchens. Not only is this great for team building, but also a fantastic way to foster inclusion and belonging in the workplace. A cookbook allows us to share cultural connections — and love for food — with a diverse and geographically distributed group of colleagues. Just think about all the people who are working from home these days! A cookbook created by employees allows you to create a space where anyone and everyone can share a part of who they are with their team or community.
How to Create a Collaborative Recipe Book With Any Group
Digital tools are everywhere, which means creating a recipe book with a group — especially a group that is spread out across the country or the world — is easier than ever. Instead of chasing down recipes via email or over the phone, online platforms let you contact, collect, and design your cookbook in one place. The first step is to decide who will participate in your collaborative cookbook. Friends? Colleagues? An entire school? The options are endless. Once you have decided who will participate in your collaborative cookbook, you’re just five simple steps away from creating the perfect collection of recipes.
Choose a Platform
The next step is to choose the right platform for your recipe book. Basic tools such as Google Sheets or a Word document provide one way to organize your recipes. The final result won’t look or feel neat, but both are options for collecting everything in one place. More advanced options include designing your own cookbook in a program such as Canva or InDesign. This is a great option for those who have plenty of time to invest in their collaborative cookbook, who only wish to publish a virtual version, and who love to design page layouts. Another fantastic option is finding a platform such as Newlywords that specializes in book templates, design, and collaboration. Instead of chasing down the recipes and designing each page yourself, Newlywords tools allow you to upload recipe content and photos, invite collaborators, and edit content all in one place. Digital templates make it easy to create a recipe book that looks like a professional cookbook. You can share ingredients, step-by-step processes, notes, and even photos of the food, or of you and your family cooking together. Collaboration tools mean everyone can participate in the creation of a virtual recipe book and enjoy both a digital PDF and printed book to share with friends and family.
Create a Structure
Once you’ve chosen the right platform for your cookbook, create a structure for organizing the recipes. Many cookbooks, for example, are organized based on specific meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts. Deciding on a cookbook structure first will make the collaborative experience easier and more fun.If you’re using a spreadsheet to collect recipes, add a new tab for each type of recipe. Otherwise, create shared Google folders for each recipe type to keep things organized. Many collaborative platforms allow you to create folders or other systems, so contributors can easily add recipes in the right place. If working with an entire company of collaborators, we highly recommend sticking with a digital platform that already has the collaborative tools built in.
Start Adding Your Favorite Recipes
Now you can add all your favorite recipes to the book. You can do this by adding them to the spreadsheet, uploading a document of each recipe to a folder, or adding your recipes to your Newlywords template. As the first to add your recipes to the collaborative recipe book, you’ll make it easier for your friends or colleagues to see how to structure their contributions. With platforms such as Newlywords, it’s easy to format your recipes and photos to look like a professional cookbook. Adding your recipes and photos will inspire your group to visualize the final product and decide how to contribute.
Share The Link With The Group for Them to Participate
Once you’ve added all your recipes, invite your group or colleagues to share theirs! You can do this by sharing a link to your spreadsheet, using Google tools that allow them to add documents to folders, or emailing the link through the Newlywords platform. Be sure to provide any helpful instructions, such as the planned structure for the cookbook or how to add, organize, and design content. Then watch as your group gets to work and your collaborative recipe book comes to life.
Publish Your Book
When all the recipes are in place, it’s time to publish and share your cookbook. “Publishing” can be done in several ways. For spreadsheets, you can simply share the link with others. If you designed your own layout using tools such as Canva and InDesign, save and download your work as a shareable PDF. Collaboration platforms provide ways to download a digital cookbook, although that usually requires a fee. Newlywords, however, offers free publication of e-books (PDFs). Not only that, but if you absolutely love your virtual cookbook, you can easily upgrade to a printed version. Turn your beautiful, one-of-a-kind collaborative recipe collection into a hardcover, professional-quality cookbook.
Final Thoughts
While we can’t always be at the table to share food with our loved ones, friends, or colleagues, virtual tools allow us to still make food a shared experience and common ground. Creating a collaborative recipe book opens the door for us to come together and not just share our favorite foods, but also a part of who we are. These cookbooks are more than just a way to collect your favorite recipes in one organized space. It’s also how we share and preserve cultural and family traditions for other generations, groups, and families to enjoy.
“Your leadership has brought this organization to new heights.”
“Thank you for being my rock.”
If you know someone who melts when they hear these words, chances are their love language is words of affirmation. They thrive on encouragement and verbal support! But what happens when you need to find a gift for someone who simply loves…words? Understanding how someone receives love is actually one of the best clues to finding them the perfect gift. Here’s everything you need to know about love languages and how to find the best words of affirmation gift for every occasion.
What You Need to Know about Words of Affirmation
If you’ve never heard of a “love language” then we’ve got you covered. In his 1992 book titled The 5 Love Languages, author Gary Chapman introduced the premise that everyone gives and receives love in different ways. These preferences, or love languages, are summed up in five key categories:
1. Words of Affirmation
2. Acts of Service
3. Gifts
4. Quality Time
5. Physical Touch
We experience love through all five love languages, but the idea is that one stands above the rest as our primary love language. Do you love surprising your co-workers with treats each morning (Gifts)? Do you feel the warm fuzzies when your partner unloads the dishwasher (Acts of Service)?
While his original work was geared toward couples, the concept of the five love languages has expanded over the past 30 years to encompass every type of relationship. By understanding your own love language, and the preferences of other people in your life, you learn how to better receive, but also express love and value.
Someone whose love language is words of affirmation loves to both share and receive encouragement using affirming words. Hearing “I love you” is like food for their soul. Finding a note on their desk telling them to “Have a great day!” or “You are appreciated!” means the world.
Not sure who in your life receives love through words of affirmation? Consider the way those around you share their appreciation. Does someone at work leave encouraging notes on your desk? Do you have a friend who often texts to remind you they value your friendship? Chances are, their love language is words of affirmation!
Once you are able to identify a person’s love language (and your own!) it becomes much easier to find the perfect gift. Whether you need a gift for a colleague, something for your best friend or spouse, or a way to say “thank you” to a volunteer, knowing their love language sets you up for gift-giving success.
20 Best Words of Affirmation Gifts for Every Occasion
Now that you can identify who in your life has the words of affirmation love language, it’s time to find the right gift for that special occasion. Birthdays, retirements, golden and silver anniversaries for parents, graduations, achievement awards at work or just because — there’s something out there for everyone. Let’s get started.
Affirmation Jewelry
Affirmation jewelry is a great way to give the gift of loving words and a tangible token of your appreciation. Some examples include a bracelet engraved with your sister’s favorite quote. A necklace for a colleague that encourages them toward their goals. From custom-engraved pieces to ones that use morse code or a poem, there are so many options when it comes to the combined gift of jewelry and words of affirmation.
A Collaborative Memory Book
Sometimes the best words are the ones that come straight from the heart. That’s the beauty of creating a custom memory book. A memory book allows you to share your own personal photos, thoughts, stories, and encouragement all in one place. Take it up a notch by creating a collaborative memory book where an entire group (family, coworkers, friends, small group members) work together to combine their favorite memories into the perfect words of affirmation gift. Platforms like Newlywords make it easy to share access with others, upload photos, write personal messages, print, and ship a unique memory book.
“Love Letter” Blanket
There’s nothing quite so cozy as words of affirmation on a personalized blanket! The “love letter” blanket makes a great gift for teacher appreciation week, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or just a fun way to share some love with a friend. The best part is, you can handwrite the note you want to be printed on your blanket, making it extra personal.
Group Encouragement
For those who love words of affirmation, sometimes the best gift isn’t a gift at all. It’s words! If you need a way to share some group love with a coworker, boss, pastor, or teammate — consider working together to speak words of encouragement throughout a specific day or week. For example, assign each team member a specific day of the week to either text, call, or share words of affirmation with the recipient in person. In this way, the gift of words will be showered on that person over and over throughout the week, boosting them with love and appreciation.
A Handmade Card
Sometimes it is the simplest gift that speaks volumes when it comes to the words of affirmation love language. A handmade card with a personal message is exactly the type of present that makes your word-loving friends feel special. This applies to everyone in your life who loves to hear encouragement and affirmation. Consider skipping the store-bought card and writing your own.
Why You Make Me Smile Journal
Don’t worry, we understand that writing from the heart can be difficult. For those who struggle with words but want to find the right way to share affirmation, this is the perfect compromise! The Why You Make Me Smile Journal offers prompts and fill-in-the-blanks to help you create a personalized journal for someone special. The instructions are pretty simple: think of a person who makes you smile, fill in the blanks, give to the person who makes you smile, and grab a tissue.
An Engraved Watch
A watch is a popular retirement gift or a great way to celebrate Dad’s milestone birthday. For those with the words of affirmation love language, you can turn a watch into a treasured memory by adding a special engraved word, message, or quote.
Always Remember Keychain
Sometimes the right words just seem to escape you. If that’s the case, this might be the perfect gift. This keychain comes engraved with an encouraging statement to “Always remember, you are braver than you believe…” It’s a great way to encourage a grad, a coworker, or a friend who just needs that reminder that they have what it takes.
I Wrote a Book About You Series
This is another great fill-in-the-blanks option when you need a little help finding the right words. This book series includes options for friends, parents, and romantic relationships. The book prompts you to write things that are special about the recipient, providing an extra special dose of affirmation.
Daily Affirmation Cards
Sometimes we need to give ourselves a little bit of affirmation! These cards are daily reminders that we are loved and valued. They make a great gift for a friend or coworker, especially one who you know could use a boost of self-motivation now and again.
Personalized Journal
It stands to reason that often those with words of affirmation love language also love to write. If that’s the case for your recipient, consider gifting them a personalized journal. Custom notebooks and journals vary in what they offer, but many options allow you to include a special quote, message, photo, and name. You can give the gift of affirmation, while also giving your recipient a place to jot down their own thoughts and words.
Kudoboard Group Card
Need a great idea for a group gift? Kudoboard is a way to make a collaborative gift card for any situation: Mom and Dad’s 50th anniversary, a milestone birthday, retirement, and more. Your words of affirmation recipient will love receiving a digital “card” covered in photos, messages, and GIFs. Not familiar with Kudoboard? Check out these 8 alternatives. Popular collaborative greeting card options include GroupGreeting, which gives the appearance of an actual greeting card, and Recocards, a mostly free alternative.
Positive Affirmation Wall Art
Does your neighbor have a favorite quote? Maybe your newly married friend spent hours writing his vows? Now you can take those special words and turn them into wall art. From wedding vows to poems or favorite sayings, all it takes is the right words to make a great gift.
Inspirational Coffee Mug
Sometimes all it takes is a simple mug to provide a word of affirmation! Companies like Zazzle let you create a personalized mug with a quote, phrase, or word that’s perfect for your recipient. Or if you aren’t feeling entirely creative, they also offer premade inspirational mugs (here’s one of our personal favorites).
Motivational Planter
Do you know someone who loves words of affirmation and plants? Combine the best of both worlds with a motivational planter. These can range from sentimental to absolutely hilarious, depending on your recipient. While some come pre-potted with a plant, others are empty so you can find the perfect plant to go with the motivational quote.
A Handwritten Letter
For someone who thrives on words of affirmation, there’s really only one thing better than a handwritten note or letter: a handwritten letter sent through the mail. Hardly anyone uses snail mail anymore, which is all the more reason to consider writing a heartfelt message — for a loved one’s birthday, a milestone celebration, or a thank you — and sending it through the mail.
Affirmation Desk Calendar
Maybe it’s just us, but it seems like work is a really great place to provide encouragement. This is especially true if any of your coworkers have words of affirmation as their love language! Since they likely spend a fair amount of time at their desk, consider getting them an encouraging desk calendar. These come in all shapes and sizes and offer some great daily inspiration and wordy wisdom.
A Giving Key
The Giving Keys is a company that stamps keys with encouraging words. The keys are made into everything from necklaces and earrings to keychains. The idea is that you give someone a key with a word that is significant for their season of life. They are then encouraged to “pay it forward” by eventually giving their key to someone else who needs the word more than they do. This is a fantastic gift for your words of affirmation friend, coworker, or loved one. Not only will they feel cherished and known, but they will get the opportunity to do what they do best: share a word of encouragement with someone else.
Encouragement Jar
This is a great way to spread some love and encouragement around the office or workplace. And it doesn’t need to be a gift for only those with words of affirmation love language. We all need some encouragement now and then. Put a jar in a common area and give everyone 2-5 strips of paper. Each person should write a positive quote, words of encouragement, or a fun message on the papers. Place them in the jar and let everyone in the office grab an encouraging word when they need it. They can either read it and place it back in the jar, or keep it and replace it with a new word or quote. In this way, the jar keeps on giving. While everyone will love it, we promise your affirmation-loving colleagues will feel all kinds of special because of this simple jar.
Message Board
A fun way to share encouragement with anyone from your kids to your coworkers is using a simple whiteboard. Whether it’s hanging on a bedroom or office door, or outside a cubicle, the whiteboard is a great space to leave little notes of encouragement and appreciation. For a more personalized look, consider a custom message board.
Make Your Loved One Feel Special with the Gift of Words
The five love languages offer incredibly helpful language when it comes to understanding how we give and receive love. There may be times your words of affirmation friend also needs quality time or simply needs help around the home, but at the end of the day, they get the biggest boost of love from words. There are so many ways to shower someone with the encouragement they deserve, whether it’s a simple handwritten note or a collaborative card or memory book. If your loved one thrives on words, imagine them opening a book designed entirely for them — full of affirmation, memories, and messages of appreciation. A collaborative memory book that speaks directly to their heart. However you choose to show them your love, remember, at the end of the day, it’s the words of affirmation that speak louder than any other gift.
Hard work deserves to be celebrated! One of the best ways to celebrate retirement is with a party. But if party planning feels overwhelming, you’ve come to the right place. Sometimes all it takes is a quick guide and some inspiration to throw that perfect celebration. Honor your retiree with a bit of hoopla and fun by following these top tips on planning a retirement party.
Start With Your Budget
Every party starts with a budget. Determining how much you can (and should) spend on a retirement party helps make every other decision that much easier. Here are just a few things to consider when putting your budget in place:
Where the party will take place (venue) and associated costs
Food (formal or informal catering vs. potluck style)
Decorations
Invitations (digital, printed, mailing costs)
Games and activities
Entertainment
Equipment rental costs
Number of guests
Before diving into the finer details of your event, take a moment to decide who will help cover the event’s costs and how much everyone is willing to chip in. Once your final budget is in place, choosing that perfect venue and retirement cake will be a breeze.
Formal or Surprise?
The type of retirement party you plan to throw also influences your budget and party planning decisions. Does the guest of honor love big, vibrant celebrations? Are they introverted and avoid being the center of attention?
Who you’re celebrating, as well as the company and role they are retiring from, play an important role in the type of party you plan. The two main types of retirement parties are formal and surprise parties.
Surprise parties are great for those who simply love a good celebration (and a good surprise). If you aren’t sure what your guest of honor would like, check in with their loved ones and closest friends. Consider your company’s established traditions when throwing a retirement party for your colleague. Perhaps a formal luncheon at a local restaurant, a fancy dinner with close colleagues, or a midday office party are the favored methods of celebration.
Create a Guest List & Decide on The Mode of Invitation
Now you’re in the fun part of planning and throwing a retirement party! It’s time to create that guest list! The big decisions are made, and you can focus on the finer details.
Guests lists are influenced by the size and type of retirement party you are planning, but here are a few important people to consider, including:
Direct colleagues, employers, and work friends
Past colleagues and employers who have remained close friends
Spouse, family, and friends from outside of work
Retirement is a huge milestone; your guest of honor’s loved ones will undoubtedly want to be involved! For smaller, formal luncheons, it’s okay to simply include the retiree’s spouse and closest colleagues. Larger parties are an excellent opportunity to expand the guest list to include children, past bosses, and friends from outside of work or from past jobs.
Decide on Date & Venue
The time and venue of your retirement party set the tone for the celebration. Spend time considering the retiree’s likes and dislikes and discussing timing with their spouse and family.
It is considered good practice to host a retirement party on or just after the date of retirement. Too early, and the retiree’s final days at work can feel anticlimactic. Too late, and they will already be on to their next adventure (that long-awaited European vacation, perhaps?).
Choose a venue that matches the essence of your theme (if you have one) or simply the vibe of your party. Going for a casual summer retirement party? Consider an outdoor venue that allows your guests to enjoy summer games and sun. Aiming for a formal and intimate surprise party? Do some sleuthing with friends and family to find the guest of honor’s favorite fancy restaurant.
What About The Menu?
Let the venue, theme, and type of retirement party help direct your menu. If you’re throwing a travel-themed party, try matching the cuisine to some of the retiree’s favorite destinations.
Some venues (such as country clubs and restaurants) will cater the event to your specifications. For other venues, such as a private home or public park, consider either catering or cooking some of the retiree’s favorite foods. There is no right or wrong answer regarding a retirement party menu. Just be sure to end your menu with a slice of cake or a retirement-themed dessert!
Party Decoration
Part of the fun of planning a retirement party is picking a theme that fits the retiree. While not every party needs a theme, having one helps you decide on party decor.
Some fan favorite retirement party themes include travel (or a specific destination such as Paris or Hawaii), golf, books (for the bookworm, of course), garden tea party, or even a specific decade (disco, anyone?). A theme based on the retiree’s hobbies, goals, or career is a great place to start!
The theme will also influence whether you’re throwing a formal soiree or an informal shindig. Hawaiian BBQ probably won’t jive with your private dinner party, so keep that in mind.
Ultimately, have fun with it! Focus on decor that also works well with your theme and venue. Wine bottles labeled with “Party like there’s no work tomorrow!” add some humor to any retirement party theme. For the lighthearted retiree, funny banners, buttons, and decor with a fun tagline go a long way in making your retirement party a success.
Other Ideas Around a Retirement Party
You’re off to a great start planning the ultimate retirement party! Here are just a few ideas to incorporate during the big event.
Emphasize Speeches
Take some time during the retirement party to give speeches honoring the retiree. For larger parties, assign this task to a few significant people in advance, such as a boss, spouse, or close colleagues.
Walk Down The Memory Lane
Nothing says retirement quite like a walk down memory lane. Take time to share the significant moments and memories from the retiree’s career. This can be done with a photo slideshow, a video, or a collaborative memory book. Memory books are a great way to include the entire office and family members, giving everyone a chance to share their favorite memories.
A Creative Cake
Don’t forget the dessert! Every party needs a cake (or at least something sweet to celebrate). Consider getting a cake that matches your theme or the retiree’s career. Some ideas include a gavel for the retiring judge, a map of the retiree’s first travel destination, or even a simple cake with your favorite quote or office joke.
Have Games & Other Fun Activities
Games are a great way to keep your guests entertained while emphasizing your party theme. For the backyard BBQ, include some cornhole, bocce, or volleyball. For a more formal affair, icebreaker games that can be played around a dinner table are a great option. For larger events, consider music and dancing to keep your guests energized and having fun.
Build The Party Around the Hobbies of the Retiree
Hobbies are a great source of inspiration when planning a retirement party. If you aren’t familiar with your retiree’s hobbies, consider asking their spouse or family for some ideas. Hobbies such as golf, gardening, boating, and travel make great foundations for a retirement party.
Commemorate The Retiree
Be sure to schedule some time at the party to honor and commemorate the retiree. This can take the form of speeches or can be a separate time where a specific person takes a moment to share some of the retiree’s accomplishments. This is also a great time to give the retiree a group gift.
Give a Retirement Gift
Gifts are always a great idea! Common retirement gifts include engraved items (like pens, clocks, or frames), hobby-specific goods, gift cards, and books. A Newlywords memory book makes a unique gift for something a little more personal. It is both personal and custom, a gift the retiree can return to again and again to relive fond memories.
A Fun, Lighthearted Playlist
Did we mention music? There are plenty of options for adding some good sounds to your retirement party. Hire a DJ, hire a band, or simply put together a fun and memorable playlist to play in the background.
Set Up a Photo Booth
One way to capture all the fun memories from the day is to set up a photo booth. You can either rent a booth or make a DIY version. Whichever way you go, when you plan your retirement party, be sure to include plenty of themed props!
Consider Doing Some Charity
For the conscientious retiree, make their party unique with an element of charity. If your retiree volunteers time or money to a specific charity, consider including charity work in the party. This can take the form of hands-on volunteer time before the festivities. It can also take the form of an auction, game, or competition at the party that raises funds for that charity.
Send Your Colleague and Loved One Out The Right Way!
It’s party time! Now that you’re a pro at party planning, it’s time to plan the perfect retirement party. Every retiree deserves a celebration, and your party will surely be a big hit. Your colleague is sure to feel honored and celebrated when you send them into their next season of life with a personal, well-thought-out event.
Planning an upcoming party? Online invitations are a great choice for so many reasons. Whether you’re saving paper, lack physical addresses for your guests, or want to save time by getting it done online — or you’re simply keeping the budget down! — you may be wondering about popular sites like Evite vs Paperless Post vs Punchbowl vs Greenvelope. In this guide, we discuss the pros and cons of each so you can see what’s available and how to make the best choice for your upcoming event invitations.
Evite
Evite is considered the pioneer of electronic invitations. Founded in 1998, it is nearly a decade older than Paperless Post, Punchbowl, and Greenvelope. As one of the original online invitation platforms, it has also experienced the most change as new designs and technologies hit the market. Today, Evite is known for online invitation design and sending, as well as managing guest lists to plan social events. They offer several unique features that set them apart from other invitation platforms.
Advantages
All four companies compared in this article — Evite, Paperless Post, Punchbowl and Greenvelope — share some, if not many, features. Evite allows you to send invites via email, text, or social media, which all the other platforms also include. Evite includes customizable fonts, colors, and layout of your invitation; and the option to fully upload your own design if you don’t want to use a template — all great features to have when working on a digital invitation.
Evite offers different features based on three tiers: free, Premium, and Pro (all the advantages of Premium with the ability to send unlimited invites/events). We’ll discuss pricing later in this article, but it’s helpful to note that with Premium, you have control over your guest list with the ability to send automated reminders, see when guests have viewed your invite, and put guests into categories for better organization. You can send updates about the event, and when the party is over, you can send thank you notes for free (a feature also shared by other companies), and you can track RSVPs plus connect gift registries.
While many of Evite’s most advantageous features are shared by the other platforms, there are some things that make it a great option for your next event. What makes Evite unique starts with its longevity. As one of the longest standing digital invitation sites, most, if not all of your guests will recognize it or know how to access their invitation. Another thing that makes Evite different is that many of the invitation designs include animation, setting it apart from Punchbowl and Greenvelope. From fun, flashy birthday invitations to elegant animation on a baby shower invite, the website offers plenty of free and paid options. Evite is also the only platform to offer video as part of your invitation. You can upload up to 3 minutes of video to make your invitation extra special — and extra personal.
After the event, you can also add photos of the party to share with guests, a fun feature that is also a brilliant technique to keep customers coming back to Evite after the party is over. One other unique feature is the ability to add a co-host to your invitation, so you can share party planning, messaging, and tracking RSVPs with someone else.
Other fun add-ons for your Evite invitation include a poll for your guests, a “What to Bring” list, and even gift suggestions and donation options.
Drawbacks
While the Evite website is clean and simple to use, it can be difficult to find details about features and pricing options without first creating a login. This could be a tactic to get more people to join their platform, but it may be a deterrent for those simply exploring their options who aren’t ready to commit to one digital invitation platform. What we did discover is that Evite’s web pages for both their Premium options and Evite Pro are clearer and more detailed. However, finding these pages from their original site is a mission. The good news is, Evite offers and app, both in the App Store and Google Play, which mitigates some of these desktop website snafus.
The Premium and Pro pages of the site are easier to navigate (and the content is very clear), but there are multiple reviews from long-time users who are frustrated. Customer service can be slow to respond, emails cannot be edited, and multiple customers complain of “glitches” where evites don’t send and they have to pay again to resend.
Some customers also complain that evite emails end up in recipients’ spam folders. And while ads in the Evite emails can be misleading to guests, you can purchase ad-free invitations through the Premium and Evite Pro options, much like on other platforms.
Paperless Post
Paperless Post, founded in 2008, is one of the first electronic invitation platforms that sought to offer unique and elegant designs — and an experience akin to opening a real printed and mailed invitation. If you’ve ever been sent a Paperless Post, then you likely enjoyed the animation of opening the envelope to reveal the beautifully designed invitation inside. One of the differentiators from other online invitation platforms is their printed designs through Paper Source and their partnerships with major stationary designers and fashion icons.
Advantages
Like we shared above, Paperless Post has very similar advantages as the other platforms. You can send your invitations via email or text, create custom designs, track RSVPs, and message guests. But there are also a few features that are unique to Paperless Post.
In 2018, Paperless Post introduced Flyers, a tech-savvy alternative to their classic (read: traditional) invitations. Flyers are invitations that are much more customizable, include plenty of animations, and look great sent via text message. They’re an informal option for easy-going get togethers.
Also, while Paperless Post isn’t unique in offering text invites, their text options are superior to those of Evite and Punchbowl. They take up the entire phone screen to look like a real invitation over SMS (vs a plain text SMS with a link to the invite). This is great for the party organizer who loves the classic look of Paperless Post invitations but also loves the ease of text.
As we mentioned earlier, another fun feature of Paperless Post is that they also partner with iconic artists who are unique to their company, such as Kate Spade, Rifle Paper, Anthropologie, and Oscar de la Renta, among other designers. On top of cute designs, they offer tons of customizations to make each design your own. If you’re planning a wedding, the Paperless Post features are especially beneficial. You can send a digital Save the Date with a map, gift registry link, and even highlight local accommodation. Then, print the formal invitation and get the best of both the digital and classic invitation world.
Finally, both the Paperless Post website and the app are as well designed as their invitations — clean, beautiful, and easy to use. Their designs appeal to a specific style of event: a combination of elegant, fun, and modern, with a slightly traditional twist.
Drawbacks
One drawback that customers express regarding Paperless Post is the cost. Another downside to the service is that they use a coin system that skews the actual monetary cost — and is somewhat confusing, especially for the less tech-savvy crowd. The coin system can be cumbersome for some users. For example, each premium feature costs a certain number of coins per invitation. If your invitation requires 5 coins per guest and you have 20 guests, it will cost 100 coins (or $22).
To purchase a printed version of your invitations, you must go through Paper Source, which can also be a bit pricey. You can’t see the names of plus ones, which can make planning a bit difficult. On the free flyers, you must remove the extras and uncheck “premium” to make sure it’s free. Premium is the default, which can catch customers off guard. You can include video with the flyers, just not with the classic card invitations. And while Paperless Post allows you to gather information from guests (such as addresses), they don’t include the “potluck” or “what to bring” feature that is prominent with Evite and Punchbowl.
Punchbowl
Punchbowl was originally called MyPunchbowl and was a free site for end-to-end party planning. Started in 2007, it was created in the same era as Paperless Post and Greenvelope. Punchbowl grew to become the original provider of Disney characters for online invitations, and added more collaborations with iconic kid’s character companies like Nickelodeon, Sanrio, and many more.
Most recently, Punchbowl acquired Memento, a video recording and shared album platform where people can also make group videos and collaborate memories.
Advantages
Punchbowl sets itself apart as a great resource for family friendly gatherings and fun, casual events. Because it was once a standalone party planning site, Punchbowl is also a great resource for party ideas and favors.
Punchbowl, like Greenvelope, helps support causes focused on sustainability, so they’re well-liked by people who care about using electronic invitations as a means to support sustainability and climate change.
By far the thing that stands out the most about Punchbowl are their great options for kids’ parties and events. Fun characters such as Peppa Pig, Trolls, Spiderman, and Minions make planning a themed party incredibly easy.
Like the other platforms, Punchbowl invitations can be delivered by text or email (or link via social). They also include an app in both the App Store and Google Play — fantastic for people on the go. Organizers can include a custom message to guests, or even use the Potluck tool to ask guests to bring food to the gathering! The best way to describe Punchbowl is the e-invitation site that keeps things simple. The designs, process, and tools all make sending digital invitations simple and fast, so you can get to the fun part of planning and prepping for your event.
Drawbacks
Some drawbacks about Punchbowl include the presence of ads on the invitations, even with the free trial — customers must upgrade to the Platinum plan to have them removed. Also, their texts can look like spam links (as opposed to the full-frame invitation or graphic that appears with other platforms), which can make it confusing for recipients or even cause them to delete the text.
While Punchbowl’s RSVP tracking and messaging features may not be as robust as some of the other platforms, they offer a competitive invitation service for a fraction of the cost. Platinum membership — their highest tier — is only $15.99/month when not on sale, and it allows you to send invitations for up to 500 guests per event. All in all, many customers find the easy-to-use service a great choice for quickly organizing events for family and friends.
Greenvelope
Greenvelope is a Seattle-based company founded in 2008 that is focused on helping people go paperless to preserve the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. They focus on invitations that have a realistic opening experience and the same elegant “feel” as a classic, paper invitation. Greenvelope specializes in online invitations and RSVP tracking, making the platform a great resource for large events.
Advantages
Greenvelope is lauded for its tracking and planning features. You can easily import guest lists, send surveys, message guests, and more with Greenvelope. The platform also offers email address verification, so you can avoid the issue of double paying and still have theemails end up in junk.
Greenvelope partners with artists across the globe, so you can find beautiful and unique designs. This gives the sense of exclusive designs and a more specialty appeal for your event. Greenvelope also offers a free trial that you can use for an unlimited amount of time with limited features. However, their paid plans offer the bulk of the benefits that are part of the Greenvelope experience.
There are no ads on Greenvelope. They offer device support, and are focused on user experience so you can customize your digital invitations, add registries and more. Custom designs usually come with added fees.
Possibly the coolest thing about Greenvelope is the sustainability causes they support, which include the National Park Foundation, National Forest Foundation, Mountains to Sound and 1% for the Planet. They also have a bus program and plant trees. Greenvelope has overall really good reviews, and they’ve won some awards as well.
Drawbacks
One of the biggest drawbacks to Greenvelope is the cost. It is more expensive (after the free trial) than other platforms but with the big cost comes some big benefits. Greenvelope offers a wide array of services beneficial for larger events, as opposed to family-focused events. The platform is great for the corporate event or wedding where guests need to specify meal options, song requests, and where the organizer needs the best tools available to track RSVPs for a large number of people.
With the pricing issues come a few other sticking points for Greenvelope users. Some people do not like that Greenvelope prices per person — rather than per email. If you send an email invitation that includes five guests but only one email address, you get charged for five guests. Also, if you resend any invites, it’s an additional cost.
Evite vs Paperless vs Punchbowl
Now that we’ve seen the pros and cons of each electronic invitation platform, let’s compare these four services with specific aspects of each.
Features
Evite, Paperless Post, Punchbowl and Greenvelope are all very similar in their features and offer many of the same benefits for users. However, there are a few key differences:
Evite offers users the ability to send cryptocurrency gifts. They also include animated invitations and video invites, great options for your events with family and friends.
Paperless Post lets you order matching party supplies and get printed invitations. They partner with iconic artists and designers so you can have amazingly unique and upscale invites. All invitations have animated envelope opening, and text invites take up the recipients’ screen versus making them click on a link. This is a great choice for weddings and more formal events.
Punchbowl offers party favors and photo/video sharing services. They also partner with artists, and they’re the only one to offer iconic kids’ characters for invitations (like Disney, Sanrio etc). An incredible choice for children’s parties and family events.
Greenvelope also includes animated envelope opening to mimic the real thing. They partner with companies like the National Park Service and are the most committed to sustainability. They have the most robust backend tools for organizing and managing for large events, making them a great choice for corporate events.
User friendliness
Which website is more user-friendly and makes it easiest to use the service? According to customer feedback, the best sites for user friendliness are Greenvelope and Punchbowl.
Greenvelope has amazing customer reviews overall, though they’re more focused on elegant invitations for large events rather than smaller, informal events. Their website is up to date and easy to use and includes all the information a customer needs in order to compare Greenvelope services and make an informed purchase.
Punchbowl’s founders are user interface experts, so the Punchbowl website ranks at the top for user experience. They still have some bugs to work out in their app, but they have a high number of positive customer reviews online than other services.
Paperless Post comes in third, as many customers seem to have trouble figuring out how to design invitations on their site — not to mention, the coin system is unnecessarily confusing. However, their customer service team strives to answer people promptly, making the user experience a tad bit better with one-on-one support.
Evite comes in last, because a quick online search will tell you that more customers have negative experiences with Evite than the other websites — the interface is outdated, and it is very difficult to find the info you need all in one place. However, once you find their Premium and Evite Pro pages, it is easy to see that their upgrading their website experience.
Design Library & Flexibility
Every great electronic invitation website and app comes with its version of a design library. Finding the one you like best depends on what style of invitation you’re looking for and what type of event you’re organizing.
Evite, Paperless Post, Puchbowl, and Greenvelope all offer designs for nearly every imaginable event and holiday, and they all allow for custom designs and uploads (with the paid versions, of course). So which design library is best? It may come down to how much you’re willing to pay.
All libraries offer many free options (or free trials) that would do the trick for your family birthday party or Superbowl gathering. However, if you’re looking for higher-quality — or more unique — options, then you may need to splurge for the paid versions. Each paid option offers a wider array of designs as well as the flexibility to send out invitations to a larger number of guests.
For some fun, printable options, Paperless Post offers matching party supplies and printed versions of their invitations, which the others do not. Paperless Post also offers around 1,000 free customizable invitation templates.
Let’s look more at use cases to see which library would best suit your situation.
Use Cases
If you want household-name designer invitations — and the ability to send both digital and print versions — pick Paperless Post. Evite and Greenvelope also partner with artists, but not as many well-known fashion names or stationery designers. Paperless Post also offers great event planning tools to help ease the stress of managing your guest list.
For fan favorite, iconic kids’ characters, go with Punchbowl, which has characters from Disney and more for all ages.
If you want unique invitations designed by a variety of global artists, choose Greenvelope. They also allow for maps to be included, as well as external links and survey questions for guests.
For ease of use and familiarity, choose Evite. As the longest standing platform of the four, more of your guests will know how to RSVP and access event details. Evite also offers a wide range of options for any event from a graduation party to your office holiday event.
Emailing
Evite, Punchbowl, Paperless Post, and Greenvelope are fairly comparable when it comes to email list management. All four platforms allow you to manage your guests with RSVP tracking and the ability to message guests with updates.
They also all include polling, where you can create questions for your guests to answer that will help with party planning. For example, meal choices or dietary restrictions, song requests, and more.
Greenvelope and Paperless Post also include easy-to-use map features so guests can easily see where the event is taking place. Other specialty features include links to a registry, nearby accommodation, or helpful resources.
Of all the platforms, Evite has many complaints from customers who say emails weren’t delivered or ended up in spam folders. When they tried to resend or edit email addresses, they got charged to resend the emails.
Cost
Some of the digital invitation platforms hide their pricing well, and you’ll likely have to get into designing your invites before you get an accurate price. However, here is what we do know about invitation prices.
Evite’s Premium pricing (which includes the ability to disable ads) starts at $15.99 for their small package for up to 15 guests and maxes out at the extra-large package (up to 750 guests) for $79.99. Then there is Evite Pro, a yearly subscription for $249.99 that offers all the bells and whistles of the premium membership, plus an entire platform to host virtual events. Evite Pro is geared mostly toward businesses and non-profits, giving corporations the ability to invite up to 2,500 guests, add donation options, and even include a custom business logo on the invitation.
Paperless Post is the only platform that uses “coin packages” instead of straightforward pricing. The price per coin varies depending on the package size. There are 5 package options with 25 coins for $12 to 1,000 coins for $115. The coins are non-refundable, but they stay in your account for up to 5 years to be used on later purchases (free coins last one year). The coin system is fairly confusing, as you don’t know how many you need prior to designing your invitation and adding your guest list. This is very challenging for the budget-conscious party planner.
Punchbowl pricing is by far the most straightforward. The site offers subscription plans of Platinum, Premium, and Plus, and their yearly plans are non-refundable. The cheapest plan is Plus, which is $7.99/month (aside from sales — right now it’s $3.99/month). This gives you up to 50 guests per event. The only way you can get ad-free invites is with Punchbowl’s Platinum “Remove Advertising” plan, which is $15.99/month (currently on sale for $7.99/month) that includes 500 guests per event.
Greenvelope pricing is based on the number of guests — not invitations, but actual invited individuals. This means that one invitation for a family of five is charged as five guests. They have single mailing plans for your one-off event that range from $19 for up to 20 guests, all the way up to $3,799 for up to 25,000 guests. They also have plans for unlimited mailings, starting at $125/year for up to 50 people and ranging up to $4,235/year for up to 12,500 people.
Conclusion
Depending on what you’re celebrating, finding a good service for digital invitations is tricky! We hope that our review of these platforms helps you discover which invitation service best fits your needs and expectations for your next event.
Evite, Paperless Post, Punchbowl, and Greenvelope each have unique aspects that set them apart from the others. One may be better for you depending on your needs and purposes. And perhaps you’ll try them all at one point or another! There really is something out there for almost every kind of event, invite, and shindig you can dream up.
In short: if you’re looking for the perfect theme for your child’s birthday party, choose Punchbowl; if you want gorgeous designer invitations, choose Paperless Post; if you want to support places like the National Park Service and some unique indie designers, choose Greenvelope; for the most familiar service or best free tools, try Evite; and if planning a corporate event is on your radar, Greenvelope and Evite Pro have the most robust tools for your needs. And finally, if budget is important to you, you can also choose the one that has the pricing options that makes the most sense for your event.
There are so many options out there, so have fun exploring, creating, designing, and party planning!
Truly effective employee onboarding takes a year. While there are specific parts to onboarding that happen in the first week and months, having a year of onboarding is important for greater employee retention. Especially in today’s great resignation, making sure employees feel connected to your business and have opportunities for advancement is key to keeping them on your team.
Getting to know your team, from both new and existing employee standpoints, is an important aspect of onboarding. This article will discuss why you need smooth onboarding, how to facilitate team building and effective ways to do both.
Even though a Kronos study concluded that onboarding programs that last longer result in better companies and better employees, 22% don’t even have an onboarding program – which means there’s no better time to prioritize this for your business!
First Things First: “Get To Know Your Team” – Employee Profile Book!
Did you know that many new hires will begin looking for another job in their first 45 days to 6 months? That’s why onboarding well, and for an entire year, is important.
A major part of effective onboarding is getting to know the team. This includes much more than simple introductions, because only doing introductions leaves so much to chance. People may forget names quickly, and fast intros don’t help people know who they can rely on, who to ask questions to or who they’ll work with the best. It also doesn’t help to foster a community of teamwork.
Here are some reasons why teamwork is important for teams (whether they’re in-house, remote or hybrid):
Fosters collaboration – it spreads positive and motivational energy when people work together to achieve common goals;
Creates employee relationships so your team can grow together, not to mention having people they look forward to working with.
So, how do you help new hires get to know their new team? The first part of your strategy is introductions. While intros are important, people can still forget names and info due to the overwhelming amount of information they’ll be getting starting the new job. They also don’t get all the information they need about their teammates in the short time you’ll have to introduce them.
Here are two main ways you can help people get to know their co-workers:
1. Introduction “get-to-know-you” books from Newlywords. These give team members a reference to who people are at any given time, and helps them get to know the team better, as it can include more information and photos;
2. Team building activities, which foster actual bonds between co-workers.
You Should Facilitate Team Building Straight Away!
Any company knows that its most valuable resource is its employees. Finding, and then retaining, talented and motivated people can make or break a company’s successes and failures.
How does a company conduct effective team building today, when many workers are remote, people are resigning all over the place, and 31% of employees aren’t into “team-building activities”?
The key is to look at your intention before you plan your strategy and possible activities. If you’re going to foster a positive and collaborative work environment, the leadership has to be first, and it has to be part of your company culture. Many people want more flexibility and purpose in their jobs, so if you want to keep these intelligent, self-assured workers, you need to think about how to shift the way things are done and be open-minded to change.
Here are a few ways to begin generating company culture change so you can effectively implement team-building practices for new hires:
Get clear on what kind of environment you want to promote and make sure you’re modeling and facilitating it yourself – in other words, be the example your employees can follow.
Survey your current employees. Ask them about their experience, how they view the collaborative spirit, and how you’re doing at leading. Ask how their onboarding experience was and how it can be improved.
Also ask employees what they want from you in terms of today’s shift in employee expectations. Get honest feedback, then make changes to what you’re offering new hires. With this, you’ll want to make sure you have systems in place to ensure you reach your goals.
Team Building Practices for New Recruits
What are the best team building practices that HR managers should follow? Here’s a list of best practices and ideas:
Make the activities convenient and enjoyable for employees.
Make team-building events as easy for employees to join and enjoy as possible. When planning team-building, you’ll want to:
Make it during work hours so everyone can attend;
Make it collaborative so people work together;
Make sure every team member can participate: it must be accessible to everyone. This means considering remote workers, as well as, for instance, not making it about sports unless your team is entirely sports-oriented and fit;
If you’re going to do something together and out-of-office, make sure you cover costs and transportation for employees;
Make sure to clearly communicate the goals and purpose of what you’re doing with all employees;
Ask employees for their opinions and feedback before and after the event.
Use the opportunity to create an improved day-to-day work environment.
This isn’t meant to be a one-time thing to half-heartedly make a show of change, but then not to actually change. Don’t do something you can’t deliver on in the longer-term. Make this about implementation of permanent work environment changes.
This doesn’t need to be complicated. Make sure you have a clear focus – like on teamwork and relationship-building – and make sure you:
Do activities that generate teamwork with a common goal;
Reward teams, as opposed to individuals to drive home the idea;
Make sure employees feel like members of a team rather than slaves or people working for a taskmaster – give them some skin in the game, and/or change the way you do things in meetings, for instance;
Make sure people are communicating any issues, places for improvement, etc. so you know how to improve.
Do some activities.
These shouldn’t be too cliche, and should involve everyone, regardless of external factors. Some ideas are:
A scavenger hunt. Let employees work together to find things in the office, or online if it involves remote workers;
Work to foster inter-departmental relationships and collaboration by letting people work together who don’t always get to;
Schedule a team-building activity once every few months at least so people can look forward to it;
Show employee appreciation by giving gifts, like products or experiences, that add value to the people who help your company run.
Bottom Line
Every organization needs proper onboarding for the company to run smoothly, but many aren’t doing any onboarding at all! Because onboarding includes getting to know the team, you’ll also need to implement team building strategies that foster a work environment people want to be in; this helps dramatically increase employee retention, which is needed now more than ever, it seems. A great first step to improving employee onboarding and helping people get to know their team members is giving them a book to help them get to know everyone, that has photos, team memories and company information to help them feel welcome – because your employees are your ticket to a successful business!
Creating a tribute memory book is a wonderful way to honor a loved one who has passed on because memories and stories are a therapeutic way to look back on good times and let that person stay close in our hearts.
In a memory book, you can include photos with stories, quotes, memorabilia and more that make that person special. You can also let people contribute their own content and send copies for a collaborative memorial everyone can share.
Here’s how to make a tribute memory book.
1. Collect Pictures, Memories, Messages
Start by collecting material for the book. You’ll want photos, stories, messages and memorabilia from the people who knew and loved the person who passed. Here’s what you’ll need:
Consider Who’ll Contribute
Start by making a list of family, friends, coworkers, and anyone else that may want to contribute to the book so you don’t miss anyone, and so no one feels left out.
Make sure you include people from every facet of your loved one’s life. For instance, if they went to a religious organization, or if they were involved in a professional organization, they probably have friends in those places. If they frequented a diner with friends, ask the friends and the people who work in the diner. Think about everything they did, the people they might have impacted and give those people an outlet to share memories – it will help them, and it will be beneficial to you as you grieve to hear these stories about your loved one.
Email or otherwise contact the people on the list and ask them for the following things for the book, or anything they’d like to contribute. You can have them send emails with information, they can mail things or you can meet with them in person or video chat. They can also put files on a flash drive or on the cloud to share digitally.
Collect Photos That Matter
When you contact the people on your list, tell them to send any and all photos they can. Also find photos to which you have access.
Then, choose the photos that show stories, bring back good memories or tell the life story of the deceased. Photos of their experiences, family and friends, vacations, milestones, and more are great options to include, since you won’t be able to include every photo.
If you have photos that are well-worn or need improvements, you can edit them in a program like Photoshop to fix lighting, sharpness and coloring, or use a service like MyHeritage to fix or add color to old photos.
Share & Record Memories
Next, write and record memories of your loved one. Write your own stories and get people to share stories with you. This can be through writing (email or letters), or digital recordings (you can transcribe the audio). Recording stories is a great way to get them from older family members who may not be as tech-savvy, but anyone can record stories to get their entire point of view in the narrative if they’d rather not write.
Include Messages from Family & Friends
Besides memories in the form of stories, family and friends can add messages for the deceased, or for the family if the book is a gift. This gives people a chance to say what they would want the loved one that has passed on to know, and it can be therapeutic, plus it can help readers of the memory book in their own grieving process.
Think of Their Favorite Things
Did your loved one have a talent, career or hobby that they loved? Share it in the book! Whether they were an artist, gardener, dancer or something else, include photos and/or examples of their work. If your grandpa was a joker, write out some of his jokes and include them (possibly with images), or even artwork someone else created of your loved one, like a caricature or portrait.
If the person you’re commemorating had favorite artists, musicians, places they loved or movies, you can also include those in the book to remember their favorite things and memories associated with those things. If they were a part of a fundraising committee for charity, owned a business or something else, include memorabilia from those as well.
2. Visualize The Book & Organize Accordingly
After collecting all the materials, the next step is to look at what you’ve collected and decide how and in what sequence to organize the book. This could be a timeline or have varying sections with the different aspects of life you want to remember.
Figure Out The Structure & Sequence of Things
The first step is figuring out the structure and sequence of the materials. You can organize the book as a timeline, by specific events like milestones, or with groups like family, friends, church group, book club, travel, and things of that nature.
Next, make sure you have all the information you need for each section. Get dates, locations, and names of people for all photos. Gather stories and information on each section to include in the book.
Design Page Layouts
If you’re designing the book digitally, choose a program for page layouts, like Adobe InDesign, and either use templates or design your own layouts. Consider:
Themes to fit the subject matter of the page and/or sections;
Page margin size;
Page composition – how many photos on each page, what size should they be and where will they be placed?
Text for each page – how much, where it goes and fonts/sizes;
Background colors, patterns or images;
Borders for photos, including shapes;
Additional design elements, like if you’re going to include photos of things like handwritten recipes or type them out.
Format Correctly
Make sure you’re formatting text and photos correctly, meaning that file type and size is correct, and that everything is in the right place. Make sure the book itself is formatted in the right file type for printing (usually pdf).
3. Printing The Book
The next step is printing the book. You have some options:
There are services that will print out everything and bind it in a book format for you, like at Staples;
Some services let you design the book on the same platform where it gets printed;
A service like Newlywords lets you make the whole process collaborative, so you can avoid handling all the files and inputting all the information yourself – people put in their own photos, text and memories, and you can edit and print all on the same website.
The process of printing a memory tribute book can get complicated, and the outcome might not come out great if you’re trying to execute this step alone. It can be a great weight off your shoulders to choose a professional platform that takes the work off of you for your own peace of mind to know it’s high quality, error-free and of lasting quality.
4. Creating a Scrapbook (If You Want to Do it Yourself)
If you want to make a scrapbook yourself, you’ll need to follow the above steps. Then, you’ll need to organize everything how you want it on each page, print out the pages and combine them into a book.
You can make your scrapbook as DIY as you want, from designing it all online and getting it printed, or placing pages in a book or binder with scrapbook pages you can buy from a craft store that you glue photos and memorabilia onto yourself.
You may also want to consider how many copies you’ll need. If you only want one book, you can use any of the above methods, but if you want copies to give to family and friends, it may be a better option to print the book since it’s more easily reproducible and won’t take as much time to finish and send out to people.
Alternatively, Take Professional Help
Everything we’ve talked about so far is a normal part of the process of making a memory book to pay tribute to a loved one. However, getting professional help can be easier than having to gather everyone’s photos and stories, organize and format them yourself, print them out and create the book, all of which can be incredibly time-consuming, uncertain and possibly frustrating.
Today, services exist that make it easy to make a memory book where people have direct access to the book to add their own information. Plus, it doesn’t take the final control from you – you can still edit, add and refine as much as you need to before printing the final product. When the book is printed, it’s done in a professional, hard-cover format that can be prominently displayed on coffee tables or wherever to be admired for years to come.
This is why Newlywords decided to make memory books easier for people – they automate the entire process so it’s easy to create tribute memory books without the fuss. You just send out the book access to people on your list, they add their memories, and you check it over to edit as needed and order your copies.
Bottom Line
Losing a loved one is never easy, but remembering them can bring you joy in times of grief. Tribute memory books are an amazing way to bring a smile to your face when you’re missing someone, and a great way to combine memories from everyone who knew the person. Helping everyone share memories, and knowing all these people have a copy of the stories, photos and memorabilia important to that special person, makes something sad become a way people can connect and share. Memory books let that person live on through their family, friends and stories. If you’re looking to make a collaborative tribute memory book, be sure to check out Newlywords and see if it’s a good fit for you!
Every day, nearly 10,000 people reach retirement age. In 2020 alone, the number of Baby Boomers retiring increased by over 3 million from the previous year. While not everyone retires from their career at age 65, it is likely that this year will bring with it an opportunity to celebrate one of your coworkers as they head off into retirement. But with many offices spread around the globe or still maintaining work-from-home standards, how do you properly celebrate your coworker in this digital age? Enter the virtual retirement party.
While having virtual social events may be a hallmark of the COVID-19 pandemic, we think the idea is here to stay. As more and more companies ditch the 9-to-5 office environment, there will be plenty of opportunities for virtual celebrations. Ready to become a virtual party planning master? Start here with our guide to throwing a momentous—and memorable—virtual retirement party.
Why Should You Hold a Virtual Retirement Party?
Retirement is an incredible accomplishment. It represents years of hard work and devotion. Spending a few hours celebrating years of accomplishments is well worth the time, even when done virtually.
The moment of retirement is an opportunity to honor and encourage friends and coworkers. And just because you’re not all in the same city, state or country, it doesn’t mean the moment should pass by unacknowledged. A virtual retirement party is the perfect way to let your coworker know you will miss them, but also that their time with your company has left a mark.
Ideas for Holding a Virtual Retirement Party
A virtual retirement party may take place on a screen rather than in a home or event space, but that doesn’t mean it is any less of an event! In fact, taking your retirement party virtual enables more guests to attend from other parts of the globe. Truly make your event one to remember with these tips for hosting a virtual retirement party.
Use Apps to Facilitate Engagement The first step to throwing a memorable virtual retirement party is to create a buzz about the event. Sending out virtual invitations through an app like Evite makes the party feel more tangible to the guests, including the guest of honor. The app also allows guests to sign a virtual “guest book” and leave fun comments to prepare for the big day.
Build on your party momentum by inviting all your coworkers to contribute to a retirement memory book. Getting the entire office to collaborate and share memories and photos helps facilitate engagement and excitement for the celebration.
Set Up a Countdown What better way to build anticipation than to create a countdown to the big day? Virtual countdowns are easy to set up and serve as a fun way to honor your coworker throughout their last days and months with the company. Platforms like Counting Down To and Time and Date let you create a countdown clock to share with coworkers. You can even choose a retirement party theme and save the clock to your internal website or flash it up on company Zoom meetings as a reminder of the upcoming event. However you choose to use it, a countdown is a great way to add some lighthearted fun to your highly anticipated virtual retirement party.
Send Physical Gifts While the key event will be virtual, sending physical gifts is a great way to show the guest of honor that you appreciate them. Need some retirement gift ideas? Even small, personal gifts can make a big statement! From a book by the retiree’s favorite author to travel essentials for their first big trip post-retirement, these tokens will remind recipients that they are loved. Also, don’t forget to print your office memory book and have it shipped straight to them.
Pick a Time That the Entire Team Can Attend Whether you’re using Zoom, your own internal conferencing tool or any other video conferencing platform, finding a time when everyone can attend is essential. In-office retirement parties are an opportunity for everyone in the company to celebrate. Virtual retirement parties are no different. Choose a time when the board, committees and entire staff can pause their workday and properly celebrate.
Plan the Activities
Another way to ensure a successful virtual retirement party is to plan the activities. Video conferencing can sometimes be awkward (although, hopefully we’re all past that by now!), and being unprepared for a party can just add to that awkward feeling.
Instead, entertain guests with some fun virtual games that get people interacting, laughing and enjoying the moment. Games are a simple way to engage the entire list of attendees at your virtual retirement party while also easing the slight tension of online interaction. The best part is that virtual games are simple! We’ve even listed a few that you and your team might enjoy.
Two Truths and a Lie A fun and easy way to get to know each other, and the guest of honor, is to play “Two Truths and a Lie.” Each person shares two facts about themselves that are true and one that is a lie. Guests have to guess which is which. Hand out points for each correct guess and designate a winner at the end! Fun prizes can be anything from office bragging rights and a virtual medal to a coffee gift card for the winner’s local coffee shop.
Heads Up! Another great virtual retirement party game is Heads Up!, a virtual take on classic games like charades. Send a link to your party guests before the big day and have them download the Heads Up! app on their phones. Divide guests into teams and enjoy a laugh with your coworkers. When it’s your turn, simply hold the phone up to your head and try to guess what is on the screen based on the clues from your team. When you get it right, you get to move on to the next word or you can skip a challenging word at the risk of losing points. Either way, your virtual party guests will have a great time.
Never Have I Ever – Office Edition Never Have I Ever is a classic party game that comes in many forms. For a virtual retirement party, however, we recommend trying this Zoom-friendly office edition. Start by having everyone at the party hold up five fingers. The first person to go says, “Never have I ever…” followed by something they have never done around the office or during the workday. For example, “Never have I ever watched TV during a work Zoom meeting.” If anyone has done this before, they have to close one finger. Once all five fingers are closed, that person exits the game!
Plan a Virtual Escape Room Familiar with the excitement (and tension) of Escape Room? Now you can play online with your entire company. Your virtual Escape Room is like the real thing, except instead of being in the room yourself, you and your party guests get to experience the room remotely. An Escape Room guide joins your virtual retirement party and locks themselves in the room with a camera. Your guests then look for clues and help direct the guide to escape the room. The entire process takes about 60 minutes. You must schedule this in advance, so be sure to plan ahead!
Don’t Make It Lengthy Amid planning your coworker’s virtual retirement party, be sure to keep it fun, festive and also timely. A long, drawn-out event reminds people of lengthy work meetings, not celebrations. Keep the party on schedule with specific games and activities, and set aside a predetermined amount of time for speeches, memory sharing and well-wishes. Let guests know in advance how long the party will be, and then allow room for people to stay on longer if they wish.
Ideas for Mailing Gifts
Sending gifts to your retiring coworker is one way to make the celebrations last a little longer. Gifts also leave a tremendous impact, especially if they arrive in the days after retirement when your coworker may be missing work or their old routine.
Send Gift Cards One of the simplest and easiest gifts to send a retiring coworker is a gift card. You can have the entire office sign one card or have everyone send a personal card and message to flood the retiree’s mailbox on the same day/week. You can also mail a collaborative book that serves as a “gift card” from the office that your coworker will treasure for years to come.
Send Their Favorite Flower One way to make your retiree feel celebrated is with the very tangible gift of flowers. Having flowers delivered to the front door will make anyone feel special, and this is certainly a time to emphasize how special your coworker is to the team. For those retirees who are big fans of gardening, consider sending a plant or bush instead. Find a local delivery company, or use a popular nationwide option like 1-800 Flowers or FTD.
Tips & Tricks to Ensure A Successful Virtual Retirement Party
One of the best and easiest ways to throw a successful virtual retirement party is to keep things fun, festive and on theme. This is a special opportunity to celebrate someone who has worked hard to get to where they are today. Follow these tips to keep your party running smoothly and feeling festive for everyone involved!
Honor the Guest The entire reason you and your team are gathering online is to celebrate the guest of honor. Set aside an ample amount of time (but don’t let it go too long!) to allow people to share fun work memories, stories and personal thoughts about the retiree. You can even encourage everyone to BYOB to the party and show up with a sparkling beverage in hand so you can all make virtual toasts.
Invite Those Near & Dear to The Honoree Just like in-person retirement parties, a virtual retirement party should include close friends and family members of the retiree. The day is extra special when the guest of honor’s spouse, children and former colleagues are there to celebrate too. Be sure to schedule some time for these special invitees to share a few words about their loved one.
Share Past Experiences of Their Career A retirement party is the perfect time to highlight the experiences and achievements of a long and fulfilling career. Invite some of your team’s longest standing employees (and those who have worked closely with the retiree) to share some of their fondest memories and lessons learned from working with the guest of honor. This is a time for celebration, so keep stories and memories festive, positive and encouraging!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long should the party last? There is no hard and fast rule about how long a virtual retirement party should last. If you plan to include games and activities, we recommend keeping your party from 90 minutes to two hours (remember that the virtual Escape Room takes 60 min). For parties that are simply a time to share memories, 30 minutes may be enough time to celebrate.
How do you handle coworkers leaving virtually? Encourage your coworkers to stay for the entire party to help make the guest of honor feel valued. You can even share the itinerary with everyone so that if they need to slip out early, they can find an appropriate time that won’t interrupt the festivities.
What are the most important parts of a virtual retirement party? Making sure your guest of honor feels special is the most important aspect of a virtual retirement party. Be sure to prioritize time to share stories and celebrate the retiree’s accomplishments.
Conclusion
Retirement is an achievement worth celebrating! Thanks to technology and a little creativity, hosting a virtual retirement party for your coworker has never been easier. With a little planning, you can engage your team and plan a thoughtful event that includes games, gifts, special stories and plenty of shared memories.
