My favorite thing about the holidays is definitely the way that loved ones come together, sometimes family you don’t get to see during the rest of the year. Sometimes I like to have little gatherings with my mom friends or parties for the kids. Every year, we host a beautiful Christmas Eve dinner for our family. With all of these activities going on, plus the hustle and bustle of the season, it’s hard to find time to sit and make out individual invitations for the events, stamp them, and ship them. It’s such a hassle! Punchbowl is an online card service with oodles of gorgeous card designs to make your life just a tad easier!

Punchbowl online cards are adorable and easy to send. The kids have actually been receiving Punchbowl greeting cards from their grandfather for a couple of years and they always get a kick out of the cuteness! For the greeting cards, you can customize them with your own family picture and it even allows you to include a gift card. I’m not sure that we’ll have time to do paper cards this year so I find this feature alone to be incredibly convenient!

As for planning my events, I need something better than a social media bulk invite. Everyone is using those now and they get lost because I get so many nonsense ones for online parties. I need something that people are going to want to open and respond to. It’s important to know how much food we need, gifts we might be exchanging, and whether or not to get extra chairs for the occasion! Punchbowl has a feature where not only can the guests RSVP, they can RSVP for each other (like your spouse and kids). They can also see who else is going and you can even have text delivery sent. It’s the service you use when you’re having a real event, one that requires the head count and preparation!

 

My favorite kinds of Christmas parties

Christmas cookie swaps are ah-mazing. Everybody makes their own cookies and you trade with each other. That’s where I first fell in love with a coconut macaroon. I’ve made melted snowmen and Grinch cookies that were a hit in the past. We always hand out recipe cards so that the recipient can re-create the deliciousness if they want. We’ve also done votes for the cookies, like “best tasting” and “most unique” or “best decorated”. The prize for the best tasting ones is I eat them. Just kidding!

Ugly sweater parties are such a neat idea and I’m dying to go to one. Everybody wears the ugliest sweater they can find or as I would prefer make! I would love to make the gaudiest, shimmery sweater that glitter bombs every person I walk by! I would aim to win “most annoying sweater” if that’s a thing.

Kids holiday crafting parties are common in the mom groups this season and I love hosting them. Punchbowl has e-invitations that are kid-themed, to include Disney and Sesame Street. It’s essential for me to collect the RSVPs here because I need to know how many of each supply to get. I usually do a foam craft for the really young ones or a gingerbread decorating for the bigger kids. Either way, it’s always a hit!

Family gatherings are my most favorite kind of party and the variety is all up to you. This year, I think we’ll do some sugar cookie decorating where I set up a bar of everything you can think of to top a cookie. In previous years, we’ve done games, crafts with the grandkids, and we always feed the guests a nice big meal (to include my husband’s famous baked mac!) because we’re usually doing this on Christmas Eve!

 

Step one to fun is the invitations! Choose your favorite Punchbowl design and input the important details like the event date, time, and location. Then, add your guest’s name and e-mail address or phone number. You can even choose cutesy envelopes, stamps, and postage. You may not have the time for paper invites but you’re surely not lacking in attractive details!

If you need any additional information from the guests, maybe poll them about the gift spending limit or ask what they’re bringing for dinner, there are polls and message board options for the invites too! You can add a gift registry for the birthday girl or even take contributions for everyone in a group to share the cost of a party! Punchbowl removes a lot of the stress from the invitation process and allows you to focus on the rest of your to-do list, which I’m finding incredibly necessary for all of our holiday events!

Make your own Punchbowl cards here.

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What kinds of events do you host or attend during the holiday season?

 

*The Quirky Mom Next Door received the above item(s) in exchange for our honest review. All opinions and experiences are our own only.