September 18, 2011: International News From the Field

Punchbowl (www.punchbowl.com) is a free site for start-to-finish party planning where hosts can design personalized online invitations, get party ideas, find party favors, and more. There is an option to upgrade to get access to premium designs, however all of features are included in the free version of the site. Not only are the services offered genuinely helpful in planning an event, the site also has resources volunteers might enjoy at any time.

One feature of the site is digital greeting cards with some really unique elements. They have look and feeling of traditional paper cards with the ease and immediacy of online correspondence. The recipient gets an animated envelope, which “opens” to reveal the card. There are hundreds of free cards to choose from and then you personalize your special greeting with accents like envelope liners, custom postage and rubber stamps – and of course with a written message from you and photos if you wish. Check out the page of digital thank you cards, which every leader of volunteers can use.

Another neat feature is the Reasons to Celebrate area of the site, which tells you special commemorative events around which you might plan a party. Apparently, the choices for September the 18th include National Cheeseburger Day and the 2011 Emmy Awards, while the whole week is National Singles Week and the entire month is both National Piano Month and National Organic Harvest Month. Who knew?