As we gather gifts and spread joy and cheer, it’s easy to tell that the holidays are here and the new year is right around the corner! Are you planning on celebrating the arrival of 2012 with a flashy and fabulous New Year’s party?

Here are some tips for throwing the best party of the new year.

• Offer flavorful appetizers and desserts to keep your guests energized and to express your theme. Delish suggests serving an arugula pizza as a delicious and easy to snack on treat, and it’s a recipe that hosts can easily adapt to please varying tastes. Desserts are a great way to show off some creativity and to tie your party theme together. Cupcakes with vanilla frosting and silver sprinkles are a simple and festive dessert that will surely be a hit, while a New Year’s Sparkler Cake will undoubtedly be the talk of the dessert table.

Arugula Pizza by Delish

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We are working our way toward the holiday season, and the weather (at least in New York City) is getting colder. The holiday season calls for comfort when you’re not in the midst of gathering food for feasts and gifts for loved ones. How about arranging some relaxing get togethers to enjoy good company and the cozy indoors?

Plan a movie night:

• Make this into an event by sending out a movie night invitation. I love this design for its classic and vintage appeal.

Popcorns designed by Cindy Garber Iverson

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Today, kids’ birthdays can be extravagant events, and just the thought of hosting one can send some parents into a frenzy.  Your saving grace?  Summer! Parents applaud summer as their favorite season to host or attend a children’s birthday party.  They credit the great outdoors for providing more activity options for kids and an easier clean-up for parents.

To help plan a summer party, check out these top theme picks and unique gifts:

Top Party Themes:

1) Make a Mess: If you’re going to encourage good old fashioned mess making, there is no better time to do so than when you’re outside!  Kids will love the fact that parents are actually encouraging them to get down & dirty.  Send a “messy” handmade invite and ask kids to arrive in their bathing suits with an extra set of clothes.  Provide activities like finger/face painting, a gelatin-eating contest and water balloon toss.

Party Product Picks & Gifts:

Pumponator Balloon Pump for Air & Water Balloons ($19.95)
My Art Kids Art Portfolio ($17.95)

2) Drive-In: Hang a large white sheet from a backyard tree and project your child’s favorite movie while kids lounge in the grass.  Send a “movie ticket” invitation, and ask kids to arrive in their PJs with their favorite stuffed bedtime friend.  Serve popcorn and/or ice cream sundaes and send the kids home full & ready for bed.

Party Product Picks & Gifts:

Portable Outdoor Blanket ($39.95)
Nap Mat ($39.95)

3) Camp Out: Set the party in the early evening & send a “compass” invitation with directions to the party.  Ask kids to arrive dressed in their favorite camping attire with a backpack & flashlight.  Grab a couple jelly jars for firefly catching, play flashlight tag, have mom or dad tell a story and roast s ‘mores.

Party Product Picks & Gifts:

Kids Camp Shelter & Camouflage Set ($49.95)
Kids Campfire Glow Lantern ($19.95)
My First Back Pack ($14.95)

4) Carnival: Decorate your backyard or local park with brightly colored tablecloths and balloons.  Send a “ticket” invitation for admission to the carnival.  Set up easy game stations like a bucket toss, clothes pin drop and a three-legged race.  Make tickets out of construction paper and hand them out as game prizes (everyone’s a winner!).

Party Product Picks & Gifts:

Animal Croquet ($34.95)
Turbo Bubble Machine ($25.95)

What to pick up some of the great gifts & supplies featured here? Friends of pingg One Step Ahead are offering 15% off orders $100 or more exclusively for pingg readers with the code PINGG15. They provide great products for kids to help make party-planning and gift-giving easier. Check them out for additional birthday party accessories, exclusive gifts and resources.

Here at pingg we obviously love online invitations, evites, ecards and all the party planning conveniences that come along with them. But what about evite alternatives?  Well, we also love paper invitations and traditional stationery.

We all wade through various waves of daily emails, text messages and tweets. If you’re like me, these waves of messages can be too quickly forgotten, overcome with new emails. This explosion of digital communication would seem to actually make handwritten evite alternatives all the more relevant and effective.  The experience of sentiment on paper just works better for certain occasions.

Take the following two stories that occurred this past month:

I was speaking on a career panel to college students regarding how to prepare for job interviews.  One of panelists made a point about the importance of connecting with the interviewer after the interview.  In her experience very few applicants do any follow up communication at all. Email is ok. It checks the box. But if you really want to stand out then take the time to send a hand written thank you card. It displays a level of maturity and attention to detail that could make the difference in getting you the job.

Makes sense to me. An email or online thank you card is a nice gesture and certainly better than doing nothing.  But for certain occasions it just doesn’t have the same personal touch. The paper thank you card, on the other hand, has to be physically opened and read. Then it sits on your potential employer’s desk so you are remembered.

The other case is a bit more somber. An 86 year old member of my alumni club recently passed away. He had been an active supporter of the club and was survived by his wife.  I wanted to send her a note of condolence and appreciation for their service.

In moments like this an email just won’t do. You need to put pen to real paper.  Preferably a style of paper with texture, depth, and feeling.  One that will carry the emotional tone of your message. Something that evokes a sense of your appreciation for your reader.

There are many designers using pingg who make beautiful thank cards and letterpress stationery. They are merging the online evite world with the paper world of evite alternatives.

Here are a few to check out:

Hello!Lucky

Tumbalina

Double-Sided Tape

Inkberry Cards

Visit our stationery designers page to find even more.

The road to marriage is a challenge that requires constant compromise and good communication. And I’m not talking about the relationship between the bride and groom. Planning a wedding involves many more people than just the two lovebirds.

Many bridesmaids, blinded by their joy for their newly engaged friends, unwittingly sign up for months of free labor and the arduous task of planning a bridal shower. pingg would like to help all those who are drafting bridesmaid resignation letters or staging strikes to avoid planning a bridal shower. We’ve compiled five of the best bridal shower tips that will make planning a bridal shower easy as pie. So put down your pens and halt your picketing.

Skip the Stamps

I remember planning my sister’s bridal shower many years before pingg was born. I still cringe when I think of stuffing, addressing, and stamping envelopes. Thankfully, pingg makes all that history. Save time and money by sending out invitations online. It also makes keeping track of the RSVPs easy and convenient. Take a look some of our favorite  bridal shower invitations:

Pick a Theme

Planning a bridal shower within the guidelines of a theme makes it easier to put something together. Check out this adorable tea party theme from Weddingbee. It includes just about everything you need for the bridal shower and breaks down where to purchase it or how to make it. Send out a matching pingg invitation, like the one below, and you’re all set.

Coffee Cake designed by The Stationery Tote

Location Location Location

Throwing a bridal shower can get pretty pricy if you are holding it at a ritzy place. Instead of throwing it at a restaurant that charges per person, consider having it at a hall where you can have it catered or at someone’s home. For a spring or summer shower, a party in the backyard allows for a fun atmosphere and won’t break the bank. Check out these gorgeous backyard bridal showers from Project Wedding and Love and Lavender for some inspiration!

Delicious Grub

A bridal shower is only as good as its food. For those brides who have assembled an army of bridesmaids, it should be easy to band together to each cook a dish. For the lone host, cut extra catering costs by making desserts and arranging them as a table display. And if you want to take the route of offering guests home cooking, make simple recipes like sandwiches or wraps that you can cut into small pieces and create a platter. Vegetable crudités just require some slicing and make for a pretty and colorful arrangement.

Favorite Favors

Martha Stewart Weddings- Buttermilk Cupcakes in a Jar

A bridal shower isn’t complete without good favors for your guests. A good idea is a favor that is multifunctional. Personalized cupcakes in a jar, like one above by Martha Stewart Weddings, can act as a place card and a delicious favor. Small potted flowers can double as favors and centerpieces. Check out this Martha Stewart slideshow to see what can serve double duty as favor and centerpiece.