All Holiday goods are currently selling at 50% off. Come on in and get warm and save while getting the jump-start on next year’s holiday purchasing. Still lots of great boxed and single cards available as well as holiday single sheets of wrap, bags, tissue paper and more. (Does not apply to New Years’ stuff).

Guest Blogger: Ashley Semrick (Lion in the Sun invitation specialist and obsessive thank you note writer)

Put that pen to paper!

As someone who has worked in the stationery business for several years, I have often heard from brides and grooms that they find the thank you note writing process to be daunting and overwhelming. The good news: it doesn’t have to be! Thank you notes work best when they are brief, friendly and to the point. Here I am to share both my secret thank-you-note-template as well as some tips for an overall stress-less process.

The Secret Formula: three or four sentences (that’s it!)

Dear Aunt Janie and Uncle Mike,
Thank you so much for the fabulous blender! We are so excited to make fancy smoothies and margaritas. We were so glad you were able to celebrate with us on our wedding day. Please let us know when you plan to visit New York!
Love, Ashley and Rick

Dear Melinda and Dave,
Thank you so much for the gorgeous Tiffany vase. It’s sitting on our dining room table right now, full of roses! The next time you are in Park Slope, please give us a buzz.
All the best, Rachel and James

The Breakdown:

Sentence 1: The “thanks” line that mentions the gift by name.

Sentence 2: The “what we’ll do with it line.” If the gift was money, you can say something like this: We are so excited to add it to our house fund/retirement fund/vacation fund.

Sentence 3: The “thanks for being there or sorry we missed you” line. (This line is optional. It will still be a good thank you note if you leave it off.)

Sentence 4: What I call the “warm closing” line. Say that you look forward to seeing them again. Even if you don’t.

The Tips and the Rules:

- You must send hand-written thank you notes after a wedding. There really isn’t any wiggle room here! It’s the right thing to do.
- They don’t have to match your wedding invitations, but they can. If you order them at the same time, there is often a discount involved!
- Write notes as you get gifts – this prevents a thank you note backlog!
- Get your thank you notes out within a reasonable amount of time after your wedding.
- Don’t worry about sounding repetitive. People are not going to compare thank you notes. It’s okay to use the same formula on all 112 notes.

Hopefully this eases some of the stress that goes along with writing formal thank yous. It doesn’t really need to be hard – just do a few each night and you can work through your whole list in just a week or so. And think about, how great is it to go to the mailbox and see a handwritten note in there? Your guests will appreciate the final touch of your lovely event.

We’re excited to be participating in Brooklyn Based’s inaugural wedding fair, Wedding Crashers, on Saturday, January 9, 2010 from 10:30 am – 5:00 pm at the Bell House at 149 7th St., Brooklyn, NY. At 11:15 am Melinda will be featured in a session entitled “Signed, Sealed + Delivered: Every Invite Question Answered.”

So, in the spirit of the holiday round-up, we decided to post a few pics of our fav picks for holiday 2009.  May it be an abundant one for all.

Best office grab bag gift :

Galison office accesories, post-it notes, mouse pad-pad, and rolodex

For your crafty sister:

For your impeccably stylish mom:

For your honey:

I Love You notes and butterfly book plates for your poetry books

For your hipster drinking buddy:

Graphic Image leather cocktail recipes and vintage stamps

For your best friend:

Campbell Raw handbound letterpress calenders

And for yourself:

Jack and Lulu engraved pineapple cards

Happy holiday shopping and we promise to get back to pictures of invites soon!