Archive for Gift Ideas

10 Tips for Planning a Great Bridal Shower

Faith and Family Reviews received a $100 gift code for writing this post through Brandfluential. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product, as are our sponsored posts.

Fall weddings are beautiful. Well, weddings are beautiful any time of the year, aren’t they? In this post, I’d like to share 10 tips for planning a great bridal shower.

1.) Decide whether or not you are planning a surprise shower or will the bride be informed of this special party in her honor.

2.) Choose a theme. Themed showers are very popular these days and make planning fun. Themes may be according to the brides interests, the host’s or a combination. Theme ideas include: Hawaiian (especially if the bride and groom are going to Hawaii on their honeymoon) or any other country the couple may be visiting, or perhaps a room theme like a Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom etc. This is just the tip of the iceberg and truly the sky is the limit on what the theme could be.

3.) Choose a location. This is very important, as you want to choose a convenient location for most of the attendees as well as have enough room for everyone.

4.) Make a list of guests. Usually the guest list includes close friends and families, but more often than not whole groups of people, like the church the bride and groom attend, will be invited as well.

5.) Order invitations. Once you have your theme and how many guests to invite, it’s time to choose and order bridal shower invites. You can incorporate photos, customize or personalize these invitations to make them look exactly how you want them to. Once you receive the bridal shower invites, all you have to do is send them and wait for the RSVPs to roll in.

5.) Plan activities, games and prizes.

6.) Prepare a menu. Once you decide on the menu then you will have to choose a caterer or shop, cook and bake from scratch. Be sure to recruit some help if you are expecting a large crowd.

7.) Shop for decorations, game and prizes supplies. Quite often the host of the shower will gather information and photos of the bride and groom so that those who are only acquaintances can become more acquainted with the couple, their families, how they met and became engaged.

8.) Set up and decorate. Make sure there is sufficient space for gifts, coats, hats and purses.

9.) Choose a greeter. Have someone greet the guests and put their name in a hat or bowl for a random gift drawing.

10.) Lastly, but certainly not least, have fun and make sure to get lots and lots of pictures!

A bridal shower is a time for the bride-to-be to relax and surround herself with good friends and family. If you were planning a bridal shower, what things would you do to make the day spectacular for the bride to be?


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Sue Berk Designs Review

I received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While I consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, my review is my honest opinion and thoughts of this review.

About Sue Berk Designs

Sue Berk Designs was founded in the Spring of 2002, by Sue Berk. She does not have any formal training in Art, but always had a love for it.

suephotofam

Sue grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, and moved with her family to Houston during high school. She has traveled all over the world and lived in Israel for a year during her Junior year of college. After completing her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas, Sue worked in high tech marketing and product management.

Tired of the corporate world, Sue then renovated houses for 5 years, appearing on The Discovery Channel and in The Dallas Morning News for excellence in home renovation. While renovating houses, Sue did all her own tiling and decided she could make tiles for less than the expensive styles she was buying. She bought a kiln and set about designing and making her own tiles. At this point, Sue fell in love with painting ceramics and started selling crosses, frames, lamps, tea sets, and other ceramic items in some of the most upscale neighborhoods in Dallas, where the company is based. The crosses soon gained in popularity, and Sue Berk Designs was born. Her designs are now sold in over 1000 stores around the country.

Sue lives in Dallas with her husband, Brad Walters, their children Emma, Rachael, and Max, and their 2 cats, Maddie and Max. She still loves to travel and goes to the beach with the whole family whenever she gets the chance!

Our Review

We were delighted when Sue Berk contacted us regarding doing a review of her designs. She sent us two items which are shown below. The first is a cross and the second is a baby blanket:

Cross- $22.95, three colors: pink, blue or white. Other styles and colors are available.

Sue Berk Baby Cross

Blanket- $29.95, two colors: pink or blue. Other styles available.

Sue Berk Baby Blanket

The cross is beautiful, as you can see from the photo, but photos often do not do a product justice and that is the case with both the cross and the blanket.

The baby blanket is incredible and has become one of my favorites for Sir Eats Alot. It is so soft and silky. One side is made of satin fabric and the other side is a micro velour, a very soft fabric. The satin side is cool for the warmer months and the velour side is warm for the cooler months.

I love the verse that is stitched on the border of the blanket, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” ~ Psalm 139:14. A reminder that God has knit our little ones together in the womb and that they are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him.

The blanket washes up really well. It makes a great nursing cover too, if you are a mom that prefers using blankets to other items. It is also packaged nicely, complete with ribbon, making it a great baby gift item.

I am very pleased with these two products. Thank you, Sue!

For more information, please visit http://sueberkdesigns.com


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CareBox

The CareBox is the other gift that I won on Wishpot.com and since my mother-in-law is getting home from the hospital today, I thought that it would make a nice “Welcome Home” gift. She loves bath products and likes lavender, too. So this is perfect for her.

The box itself was very attractive and sturdy, as seen in the photo below:

CareBox1

It came with these three items inside:

Lavender Pillowcase
“A beauty treat you won’t sleep without! Enjoy a deep, peaceful sleep with the relaxing scent of lavender flowers. Sleeping on soft silk chameuse prevents wrinkles and reduces bedhead. Standard pillowcase. Remove sachets (of lavender) to wash in cold water. Crush flowers gently to release a fresh scent.”

A Lavender Bath Ice Cream (a bath soak)

Lavender Lullaby Candle handcrafted by Mill Valley

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CareBox.com has a beautiful photo of the items inside:

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This CareBox retails for $69.99. Wow! Just found that out. I probably saw the price when I entered and completely forgot.

You may find all of these products and more CareBoxes at
www.CareBox.com

I think my mother-in-law will be pleased.


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