Posts tagged as:

cause party

Football Party? Give Back, Everyone Wins!

by inlu blog patrol on January 31, 2011

Are you ready for some football? Heck yeah? Make it a super duper Super Bowl party by giving back to a cause!

Why not use those hours in front of the tube, eating chips and having fun for the greater good? Not that having fun isn’t a goal in itself (or should I say field goal…buddum-ching) but by giving back, everyone wins, no matter the final score. Send out an Inlu invitation and all your guests donations will be pooled together and sent in one sum. Score! You don’t have to collect checks and your guests can pitch in online. Done.

Wondering what to collect for? You could ask friends to pitch in and bring a can for the local food shelf. You could give as a group to a local community center where kids come together to play and be safe.

You can even give back to a football camp or nonprofit, like the ones below. If you’re a football enthusiast, this is a waaay cool way to party on with a cause in mind. Check out these charities or search for one in your area–> Kids and Pros or the Bayless Foundation

Other kickin’ ideas:

Group gift for the host & hostess: Fleming Jenkins 2007 Madden Ranch Syrah – with grapes from John Madden’s vineyards!

Treats for the Munchkins: Betty Crocker Brownies – Yummy.

For the ladies in the room, check out these (over age 21) temptations.

the TOUCHDOWN!

Classic Snack Attack: Chex Party Mix!

For a fabulous list of healthy but delicious options, visit Easting Well’s 25 Super Bowl recipes to make your game-day party delicious and healthier

Think it’s a cool idea?

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Big Lessons from a Little Gift Receipt

by inlu blog patrol on January 20, 2011

Ok, so I’m cleaning out my wallet and find a receipt from a birthday party my 5 year old daughter attended.  We had no idea what to give the birthday girl, but knew she loved princesses.  So, we do the mad dash to Kmart to pick up a grab-and-go gift… my daughter insists on getting a princess Barbie.  (She LOVES princess Barbies and so do her friends.)   Oh, and a gift bag… and a bow, because as usual, I’m running late and have to go from store to party.  Sound familiar?

So, lets have some fun with the math shall we? (This is one wild word problem. Stick with it! You’ll appreciate it, seriously.)
Above is the actual gift receipft from that party.

Check it out:

Gift = $10.99
Gift Bag = $1.89
Bow = $1.99
Total = $14.87

(26% of the expense was for the gift wrap)

Now, that was just our ONE single gift.  But at the party, there were 10 kids there who probably spent about the same.

Gift =  $109.90                        Wrap = $38.80

And that was just one party.  Surely there were at least 10 birthday parties across Vermont that day?

Gift = $1,099.00                        Wrap = $388.00

And surely if there were that many in Vermont, then there would have been that many in all the other 49 states, right?

Gift = $54,950.00                          Wrap = $19,400.00

Oh, and that’s just in one weekend.  Surely there must be just as many birthday parties in the other 51 weekends in the year, right?

Gift = $2,857,400.00                        Wrap =  $1,008,800.00

Oh, and that princess Barbie we bought?  Yeah… she already had that one.

So, we have as many as 260,000 princess Barbies… that yeah… they may already have.

Now picture this.

What if these party hosts use Inlu to let everyone know what’s really wanted? Imagine if everyone pitches in their contribution to a snazzy $100 gift (like maybe the princess Barbie castle to go with? ) in lieu of ten, $10 gifts (that yeah… she probably already has). It would reduce the sheer number of “things” without touching the feel good effects of giving and receiving something awesome.

And gee, in lieu of $1,008,800.00 spent on wrapping paper and bows, maybe they ask guests to pitch in for charities too.   Pretty cool to pitch in for wanted (and not currently owned) gifts, and over one million dollars go to benefit charities across the country, right?

Finally, lets expand this a bit, shall we?  This is not just about kids birthday gifts.  Every week across the US there are adults having celebrations for their special birthdays, baby showers for moms having number 2,3, even 4, and there are wedding showers for folks who don’t need more flatware.  There are all kinds of events happening every week where the old school grab-a-gift occurs.

So for the sake of argument, lets say that for every kid’s birthday party, there are two other gift generating parties every weekend, right?

Gift =  $8,572,200.00                                    Wrap =  $3,026,400.00

Wouldn’t if feel awesome if we (you, your friends and family, and us) all worked together to send over $3million in what would have gone to wrapping so many small gifts, instead to charitable organizations that really need the support? And to know that the gift recipients all got what they really wanted?  Awesome.

Having slight math geek tendencies, we ponder these calculations everyday.  It’s what keeps us going and determined to provide people with a smarter way to be the perfect party host…So that maybe, in lieu of a quarter of a million receipts looking like this… (for gifts they already have…) maybe people will give Inlu a try.

Be a host/hostess hero – make gifting easy for everyone, save the world, and make that special someone very very happy.

Post byMonica, aka Shoulderpads

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SATC2: Inlu News Alert…Suburban Style

by inlu blog patrol on June 2, 2010

Well, this week we had the chance to get out some heels and attend a SATC2 GNO with the Lovely Ladies of Suburbia. In fact, a mysterious low budget news team was there to capture the event. If you know us, you’ll know we’re joking…KIND OF.

Perhaps the next time we’re on the scene, we’ll recreate this fuzzy FLIP-camera episode on a REAL RED CARPET (with the fabulous SJP;))

CHECK OUT THE NEWS COVERAGE:


Fast Tube by Casper

If you want to host a SATC2 Cause Collection Event, simply CLICK HERE to create an INLU INVITATION.

It works like this:

  1. YOU INVITE FRIENDS
  2. YOU TRACK RSVPs/
  3. GUESTS CAN PITCH IN (DONATIONs WILL BE POOLED IN ONE SUM & SENT AUTOMATICALLY)
  4. YOU CAN THANK & MESSAGE GUESTS in ONE CLICK
  5. THEN, YOU ALL HAVE A FABULOUS NIGHT OUT!

Done. Get started!

PS — We’d like to throw one more shout out to Sarah Jessica Parker for thinking INLU is a great idea and to all the ladies & gents of SATC2 for being fabulous.

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Sex and the City 2: Cheers to a Cause Collection Movie Party

by inlu blog patrol on May 10, 2010

Cheers!

It’s almost time, ladies (and gents). SATC2 is just about to roll out (May 27th!) and we’re THRILLED! Why?  Because it’s time to get dressed up, sip cosmos and wear heels (yes, even in VT).

We say cheers to that. We also say cheers to giving back as a group. And what a better way to give back than to turn a red carpet theme party into a community cause benefit?

If you’re going to get dolled up (even if you’re not, we don’t mind) we challenge you to use INLU to coordinate your ‘Sex and the City 2′ party AND collect funds for a cause. It’s easy & it works like this:

  1. Use INLU to Invite ladies and gents to your Sex and the City 2 Celebration. Whether it’s happy hour (martinis or mocktails), an after party, brunch or a backyard BBQ (wearing lipstick, why not?) you can manage RSVPs and collect funds at the same time!
  2. ADD CASH collection details to your INLU and round up funds for the movie tickets, popcorn or even a limo (why not?). The organizer simply explains the collection details and guests pitch in when they RSVP.
  3. ADD CHARITY collection details and let guests raise funds for ANY cause while looking fabulous. It’s that easy! When the collection ends CASH funds are sent to the organizer and CHARITY funds are sent direct to the charity in ONE SUM! (See Inlu Charity Seeker for Ideas)

To see our Sex and the City 2 SAMPLE INLU, click HERE!

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNMmm9xmEmE]

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Inlu: Beat the MID-WINTER BLAHS with a Cause Party!

by inlu blog patrol on February 21, 2010

Freshies All Natural Mixers...YUMMY.

To beat the Mid-Winter Blahs…

We say, have a party! And we mean it. Spice up your cold weekends with a soiree to benefit your favorite cause! Here’s the how-to:

Pick a cause or local nonprofit (or peek at our Charity Seeker for inspiring ideas). Invite friends and family via inlu.com. Guests contribute when they RSVP and you’ll know by party’s end how much cash is collected for the charity. TA-DA!

To keep the simplest party plugging along, try these tricks:

  • Pre-mix batch of cocktails, whip up an old fashioned punch or ask people to BYOB. We RECOMMEND Freshies Mixer, made in Denver.
  • Make a themed music mix for the party. For example, if you’re supporting the ocean (ie, Heal the Ocean), make a playlist with water, oceans, mermaids…whatever…in every song. Mix it up. Hit iTunes for more ideas.
  • Ask guests to bring a dish or appetizer…keep it mellow. If you have a theme, ask people to contribute one flavor to the authentic menu.
  • Keep the theme going and ask people to dress appropriately. What goes better with the ocean than a lovely Hawaiian Print Shirt (check the thrift shop!)? Get 20 people in a room wearing hula-inspired gear and perhaps you’ll forget it’s winter and think you’re at a Jimmy Buffet show.
  • Make bright decor from old sheets or purchase oddities at the thrift store…or hit Etsy for cool party ideas. These ALOHA banners by ManilaExtract are fun and you can feel good- they are handmade with love.

    • Aloha Banner by ManilaExtract

  • Another idea? Rent a box of Pink Flamingos! What would make freshly fallen snow look more festive? NOTHING! Seriously, check it out…You rent these birds and return them. That way, you don’t have 30 plastic birds to re-home. Go to thepinkflamingo and check it out.

    • You can rent these...and return 'em!

    At Inlu, we’re committed to helping people celebrate easily, efficiently and with less mess overall. Please consider recycled paper plates, REAL glassware (you can get FUNKY cups CHEAP at again, the thrift store) and giving as a group to reduce the giftwrap and runaround. Have a GREAT party and if you do one, let us know how it went!

    PS! We have one more reason to celebrate! We recently switched our MERCHANT SERVICES. We appreciate your patience and INLU-LUV while our site was down for a scheduled overhaul. THANK YOU.

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