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Tips for writing a “get well” note

When you send a gift to someone, the note that accompanies it can help to clearly characterize your exact sentiment. The note might impart a simple, warm greeting,  a deep, heartfelt message or anything in between. Before you sit down to pen your note, it often helps to have a little inspiration, and that’s where we hope to help with the following tips to help you write the perfect get-well note.

People of Note
With all the people in our lives, we may find ourselves writing to any number of different types of folks, including family members, friends and associates, co-workers and business colleagues, employees or employers, family members of employees or employers, neighbors, fellow church members, or community or civic leaders

It’s All in the Wrist
There are many ways to express your thoughts. Here are a few angles:

• Express your regret that the person is ill or injured.
• Communicate your sincere concern and reassure the reader of your support.
• Indicate your hope and assurance that the person will get well soon.
• If desired, you could express your sincere appreciation to the person for being a good friend, trusted colleague, kind neighbor, positive role model, or the like.
• If appropriate, mention that the person is missed. You might also mention specific things you miss about the person, such as his/her warm sense of humor or his/her habit of bringing office treats to weekly meetings.
• If writing to a child, be upbeat and positive. Don’t include thoughts that might cause the child undue concern, and don’t dwell on the illness or disease.

And That’s Not All
Once you’ve got your angle down, there are a few other things you might consider before penning your note, such as:

• Be positive.
• If your note is accompanied by a gift, such as a box of our sweets, briefly mention the gift.
• Some folks may be cheered by humorous anecdotes or good news.
• Some folks may be warmed by the mention of being in your thoughts and prayers.
• At the close of your note, you might reiterate your hope that the reader will have a speedy recovery.
• Be sure to write and send your note in a timely manner. Don’t procrastinate!

2009 Holiday Gift Guide

The holidays have arrived!  This is the time of year when we at Harvard Sweet Boutique like to jump into action to help get your gift list squared away in the most creative, thoughtful (and efficient) way possible!

Of course, we tend to be biased toward our own line of delicious, beautifully packaged gifts of sweets. And who wouldn’t be? All of our gifts are lovingly packaged in designer boxes with hand-tied ribbon and tulle, and packed full of hand-made treats that are certain to impress (and maybe even cause a year-round addiction!) As if that wasn’t enough, we also take care of delivery, so you don’t even have to worry about it getting there on time.

If you’re a loyal HSB fan, you already know that we have several handy coupons available to help you save money on this season’s gifts. Interested in $10 off an order of $50 or more? Just use code HOLIDAY09 at checkout (good until 12/7). How about free ground shipping on orders over $50? Try the code FREESHIP09 at checkout (good until 12/18).

But what to order? The question really should be what CAN’T you order? We’ve got chocolate, cookies, brownies, toffee, bark, nuts…you name it! There’s really something for ever taste. Here’s a quick sampling of some of the festive and tasty items you’ll find in our holiday collection:

So, you’re already loving the idea of sending some treats from Harvard Sweet Boutique, but how do you make it REALLY special? The trick, of course is all in how you personalize your gift. Be sure to put some thought into a special message for the recipient. Include it in the instructions when you place your order, and we’ll be sure to tuck it in with the gift before we ship it off to its destination. The message doesn’t have to be long and poetic, just sincere. Express thoughts of thanks, hope, luck or warmth. And then the mouthwatering cookies and brownies will do the rest…

Belated Gift-Giving 101

Now you’ve done it. How could you have forgotten that birthday? More importantly, how are you going to fix it? You’ll be surprised how easy it is to turn this blunder into a benefit. Just take a hint from the following list of tips for making the most of the situation:

CHARM THEIR PANTS OFF: Spend a few minutes coming up with a well-written, heartfelt note to include with your gift. The note should express your joy at being part of the person’s life, or reminisce about a warm memory. The time you take to make it personal will disarm and charm the recipient, taking the focus off of the late date and planting it firmly on your genuine presentation.

GO THE EXTRA MILE: If one gift is good, two are better, right? Instead of giving a single gift, include a “bonus” with your selected present. Think cookies AND flowers. Or balloons. Or jewelry. Or a gift certificate. It’s the “something for now and something for later” approach–the gift that keeps on giving, long after they’ve forgotten that you were forgetful.

I WAS LATE, SO I OWE YOU A DATE: Once you are done asking for forgiveness, move quickly to set a date and treat the recipient to a special meet-up with you. It could be for an ice cream, a night at the movies, or, if you really feel contrite, a fancy dinner (home-cooked might earn you even more points than a night out at Chez Fancy-Fance, depending on how good of a chef you are!) Just make sure you actually hand them a gift at some point, whether it’s before or during your meet-up. There’s simply no substitute for that special feeling they’ll get when you put a little something in their hands.

USE YOUR RESOURCES: When that moment comes that you realize you’ve let the occasion slip by, one of the quickest ways to mitigate the error is to contact a professional gift company and get something delivered. There’s something about getting a delivery of flowers, candy or cookies that makes people feel really special. So special, in fact, they might not even realize the delivery was tardy. Combine this approach with one of the above items, and you’ll be forever considered a pro in the gift-giving department.

Floral Arrangement vs. HSB Favor Centerpiece: A Cost Comparison

You’ll hear us talk a lot about our centerpieces. When Sue George came up with the concept a couple of years ago, she had no idea that it would catch on so quickly. The eye-catching stacks of boxes seem to really make people’s eyes light up. When they come to realize that they get to take home one of the colorful boxes, and that it’s filled with delicious baked treats, some folks have been known to clap and giggle with glee.

One thing you haven’t heard us talk about much is exactly how much more affordable our centerpieces are than standard floral arrangements. When you add together the cost of favors for each guest and floral arrangements for every table, the combined cost can soar to heights you never would have dreamed of when you put together your wedding budget. It can be a real heart breaker. By combining the cost of both of these necessities into one line item on your budget, you can save hundreds of dollars with this one choice, and make sticking to your budget one step easier.

According to theknot.com, favors can cost as little as $1 per guest and can climb up to $20 per guest, and wedding flowers can eat up 8-10% of your total wedding budget. While it would be difficult to give an exact cost comparison, since the range of types and costs of both favors and centerpieces varies so widely, we can, at least, share an example using some commonly available cost points we researched at top wedding sites online:

EXAMPLE #1: You have 100 guests, who will be seated in groups of 10 at round tables. You are getting married in the Boston area in September, and you are thinking about using a low arrangement of seasonal flowers in the center of each of the tables, like calla lilies, roses and hydrangea–perhaps something like this simple, clean style from FTD, which costs about $140:

For your favors, you were thinking of doing a sweet treat, like candy or cookies, packaged in a little box and placed at each person’s place setting. You want the favor to be in your wedding’s colors, and the treat inside to be tasty. You decide on sugar cookies from a local bakery. You’ll place two of them in a simple white box and tie it with some colored silk ribbon. It’s kind of generic, but it still looks quite pretty. When you add up the price of 200 cookies, the white boxes and the colored ribbon, the favors end up costing a total of $4 a piece. You didn’t keep track of how much time you spent searching for each of the individual elements of the favor, but at least you were able to be resourceful and keep the cost down. You’re proud of your selections, and know they’ll look great on the tables.

Total price tag for this scenario: $1800

EXAMPLE #2: You realize that your budget for flowers and favors is going to have to be slashed, but you’re not willing to compromise style or quality. You decide to use your favors AS your centerpiece–you clever little bride! If this works out, you might just start a trend in Boston…

So, knowing that you still want to do the cookies in cute boxes with ribbons, you turn to Sue George at Harvard Sweet Boutique (how green of you to stay local!) Sue does some research and finds some adorable gold boxes for you that will work perfectly with your theme of gold and roses. The silk ribbon and tulle she ties around them is so elegant, it makes you want to weep with joy. The six handmade cookies you select to put inside are so mouthwatering, you’re not sure you want to even serve cake!

Sue suggests placing the boxes in three stacked circles in the center of the table, with the bows all facing out. Five on the bottom, then a group of four, then one on top, like a cherry. She says it will create just enough height for some color, texture and pop, without keeping your guests from seeing one another across the table.

Total price tag for this scenario: $800

Wow. You saved $1000! You’re feeling so good about it, that you’re thinking of buying 100 red roses, and laying one at each person’s place setting, to REALLY jazz it up. Why not? You’ll still be spending hundreds less than in the original scenario, and you know it will be one of the most memorable table settings your guests will have ever seen.

HSB Loves Weddingwire.com

Over here in the Harvard Sweet kitchen, we spend a lot of time thinking about weddings. It’s not because of that question that we get asked so often–”Do you do wedding cakes?”–we don’t. But we DO do favor centerpieces, and we’re always looking to spread the word about our affordable, dual-purpose, chic alternative to pricey floral arrangements, and that’s the main reason we joined WeddingWire.com.

Weddingwire.com, an online wedding planning site, is fast becoming the go-to resource for savvy brides, and we want to use our little ol’ blog to clue you in to all it’s got to offer (including a discount from us! More on that later….) If you’re planning a wedding, or know someone who is, we think you’ll agree that WeddingWire.com is worth a look. The site offers three hugely helpful tools that not only help take the stress out of wedding planning, they can even help make it enjoyable:

1) PLANNING: browse the profiles of over 100,000 vendors from throughout the country, compare reviews from their clients, visit their web sites, and even request more information from the photographers, caterers or venues that interest you. You can save all the profiles right there in a personal, online binder, to refer back to later.

2) SHARING: join in on conversations about decor, dresses, honeymoon destinations, etiquette and more on the WeddingWire.com forums. Or, create a wedding blog on Facebook using the  WeddingWire Facebook application. It gives you access to all of the tools on WeddingWire.com, right from your Facebook page!

3) ORGANIZING: organize the details of your big day, including building a website, and managing your budget, guest list and seating chart.

Could it be possible that wedding planning is finally becoming…dare we say it…fun?

Visit our page on WeddingWire.com to access our special discount for WeddingWire subscribers. And, if you have ordered centerpieces or enjoyed favors from Harvard Sweet Boutique in the past, please be sure to leave us a review while you’re on our WeddingWire page!