We interrupt Twimom’s usual blogging activities to bring you a special guest post from my dear friend Stacy from Stacy’s Place on Earth. She is here today to help me CELEBRATE my one year Blogiversary and upcoming birthday. She is one of those special people I have met this first year of blogging and I cannot thank her enough for her friendship.
Don’t forget to enter my $40 Gift Card Giveaway…. Details and entry form HERE. And my Week #2 Author Giveaway – signed copy of Play of Passion by Nalini Singh, which ends Friday February 11 at 11:00 PM EST. Details and entry are HERE.
But enough from me… Take it away, Stacy!!
Hey Jen! Thank you for inviting me to be a guest on your blog, and happy BLOGIVERSARY! It’s a huge achievement and you should be very proud 🙂 I’ve had my blog up & running since January ’06, so I am familiar with all the work and time and love that goes into it, and to manage all that with work and a family besides is really quite impressive. When do you find time to read????
Since today we are celebrating a happy event, I am going to share some of my ideas on how I like to honor a specific occasion. I can’t say that there’s any one answer, because I get bored and like to switch things up from time to time. So it really depends on a few things, such as the type of event and how I feel about it. I am a big believer in customizing celebrations based on those details (although believing and doing are two different things LOL).
For example, I love celebrating my birthday, regardless of what age. I deal with the public, so when I turned 30, I had all the hoopla at work with the sash and the tiara and the black decorations, and I had an absolute blast sharing my day with everyone. The presents are nice, yes, but the attention is actually much more fun LOL. I would (do) shamelessly tell everyone when my birthday was coming up. And I have no problem making it a month-long celebration. Now when it comes to other people’s birthdays, it really depends on that particular person. Some of my friends are like me and love to make a big deal, while others prefer low-key, smaller celebrations. I’m totally good with pulling that off, and enjoy doing for them something meaningful and in a way they will enjoy it.
When it comes to a favorite book or a new book release, obviously that one is easy. I like to give away a copy of that particular book, although if it’s part of a series, I tend to give away however many books there are in the series. So if book 3 is coming out, I will also include the first 2 in the series. My reasoning for this is because I am an anal reader and hate starting a series in the middle, so I would hate to subject another reader to the possibility of missing out on previous books. That’s just me.
I also am a big believer in the “pay it foward” concept, so every once in awhile, I would have a contest for a prize “just because”. I think it’s fun to try to come up with different ideas – giftcard to favorite restaurant, donation to a favorite charity, things like that. It makes it unique and fun and keeps me on my toes trying to be creative. I haven’t been blogging much lately the last few months, but thinking about these ideas again makes me want to give it another go. It’s good to recharge the batteries and perhaps a celebration is in order.
So really, my answer about celebrating is to make it special, and fitting to the occasion and/or the individual. Pay attention to details and most of all, have fun with it. Celebrations are joyous occasions, and should be, well, enjoyed. They should be creative and engaging. And if all else fails, throwing in a hottie never hurt anyone 😉
Have a wonderful BLOGIVERSARY, Jen! And here’s to many more 🙂
Hugs,
Stacy ~
Lovely post Stacy!!! You do have fun celebrations at your place 🙂
Great post and I totally agree with you about not being able to start a book in the middle of a series.
Great guest post Stacey! You do have the best giveaways, b/c you never know what you’ll be giving away.
Fabulous post Stacey! I love your ideas on celebrating and such a fitting post for Jen’s celebration month. 🙂 I love it! I must keep several of these ideas in mind, including the giveaway ideas. 🙂