What is it that can truly make a resolution stick?…Lots of other people doing the same thing? I thinks so. What is one of those things…hmmmm. How about going green? It’s never too late to start, but there is no time like the present, so hop on the Eco-Friendly train and check out our Earth-Friendly Stickers, Bags and Other fun things. Don’t forget to tell your friends about your new year’s resolution and have them help you stick to this one…Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later.

It’s hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already. The biggest topic of the day it seems is how dismal the Christmas shopping season has been. But rather than dwell on the regrets of this past year, let’s focus on the upcoming New Year! A new year brings new opportunities and new things to experience in life. Celebrations will go on as usual despite the economy. Brightly lit balls, walleye, pine cones, and other odd items will drop down a pole as we count down to 2009. So where in the world did some of these odd traditions come from? Funny you should ask…

Various sources say that the earliest New Years celebrations started with the Babylonians about 4000 years ago. The Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox. (For those of us not familiar with the Equinox designations…that’s the first day of Spring.) The Romans changed the date to January 1^st to try and set things straight after various emperors had toyed with the calendar.

The early Catholic Church condemned New Years festivities and labeled it paganism, and that condemnation continued through the Middle Ages.

The tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates back to the Babylonians. Their most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

Greece introduced the symbol of the baby to signify a new year. It was their tradition to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket which represented the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility.

The Tournament of Roses parade in the U.S. dates back to 1886. The Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers that year. This parade celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California. The Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902. However, that game was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. 1916 saw the return of the football game on New Years day.

And what about “dropping the ball” on New Year’s Eve? 1907 saw the first Ball drop from the flagpole at One Times Square. How did the idea of dropping a ball for the New Year start though? Interestingly enough, a ball was dropped in the harbor at Portsmouth, England for the first time in 1829 so that sailors could set their chronometers precisely. Sailors would look through a telescope at the ball to mark the time. Strange, eh?

As 2009 rolls around, we here at PrintMyThing and PrintMyRibbon wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Did you know that:

- “Historians have recorded ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged ‘Thanksgiving’ to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record.”

- It’s not for certain that Turkey was on the original menu for the Pilgrim’s feast.  All that is “officially” mentioned by Edward Winslow in A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621 is:  Wild fowl, and venison.

- The pilgrims didn’t use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers.

- Pilgrims “wiped their hands on large cloth napkins which they also used to pick up hot morsels of food.”

- “Vegetable dishes, one of the main components of our modern celebration, didn’t really play a large part in the feast mentality of the seventeenth century. Depending on the time of year, many vegetables weren’t available to the colonists.”  (And children everywhere today are wishing for Thanksgivings of yesteryear now!)

- A modern staple on the table for Thanksgiving: Cranberry sauce.  Well, it was not on the table for the first Thanksgiving.  The colonists had cranberries but no sugar at this time.

- Pumpkin pie was not served, as the Pilgrims didn’t have ovens to be able to bake pies.  That, and the recipe for pumpkin pie didn’t exist yet.  There was however, a recipe for stewed pumpkin. I for one, am thankful to not be eating stewed pumpkin today.

- Meats that may have actually been on the menu for the first Thanksgiving (since these meats were available to them): Cod, Eel, Clams, Lobster, Wild Turkey, Goose, Duck, Crane, Swan, Partridge, Eagles
Venison, and Seal.  Yes…eagles, swans, crane and seal.

- Sarah Josepha Hale, the enormously influential magazine editor and author who waged a tireless campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in the mid-19th century, was also the author of the classic nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

- “The original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Unlike our modern holiday, it was three days long.”

Be sure to take some time to reflect on what you have to be thankful for!  From all of us at Century Marketing, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

So, in honor of this advanced planning period, I thought it might be nice to break out some simple yet elegant Christmas gift giving ideas to get you going…some old/familiar some newer, but all are simple and fun.

1. Salt-Dough Ornaments - This one is perfect to do with groups of people/kids

2. Hot-Cocoa Mix Gift - Easy and simple to make lots of these. You can also do cookie mixes, and other fun recipes

3. Wine Gift Bag - You’ve probably heard of organza bags, well this is an organza bag that is the right size to put a single wine bottle into. If you’re like me, giving a bottle of wine when you are invited to dinner is sort of a standard. Think now about sprucing that bottle up by putting it into a holiday themed bag.

That’s all for now, but hopefully there will be more coming…

The Zabaleen are better known as the “Garbage Collectors”.  They live in an area just outside Cairo, Egypt, known as El-Moutamadia or “Garbage City.”  The Zabaleen go into the city of Cairo, collect the garbage, and then take it back to their homes in El-Moutamadia to sort for recyclables.  The recyclables can be turned in for money that they need to survive. 

I was there with an organization known as Operation Serve International.  (The Companies of CMC Group, Inc. do not have any connection to this organization.)  I specifically was serving in the Optical care area.  We provided free eye screenings/checkups, and were able to provide many of the people with glasses that vastly improved their vision.  From men that needed to improve their vision for everyday driving and walking, to many of the women that simply needed reading glasses for their sewing, all were so grateful for the assistance.  To be able to provide hope in such a hopeless situation was reward in and of itself.  I was humbled to be able to be used to bless others that can never repay what was received. 

We each have a cause that drives us and motivates us.  There are countless ways to express that cause and promote it.  Whether it’s serving hands on, or helping to promote the cause that you believe in, find a way to touch those around you.  PrintMyRibbon can provide you with customized ribbon to help you promote the cause that you’re most interested in helping.  Stop by the Awareness Ribbons page to find out more!

I’m proud to work for a company that is dedicated to serving its’ community, and to helping fund research to find a cure for something that affects so many across this country.  There are many of us employed here that have personally been affected by breast cancer.  My own grandma passed away from the disease.  I’m grateful to Century Marketing for being willing to help in this battle.

Many are familiar with Susan G. Komen and the Race for the Cure, but I wanted to highlight a few other organizations that are also committed to finding a cure for Breast Cancer, and could use some financial help in their goal.  The American Cancer Society is a well known organization that is continuously looking for ways to cure not only breast cancer, but all other forms of cancer as well.  The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. is also always looking for both financial help and volunteers.  Check out their site to find out more.  Finally, Avon has started the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade.  They sponsor a 2 day walk in various cities throughout the U.S. throughout the year.  Visit their site to find out more about how Avon is helping to fight Breast Cancer as well.

As October passes, please don’t let the issue of Breast Cancer and cancer in general fade from your memory.  Let’s help find a cure for this disease and end it once and for all!

Category: Events

Quote from the submission:

We put it around our candy jars that we give to our clients. We love that they can open the jar but the ribbon stays on the ridge, so they can always see our logo.
The next application was used around our fiber light keychains that we have placed on tables at all our events . We think the color of the ribbon /with our logo adds a lot of pop on the  white linen tablecloths.

Category: Events

Quote from the submission:

We use ribbons to dress up our formal flag sets. I’ve included two photos, including a close-up of the ribbons. The extra ribbons can dress up these flag either indoors, or when they’re being carried in a parade.

These are some of the questions I have for those of you who have experienced this brand new shopping style

1. Have you ever purchased something using either your phone’s web browser or any of the ultra-mobile devices out there?
2. What was your experience like?
3. Would you consider purchasing customizeable products online?

To be honest, I cannot remember the last time I had to compose something like a blog entry or report of any sort by picking up a pen or pencil and literally putting it down on paper.  A coworker is lamenting my current situation right now, but I told her it’s actually somewhat therapeutic to be doing this.

It is nice however, to have the conveniences that we do though.  When a new technology first comes out it’s novel and exciting.  Eventually, most people begin to take it for granted.  After all, this technology will always be there, right?

PrintMyThing and PrintMyRibbon’s Online Design Tool is kind of like that.  It’s an exciting new technology for you to utilize to get your custom items designed and ordered.  Just remember not to take it for granted!

The weather was absolutely perfect!

The breast cancer awareness ribbons we made earlier in the week (see photos here, here,
here, & here) were a hit!

The overall energy of downtown Toledo was amazing! Chrys Peterson, a local anchorwoman
and Race for the Cure enthusiast, got the event off to a great start!

Everyone was there to have a good time.

Local cheerleaders…

…and high school marching bands lined the course.

Toledo police officers joined in the fun as well, dancing to the beat of the music and placing
pink rabbit ears on their horses.

The Toledo Blade reported 18,000 people participated in the event and donations are
expected to be around $750,000, a record for the northwest Ohio area. Great job, Toledo!

Despite being a bit sore afterwards, it felt so good to support so many breast cancer survivors…

…and do our part in finding a cure.

With the excitement of this year’s race behind us, we can’t wait to sign up for next year’s
Race for the Cure!

Do you want to help support breast cancer research? Be sure to visit PrintMyRibbon.com. We have redesigned the site for the entire month of October to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During the month of October, 5% of web sales will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. In return, customers will receive FREE SHIPPING on standard shipped orders. Thank you for supporting this very important cause with us.

This Sunday a few of us from the company are going to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®. I’m sure some of you are familiar with this event because they are held in so many different cities throughout the United States, but for those of you who have never heard of it, Race for the Cure® is an annual 5k run/walk race where all of the proceeds go towards finding a cure for breast cancer.

To gear up for this Sunday’s race we’ve gathered donations, created our t-shirts and today we’re assembling pink “Support the Cure” awareness ribbons to pass out at the race Sunday morning. And don’t worry, I won’t forget to pack a camera. I can’t wait to take tons of pictures so that I can post them and show you early next week how exciting this experience was. The good news is that this event gets A LOT of attention. I’m expecting this to be a pretty amazing, emotional experience. I’ve been told by race organizers that participation has already increased from last year’s race. I can’t wait to hear final numbers Sunday night. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some stretches to do.

This was the absolute worst thing they could have done.

The general thinking in tough economic times like we’re facing right now is for business owners and decision makers to cut back on their marketing and advertising budget.  What does this actually accomplish though in the long term?  Sure, you may save some dollars in the short term, but in the long term fewer people will hear about you.  When fewer people hear about you, sales will begin to slip, and then budgets get even tighter.  More advertising is cut, and the cycle gets more and more vicious. 

I read a great article here that mentioned a concrete example of the traditional thinking on advertising in tough economic times.  The article mentioned this:  “When Netflix began making serious inroads into Blockbuster’s customer base in 2005, Blockbuster cut its $154.2 million advertising budget to $44.7 million. No surprise that Netflix grew from 4.2 million subscribers then to 7.1 million now. How’d the ad cut work for Blockbuster? In 2007, they closed 500 stores and saw a $33.4 million profit turn into a $125 million loss through the third quarter.”

If you’re a business decision maker or owner, I’d strongly encourage you to consider the ramifications of cutting marketing and advertising on your long term business plan. 

1.  Will such an action truly help your organization weather temporary economic times?

2. What could you potentially gain by continuing to aggressively advertise while competitors are tempted to cut their own budgets?

3. What will customers think about your business if you say less and less about yourself in the marketplace? Will this instill confidence in them?

Some things to chew on.  Times like these can be either devastating, or they can be explosive opportunities!  Be sure to take the time to carefully think about your advertising plan before making drastic changes!