According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year! (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

The legend of Groundhog Day is based on an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year."

Parties are great and I love to entertain and have people over to my house. I have been known to host parties for a handful of friends or family as well as large events with anywhere from 30 to 100 people at one time. When you have that many people in your home a hand towel in the bathroom just won’t cut it.  The bathroom is the last room you want to plan for when planning a large gathering, right?

I tried putting out multiple hand towels and have tried hanging decorative guest towels on the towel racks for guests to use. They either don’t feel comfortable using the “good” towels or they end up on the counter or worse yet on the floor. That certainly isn’t the way you want your guest to see your bathroom and it sure isn’t a very sanitary way to encourage guests to wash and dry their hands. I kept forgetting to go put out new towels as the party went on because I had way too many other things to tend to making sure my guests were well taken care of.

The cold and flu season is upon us. Now more than ever before people are extremely aware of spreading germs, preventing the spread of flu and hand washing. I know everyone is aware of the proper method of hand washing, but do you know the best way to dry your hands and why it is so important?

According to an article from Tissue World by Roger Gaudreault, PhD, moisture left on hands not properly washed and dried is the single largest determining factor for hand hygiene and the spread of germs.

So what is the best method of drying your hands; is it air dryers, disposable guest towels or reusable cloth towels? Some of you might be surprised to learn that the most sanitary way to dry your hands is using disposable guest towels.

The most commonly sung song for English-speakers on New Year's eve "Auld Lang Syne" is an old Scottish song that was first published by the poet Robert Burns in the 1796 edition of the book, Scots Musical Museum.  Burns transcribed it (and made some refinements to the lyrics) after he heard it sung by an old man from the Ayrshire area of Scotland, Burns's homeland.

"Auld Lang Syne" literally translates as "old long since" and means "times gone by." The song asks whether old friends and times will be forgotten and promises to remember people of the past with fondness, "For auld lang syne, we'll take a cup o' kindness yet."

There is a story told in Mexico that long ago the people flocked to church on Christmas Eve because they loved to fill the manger with flowers.  Some children were too poor to buy any flowers, so they picked some weeds from the side of the road and put them in the manger.  The weeds changed into beautiful scarlet flowers, which the Mexicans called the “Flor de la Noche Buena,” the Flower of Christmas Eve.

These striking blooms caught the attention of Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, America’s first ambassador to Mexico between 1825 and 1829. Dr. Poinsett brought the plant to America and raised it in his greenhouses in Charleston, South Carolina. It was named in his honor in 1836.

TURKEY…From the first Thanksgiving to today's turkey burgers, turkeys are an American tradition dating back centuries.  According to the National Turkey Federation, 95 percent of Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving. Known as a "lucky break" the tradition of tugging on either end of a fowl's bone to win the larger piece and its accompanying "wish" dates back to the Etruscans of 322 B.C. The Romans brought the tradition with them when they conquered England and the English colonists carried the tradition on to America. FOOTBALL…Throughout the United States, football on Thanksgiving Day is as big a part of the celebration as turkey and pumpkin pie. The first intercollegiate football championship was held on Thanksgiving Day in 1876!

It’s that time of year again, when the word “viral” typically means the spreading of nasty colds and flu bugs. But Hoffmaster® is saying, “Bring on the viral!”

Hoffmaster® has worked diligently over the last year to increase its word of mouth, or viral marketing. Over the last 12 months we’ve redesigned our website, designed a new microsite, launched a monthly e-mail, and manage the following social media sites: Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and this blog. Our goal is to integrate our online marketing efforts with traditional marketing communications such as our annual Product Portfolio, trade publication advertising and printed sales materials.

 

Every October carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps in the United States and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season.  The practice of decorating “jack-o’-lanterns”— the name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack—originated in Ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as an early canvas.

The week of October 3rd through the 7th is National Customer Service Week, which is designed to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays within an organization. It is also an opportunity to say a big thank you to those who work in customer service for a job well done.

Hoffmaster’s Customer Service Department is broken down into three areas of responsibility:

1.  Customer Service Representatives (CSR), who are responsible for answering customer calls, inquiries and providing support to sales;

 2.  Stock Order Processors (SOP), who are responsible for entering all stock orders; and

 3.  Custom Print Order Processors (COP), who are responsible for entering all custom print orders.

 Our department is also uniquely organized to line up with our sales territories. 



This structure is also physical in that a CSR, SOP, and COP covering a specific...