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Thanks for the Memories Hallmark!

April 24, 2009 by Janice

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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Thanks to my oh-so-talented friend Gabrielle Blair for all the photos in this post. You can visit her blog, Design Mom, and her flickr account for more Gabrielle inspiration.


Trust Hallmark to even make their Mom Blogger event a memory-making moment for families!

Lately, I have found myself on too many airplanes — traveling and missing my kids!

I hate to be away from my kids, so I am very careful about what trips I choose and how often I have to leave my beloved babies. (Susan and I even just passed on a free luxury trip to Mexico and sent Shera, one of our hard working editors, instead of leaving our kids again! When I say I don’t like to leave my kids, I REALLY mean it!)

So, when the reps for Hallmark wrote asking me to come to their Mom Blogger Event, I will confess that the deciding factor in my decision was that they said I could bring my kids along!

How cool is that?!? They covered the costs and provided childcare! Yes, Hallmark — you know the way into a mother’s heart!

Since it was a short trip and Olivia would be much happier at home with her nanny than with babysitters she didn’t know, I decided to just take my seven year old son Jackson.

They had a special day planned for school aged kids at Hallmark’s “imagination creation station” called Kaleidoscope. I just knew Jackson would love it!

Kaleidoscope at Hallmark

As well, there would be other mom bloggers’ kids there as well. Jackson is attached to many of my online friends’ kids, praying for them and talking about them all the time. So, I wanted to give him the chance to meet some bloggy kids IRL.

(In Jackson’s age group, there was Olive, Gabrielle Blair‘s daughter, and Samantha, Mommy Mandy’s daughter. But he also loved meeting Ivy, my dear friend and managing editor at 5 Minutes for Parenting, Stephanie Precourt’s baby, almost as much as I did. Jackson loves babies! And I couldn’t wait to see Steph again too!)

IMG_9574

And MOST OF ALL, I wanted to do a mother/son trip! Last year, Olivia was nursing still and I brought her to the Sony Mom Blogger event and to BlogHer. So I wanted Jackson to have a chance to come on a business trip with me.

So, Jackson and I headed off on our first trip just to the two of us. We tweeted along the way, capturing TwitPics with my iPhone, (hashtag #hallmarkevent) and had a wonderful time.

I like to see the world through my children’s eyes. Everything is far more interesting when I get down and look from their perspective.

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Touring Hallmark was a fascinating history lesson told through Hallmark’s line. I smiled at cards and pieces from the different eras that reminded me of my Nana and her tiny handwriting with which she filled up every inch of open space on a card and my Mother and all her Christmas cards and tags.

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The biggest hit with the kids was the machine that made bows and popped them out for the kids to take as souvenirs. The kids collected as many as they could before we pulled them away.

Ribbon Making Machine

After the kids left the tour for Kaleidoscope and Crayola Cafe, we moms got down to business with a behind the scenes look at Hallmark. We got to see where and how the creative teams work to produce Hallmark’s cards and products.

Gabrielle and Casey were in awe of the art supply room. It was truly hard to get them out.

Hallmark Art Supply Room

Hallmark Art Supply Room

Hallmark Art Supply Room

I mean Casey really LOVES Hallmark!

Mooshinindy. In Heaven.

I was shocked that the entire creative process happens on site. There are no freelance designers and writers. Hallmark believes in the collaborative benefits of working as a team, live and in person.

I appreciate that commitment to their art and their staff — they seem to work like a well oiled machine, with a deep sense of camaraderie and dedication to the company.

If I weren’t sitting here typing at my kitchen table, with my baby girl napping in the next room, I would be wishing and praying I could work at Hallmark.

And next time I go to purchase a card, I will feel a little warm fuzzy when I reach for Hallmark, a company as heartfelt as their cards.

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About Janice

Janice is co-founder of 5 Minutes For Mom. She's been working online since 2003 and is thankful her days are full of social media, writing and photography.

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11 Comments

  1. Stephanie says

    April 28, 2009 at 5:31 pm

    What a wonderful post…and a wonderful company! Hallmark certainly knows how to reach into the hearts of mamas…by including their kids/families. While I LOVE the idea of Mommy Blogger trips and events, I’m not a fan of leaving my little girls. I’d much prefer to bring my family along for the trip.

    I think I’ll go buy a Hallmark card now… 🙂

    P.S. That photo of Steph {Adventures in Babywearing} is just lovely. But then again – she’s Ms. Photogenic! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad picture of her…

    Reply
  2. Misha Akbar says

    April 28, 2009 at 2:44 pm

    The pictures are truly amazing…very well captured!!

    Reply
  3. Nell says

    April 27, 2009 at 6:13 pm

    So bummed I missed y’all when you were here 🙁

    Nell

    Reply
  4. Amanda says

    April 26, 2009 at 6:37 pm

    oh Hallmark was a blast. So many wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

    Everyday Samantha asks when she gets to see Jackson again. She says “Mama I want to go back to go back to hallmark and see Jackson!”

    It was such a pleasure meeting you, Jackson and everyone else!

    Hallmark has my heart!

    Reply
  5. Adventures In Babywearing says

    April 25, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    I tried to comment yesterday from my phone and it must not have taken! That photo is too funny- when we were bundled up in the shuttle!

    It was a great time. I wish we had MORE time to spend together, Janice!

    Steph

    Reply
  6. oh amanda says

    April 25, 2009 at 11:56 am

    How cool! I followed your tweets about the event, too. I love that they LOVE your kids! How fun is that? I kinda get goosebumpy about Hallmark, too! 😉

    Reply
  7. DJ says

    April 25, 2009 at 9:23 am

    That sounds like a terrific place. The art supply room would probably make me faint! lol

    Reply
  8. momstheword says

    April 25, 2009 at 12:59 am

    I think this would have been fun! Thank you for sharing. You could always tell by their greeting card commercials that they have a “heart!”

    Reply
  9. Bess says

    April 24, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    Too cool…too, too cool!

    Reply
  10. Maggie says

    April 24, 2009 at 8:42 pm

    What a great experience! I prefer Hallmark over other greeting card companies. Now I’m even happier to support Hallmark! What a great company!

    Reply
  11. Angie says

    April 24, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    I love these photos! So glad you got to go there!

    Reply

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