Holiday Hints

We’ve got less than a week until Christmas Eve! Can you believe it? Remember being a kid and waiting for what felt like years for Christmas to finally arrive? That’s not the case for me anymore. As an adult, and especially as a parent, it keeps sneaking up on me!  

In case you’re like me and need extra nudges, I wanted to remind you that tomorrow is the last day to ship your gifts by FedEx Ground to ensure they arrive on time for Christmas. This is a budget-friendly way to get your gifts there on time. But if you need more time, there’s always FedEx Express – it’ll just cost you a few more bucks to get your gifts there before Christmas (because Santa is never late, right?).

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Guest blogger Katie Nasche is a communications advisor for FedEx Office. Katie is a busy mom of two girls, and in her spare time, she enjoys baking and scrapbooking. Today, Katie shares with us some fun ideas for a holiday-themed scrapbook.

Last year, my family began a fun tradition of exchanging Christmas memories. It came about because we transitioned from purchasing gifts for each other individually to a white elephant exchange. I didn’t want to lose the sentiment that came with choosing just the right gift for each of my family and friends.

Guest Blogger Amanda Gregory is an account executive at Ketchum, the public relations agency for FedEx Office. Once a cooking- and baking-phobe, Amanda has been slowly phasing out the pricey Manhattan bakeries and reaching for the spatula instead. And while her early experiments may come with burnt edges, the below shipping tips make sure they at least arrive at their destination crumble-free!

The holidays have managed to creep up on us yet again, and everyone has begun thinking about holiday gifts and items to send to loved ones. We’ve shared a lot of tips on how to properly pack and ship your holiday items (for a refresher, check out Kellie’s cookie mix gift swap idea and Renee’s holiday shipping tips) and last week, we put those helpful hints into action, big-time.

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Guest blogger Kimberly Tobey is an organizational development specialist at FedEx Office. She enjoys cooking, running (she completed her first marathon this year!) and spending time with her boyfriend Chris. Today she offers some Hanukkah ideas for our readers. In Kimberly’s family, they celebrate what they call Chrismukkah, a combination of both Christian and Jewish traditions that represent their blended family.

With Hanukkah beginning tonight, I’m looking forward to celebrating these special eight days (also known as the Festival of Lights) with my family and friends. This Hanukkah, I wanted to find some new ways to celebrate and help teach others about what this holiday means. Here are some fun ideas I found online:

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…For a great Thanksgiving dinner! Happy Thanksgiving from the Out of Office bloggers!

This season, we’ve shared what we’re thankful for, and what we’re not so thankful for, and it’s finally time to celebrate with family. Now…let’s talk turkey! But beware of that slumber-inducing tryptophan!

It’s opposite day here on the Out of Office blog, and while we love (dearly love!) Thanksgiving and all the great traditions that come with it, we know the holidays have a flip side too. They can get stressful...really stressful.

For instance, I know that in previous years, I’ve had a lot of anxiety about the meal. A couple years ago, my now-husband and I hosted BOTH our families (that’s 11 people, folks!) at my little house on Thanksgiving Day. I made every side dish imaginable to satisfy any and every want, need, craving or food allergy. And I thought I had the turkey taken care of because we ordered one. Simple enough, right? Not so much – my dear now-husband (I hope he’s not reading) took care of the ordering part and sent the confirmation to me. Upon opening the confirmation e-mail, I saw that he sent the turkey to house number 92. I lived at house number 94. There wasn’t even a 92 on my street. Panic! We ultimately got the turkey and it all worked out fine, but boy, was I nervous! ...read more

Calling all aspiring graphic designers, creative folks and talented artists out there…we want to hear from you! While there are thousands (literally thousands) of templates and designs for holiday cards on www.fedex.com/designprint, we know that there is no limit to creativity and that some of the best ideas come from you, our readers and customers. 

So, it’s time to get inspired and submit your best holiday-themed design to our first-ever holiday card design contest, Deliver Your Design. Visit www.fedex.com/deliveradesign to see the great prizes for the winning design and read the contest rules. But don’t delay, there’s less than a month before the submissions portion of the contest ends on Dec. 12 and voting gets started! ...read more

Today we celebrate Veterans Day, a day to recognize all those who have served in the armed forces to protect United States and its people. The Out of Office Blog team wants to recognize all the great men and women who have served this nation and continue to protect its freedoms today.   

Many of you may know a friend or family member in the armed forces. A few months ago, my brother left to serve overseas in Afghanistan. Although I think of him often, I don’t send e-mails or packages as often as I’d like. So, I created a small “Encouragement Card” that reminds me to send support to my brother through e-mail or by mailing a care package, like we did around Memorial Day. I designed the business card to include his photo and contact information – plus it fits nicely in my wallet. Now when I go to mail a package, I always have his address handy.   ...read more

Pssst…we love letting our readers in on secrets and great deals. If you missed the “early bird special” we shared in September, then we have another chance for you! FedEx Office is offering a Friends and Family discount on holiday cards and calendars ordered online from Nov.1 – Dec. 15, and you, my friends, qualify! Visit www.fedex.com/ffpromo to place your order and receive the discount. 

This comes just in time for the holiday card season! Now I just have to decide how to design my card! I‘m thinking our dogs sure would look cute in Santa hats for our cards this year…    ...read more

As you’re putting the final touches on this year’s Halloween costumes and preparing for eager trick-or-treaters, the Out of Office crew has a couple ideas to make your parties and your Halloween happy. ...read more