I am always impressed by people’s creativity. And I’m downright delighted when one of our products gets to play a part in someone’s creation!

Marie sent us a note and a photo of some favors she made:

They were such a hit that now I am getting calls from family members asking how to make these favors and where did I get such adorable spoons.

Did you spot our Ice Cream Spoons standing proudly in the center? Marie shares how she made her treats:

I found ice cream cone shaped cups, filled them with assorted wrapped candy, put them in a clear cellophane bag and tied them with ribbon and placed a butterfly on top.

I would love to be invited to a party where this was the take home favor! Well done Marie!

Have you used something you’ve purchased from the Lemonade Stand in a gift basket or party favor? We’d love to hear about it!

Check this out - Bob over at Every, Every Minute has this fun meme called MyTurn/YourTurn - it’s simple straight-forward fun, and no tagging, so I’m in! This edition is called Happy Songs.

Last summer I saw the Newsboys in concert where they previewed their “Go” album and the lead track entitled “Wherever We Go” has made me smile ever since. I’ve listened to it on my drive to our office pretty much every day. In my mind it’s a perfect company theme song because of lyrics like this:

Where we go, little glow-worms glow
Little roadrunners run ahead
Gonna tell their friends
Little mice, little men
Get ‘em all excited
All invited

Chorus:
Hands up
Holler back here
Let’s throw this party in gear
We brought the welcome mat
Wherever we go, that’s where the party’s at

Totally a natural fit for the continent-crossing speaking duo of Kim and Jason, but it also fits me because I believe every package I send from the Lemonade Stand is a little party in a box! With way cool stuff to transform home and office spaces as well as gifts to fight adultitis, how can there not be a celebration?

There is a smile on my face as I pack boxes of goodies when I envision joy as described in these two favorite verses:

Wherever we go, bluebirds sing
And the flowers bloom
And the grass gets green
It’s a curious thing
But it’s just our thing

Wherever we go, the bees behave
In the treetops, squirrels smile and wave
It’s a curious thing
And it’s humbling

And my absolute favorite line:

God help us, we just love our job

I really do love my job and I grin from ear to ear when I hear this song that happily reminds me of where the party’s at!

YourTurn: What song always makes you happy when you hear it?

Alternative: What is your company’s/job’s theme song? Do you want to change it or crank it up?

Technorati Tags: Every Every Minute, Newsboys, party, love your job

Did you know we have a daily promotion to make any day a great day to shop the Lemonade Stand?

One deal I think people are missing out on is Gift Wrap Wednesday. This premium service is great any day and a steal on Wednesdays for just a penny. I’m an expert wrapper if I say so myself; I apprenticed with my dad who was in charge of wrapping all the family gifts at Christmas.

Like my dad’s favorite wrapping paper of Sunday funnies, we have some really cool paper that make for bright fun packages evoking the joy of childhood birthdays. We recently had a customer who bought wedding gifts at the Lemonade Stand and was thrilled that we didn’t have “boring wedding paper.” We also got a fun email from Judy who shared with us about an awesomely unique celebration:

We JUST had the 14th annual My Hero Day where we joyfully celebrate the awesomeness of Gregory, my husband, being my hero for the past 14 years! You (and Kim & Jason) helped me with this event, too, as several of the gifts were from the Lemonade Stand and you wrapped them awesomely!

When the HERO gets home, we serve homemade cookies and milk. Then he gets to open at least 12 fun gifts (because he IS a hero 12 months a year!). I always get our 4 cats IN on the action. They found 2 perfect gifts at the Lemonade Stand!! Oh yes, they help him remove, err uh I mean, “play” with the wrapping paper!

This year the cats fell in love and just HAD to give Big Dad Cat the “Super Duper Daddy – You’re My Hero” mug. And leave it up to cats to pick out the Inanimate Stickers because they just knew they would make him laugh. I got the really cool USB-powered Office Coffee Warmer. And because the Hero is a die-hard baseball fan, I just HAD to get him Jason’s Tales from the T-Ball Outfield.

Thanks for sending that awesome story and great photo Judy! Do you have a story to share?

I’m curious: what do you think about Gift Wrap Wednesday and our other deals?

Technorati Tags: gift wrap, daily deal, celebration, Lemonade Stand

Judy Irené is one of the coolest people I’ve met in the Kim & Jason Universe! You may know Judy from her profile over at Club K&J that was featured in the Kim & Jason magazine: Escape Adulthood,

Judy emailed me to share this fun event she orchestrated for her friends - a Pampered Chick Party! The day was filled with food and massages and other fun indulgences including goodies from the Lemonade Stand!

The 1st Annual Pampered Chick Day turned out spectacularly and everyone loved their Lemonade Stand gifts.

Judy created book full of her frivolous favorites (we’re featured on page six between Life is Good and Goody Goody Shoes) that she gave to all the women attending!

Thanks, Judy, for sharing us with your “Chicks” and thanks for sharing your story with me - you’re one cool chick!

One of the very best parts of my job is hearing about how the great gifts from the Lemonade Stand are shared by you. So, anyone else want to share?

Indulge me.

Technorati Tags: indulge, chicks, pamper, Lemonade Stand, Life Is Good, Goody Goody Shoes

Sweet! Amanda has named me a “Rocking Girl Blogger” - thanks Amanda YOU rock!

Here are three that come to mind immediately:

• Kim @ Swingset Reflections rockin’ Rant City while fighting the good fight against Adultitis!
• Jen @ Jen Robinson’s Book Page rockin’ for reading - discovering way cool kidlit to pass along and encouraging grown-ups to read these awesome children’s books too!
• Deb @ Love * Prayers * Health rockin’ a way cool project for women fighting ovarian cancer (one being my mom)!

These women and their blogs represent different areas of the blogsphere but they each have great voices and totally rock their missions.

Technorati Tags: rockin’ girl blogger, adultitis, kidlit, afghan, cancer

I feel one of the challenges that online stores face is the balance between technology and humanity. One of the reasons I buy things online is because of the ease and convenience of ordering - click, poof, the goods are on my doorstep! One of the complaints that I have is the nameless, faceless nature of online shopping. Sometimes you cannot trust the faces that you do see on an online stores loaded with stock photos.

FYI - those are all my faces in that fun rotating circle in the column to the left. Here are some more of me and my hats:

More important than the genuine photographs is the genuine person behind them. My servant attitude means my customer service focus is on the total experience not just reacting to problems. Those times remind me of the importance of individually and personally connecting with people not just automatically processing orders, but dealing with complaints isn’t the only reason to make time to communicate.

There are lots of techno-tools for me to use with our online store - setting up automatic discounts for our Club K&J members, tracking abandoned carts, seeing which products are at the top of people’s wishlists. To me the key to making the most of these tools is making the communication about them personal. I give specific answers to every question generated through our online forms. And I write notes to every customer through out the order process - from receiving the order through it’s shipment. There are of course templates set-up for generic responses and automatic messages, but we’re all about having conversations. So the effort is made to be real.

I’ve gotten feedback that people are happy to know there’s a “real person” at The Lemonade Stand. I’m happiest when I know folks are sharing about their shopping experience - gives me the chance to interact with more cool people. That’s why I was thrilled with the bloglove given by Lemonade Stand customer and Club K&J member Amanda. You can read all the nice things she had to say about Kim & Jason at her fun blog, but this is the part that made me grin from ear to ear:

I received an email from Jenna, one of their staff… she has some “grand poobah”-like title which escapes me at the moment… asking if I had any issues or concerns since I hadn’t completed my order. I explained that I still planned to order, but that I had to get all of my ducks in a row, first. She responded with the comment “proper alignment of waterfowl is important”. Indeed! Just that email made me smile and feel warm inside… This was not just another online shop. There was a real person on the other end of that email, a person after my own heart…

I am after her heart and the hearts of everyone who comes to the Lemonade Stand. I truly believe if the focus is on the people and not what can be gotten out of their wallets, we set ourselves apart from the masses of internet retailers. That’s my goal to serve every customer, every day. With cool people like Amanda, it’s a great job and it’s why I love being the Grand Poobah (it does come with a fun hat!) aka Chief Sales Servant.

Technorati Tags: customer service, bloglove, grand poobah, genuine people, online shop, Lemonade Stand, Long Journey, Sweet Flowers

One of the best things about being a part of the Kim & Jason universe is the cool people I come to know. Usually I “meet” folks through email and rare phone calls, but once in a great while I actually get the pleasure of getting a face to face.

I got to meet bubbly Club K&J Member Amy and learn her story of how she got to know Kim & Jason through her adult best friend Mary.

Mary gave me a signed copy of of the Friendship artwork when she asked me to be her Maid of Honor in her wedding. There’s so much special meaning just from the picture of Kim and Jason playing in the kitchen and always sticking together.

Such a sweet story and such an honor for Kim & Jason to play a role not only in this friendship but also a wedding (of course it did start with a sappy love story)! Amy goes on to tell how the “Remark”ables Prints became home decorating necessities for her kitchen:

At that point, I knew I wanted my kitchen to have a Kim & Jason theme that represents different aspects of my life instead of an empty kitchen wall.

Besides the Friendship print, I have two other prints up that have great meaning for me. The Heaven & Rain print represents my mom, reminding me that she is always with me. The Cooperation print reminds that I should always try to play nice with others and it reminds me of the Mary’s old kitchen, where I have a lot of great memories.

How cool is it that there is a “Kim & Jason” wall?

I feel delighted to be a part of making a connection to good friends and memories of loved ones. And it’s people like Mary and Amy that put a smile on my face and help me appreciate what a wonderful job I have as Chief Sales Servant.

Thanks for sharing your story (and pics) Amy!

Feel free to share your story about how Kim & Jason has impacted your life, how the Lemonade Stand has helped you Escape Adulthood or perhaps how something from the K&J Universe has simply made you laugh.

Technorati Tags: remarkable prints, club k&j, friendship, maid of honor, heaven, lemonade stand