Giveaway: Hallmark Greeting Cards

I wrote extensively about my time at Blissdom. There were great sessions on photography and writing and staying legal and more. The conference is able to be as spectacular as it is partly because of the sponsors who underwrite a large portion of the conference cost. As at many conferences I have attended, Hallmark had a suite where attendees were able to choose a card to send to a friend or loved one.

I love that Hallmark offers a card for just about any occasion from a pick me up to funny or sentimental thank yous to sympathy to simple hellos and more. Trust me, it wasn't hard for me to find cards to send. I had two friends at home who I wanted to send cards to. One friend was really helping by stepping up with carpooling the wee ones and taking care of them a bit when my parents and husband weren't available. She definitely needed an extra thank you - a note to let her know that I appreciate all she does for me and that I'm thinking of her even when I'm off having fun and she's ... not. Another friend just needed a little pick me up after having had a bad week the week before. And yes, Hallmark delivered.

When I arrived home, I happened to be on the phone with one friend when she retrieved her mail that included the card I had sent her. She was surprised to see mail from me to begin with, but when she opened the card and read what I had sent her, I'm pretty sure she had tears in her eyes. I also got a call from my other friend thanking me for the card and again expressing surprise that she'd received something but also just ... joy that someone had thought of her.

It isn't often anymore that we receive mail that isn't a bill or junk mail. People just don't send each other cards anymore, but it's such a great way to connect. I'm always amazed by how such a small gesture can really make someone's day. A friend of mine now sends two greeting cards to friends each week, just to make them smile. I love that idea. Although I'm not quite there yet, I'm certainly focused on sending out cards to people more often because I like being that person who brings a smile to someone else's face.

You can bring a smile, too. I have a greeting card pack to give away so you can Tell Them something special courtesy of Hallmark. So what do you have to do to win? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count! That means that please please please leave your contact information. If I cannot get ahold of you, you cannot win!

This giveaway is open until Tuesday April 24 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me: Who would you send your cards to?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):

1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: "Brighten a friend's day. Enter the #giveaway for @HallmarkPR cards from @honestandtruly http://bit.ly/HthusW" (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I visited the Hallmark suite at Blissdom and sent two cards to friends as described above. I was not compensated for this post. As always, all opinions remain my own.