The Power of the Handwritten Note

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SendSmiles #CollectiveBias

What's not to love about a birthday? They are filled with smiles and happiness, family and friends you haven't seen in a long time... and more importantly free cake and ice cream. CB and I went to a birthday party just yesterday for a friend of their family that was turning 90 years old. He had the biggest smile plastered to his face the entire time. You could tell that he was touched that so many had come out to celebrate his existence. Even if you aren't a fan of tacking on another year to your age, you have to admit that nothing makes you feel better than having a birthday party thrown in your honor.

Birthdays are all about making someone feel special, loved and remembered. Sure it is nice to post on someone's Facebook wall the day of, but it is even more wonderful to send a handwritten card. I'm always so touched when I get actual cards in the mail wishing me a happy birthday, it means someone remembered and was thinking about me days before.

I heard a touching story about the power of the handwritten note this weekend, and it really left me inspired to take the time to communicate with pen and paper, rather than keyboards and touch screens. Well wishes, offering congratulations and honoring birthdays the old fashioned way takes planning, so I wanted to add a list of my friends and family with birthdays coming up to my calendar. Facebook (facebook.com/events/birthdays) has a really cool tool that lets you look at all of your friend's birthdays by month. I made a list of my good friends -- I left out those who I only friended because of Farmville back in 2010 -- and added their birthdays to my planner. See, the internet isn't all bad!

When I was at Walmart this weekend getting dinner for Saturday night, I stopped and picked out several Hallmark Cards starting at 47 Cents to have on hand for when a friend's birthday rolled around. I also insisted that CB and I pick out some flowers and a card so that we didn't show up to our party on Sunday empty handed.

With Hallmark Cards starting at 47 Cents there's no reason not to grab as many as you can. I found a very clear favorite, and set it aside to send to my mom on her birthday, which is July 15th! 

Pictures of beautiful flowers and yellow sparkly Hallmark birthday cards.... this is officially the most cheerful post to ever grace the pages of Venus Trapped in Mars. 
What's that you say? You want some more pictures of those flowers? Ok, ok twist my arm.