Brighten Their Day With A Card Shower From Hallmark {Review & Giveaway}

I came home from work a few weeks ago to find a Hallmark card in my mailbox addressed to me. I had no idea why someone was sending me a card, but I couldn't wait to open it. There was no return address on the envelope, so I ripped into it as quickly as I could to see who it was from. It was a cute card just to say hi, and the message inside said "We love reading your blog!" and was signed by someone I didn't know. While I don't make my identity a secret here on my blog, I got a little nervous that a blog reader knew where I lived. The card was a sweet card, though, so I just chalked it up as being my first piece of "fan mail". After all, I know you guys love me.

As I was driving home the next day, I got a text from my husband that said "You got 9 more cards today". I was intrigued. I couldn't wait to get home to open them, so I called Brian and had him open them for me. I was dying to know who sent them! He read a couple that were just signed with names, but then finally got to one that had the name of a PR firm I had worked with under the signature. I made him keep reading them to me until I found one with a name I knew. I had received an email the week prior from that particular person about a new service Hallmark was offering, and it all made sense then.

Even though I received the cards as a demonstration of the new Card Showers from Hallmark, I actually needed some cheering up that week, and those cards ended up being very special to me. You see, that week was the one year anniversary of the last time I saw my father before he passed and I was in a very dark place. Each one of those cards brought a smile to my face, and I am beyond grateful to all of the wonderful people that wrote personal messages to me to brighten my day. It worked.

So what is Card Showers from Hallmark?

Card Showers from Hallmark is a free, online service that helps a group of people "shower" a special person with a mailbox of well wishes, gratitude or support. The act of showering people with cards has been happening for years, and you might have even seen some card showers in the blogosphere. Card Showers from Hallmark, though, is the first online service that helps people organize and track card showers. Hallmark has been touched by the love and support shared through card showers over the years and wanted to make it easier for people to shower others.

I think this is such a fun idea! I have recently started setting up a card shower for a milestone event in the life of one of my loved ones, but since it isn't time to send the cards yet, I can't go into much detail about it. I know the person is going to love it, and I know the word is going to spread quickly. The set up process is super easy!

Here is how you can set up your own card shower -

• Go to hallmark.com/cardshowers and create a Card Shower event.
• Invite friends and family through email or Facebook and specify the date you’d like the honoree to receive her shower of cards.
• Participants respond to the invitation, buy a card on Hallmark.com or in the store and send their cards. They also can invite additional contacts, increasing the size of the card shower.
• The honoree then receives a shower of cards!
• Card Showers from Hallmark also features the ability to set up reminders and track sending online.

Remember, you can shower someone with cards for a special event, to give a high-five, to bring some cheer to someone who is going through a rough time, or just to say hi. How would you like to come home to a mailbox full of cards just for you? I sure did!

~*~Giveaway~*~

~*~$25 Hallmark Gold Crown Gift Card~*~

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: All opinions are my own. I received a promotional item in exchange for this post. No other compensation was received. A big Thank You to Hallmark for providing the giveaway prize!