Trophies2Go Blog

Ready to host a Halloween Party?  Get ideas at today’s blog post for hosting a  Halloween Costume Party!  I'm going to be tailoring this post to an adult party; If you want to read about kid’s party ideas, read my past post Prizes and Awards for Halloween Contests.

Theme

Our hand painted mummy trophy will be a hit at your Halloween costume party!

Besides your invite list, the first thing to figure out is a theme.  At my costume party last year my theme was "Halloween", original, I know.  If I host one again this year, I would definitely choose a theme so my guests can plan their costumes and people can get creative!  Some possible themes include:

Well Known Couples: There are thousands of combinations from history, pop culture or even items that go together (think Salt & Pepper, Peanut Butter & Jelly)  I found great couples costumes for sale at Costume Craze to spark your imagination.

TV Shows/Movies: Game of Thrones, Marvel characters, NFL Football, Walking Dead, anything popular could be included.

Monster Party: Vampires, Werewolves, Frankenstein: everyone comes in a "dead" costume, with fake blood and gore.

Star Trek vs. Star Wars:  Epic battle for the best iconic (and nerdiest) Sci Fi space adventure!

Nightmare Before Christmas: Make a creepy Christmas theme just like the movie.

All About the 80's:  Movies and Music.  Think hair bands, Devo, Top Gun, 16 Candles; so many ways to get creative!

Food & Drink:

Halloween "finger foods" are easy to eat and don't require plates or utensils!

I’m always a fan of food - and especially drinks - at a party.  People get munchie and it's a great opportunity to reinforce your theme with creative snacks and cocktails!

Food:  Apps and small finger foods are always good to have as they are easy to eat and don't require plates and silverware.  Punchbowl has a list of “finger food” recipes that are perfect for your guests to snack on. There are tons of cute Halloween food ideas online, Pinterest is a great source.

Drinks:  I'm always a fan of a tasty themed cocktail.  Get “bloody” Halloween cocktail recipes here and again there's always ideas on Pinterest.  It's really the best for finding fun drink recipes!

Awards

Competition is a great way to get your guests involved in your party as long as you have a prize for the winner!   We create many Halloween awards for “Best Costume” and here are some possible categories to include at your next Halloween party.

Best Costume Categories Include:  "Scariest Costume", "This costume fits my personality", "Cutest Costume", "Va Va Voom!" or "Sexiest Costume", "Most Creative Costume", "People’s Choice", "Funniest Costume", "Best Group Costume", "Penny Pincher", "Best Couple", "Most Original", and lastly "Cheesiest Costume".

This year our Graphic Designer Lori N has created some awesome limited-edition, hand-painted Halloween trophies, perfect for your contest winner.  We offer fabulous green witches, grinning jack-o-lanterns, wrapped mummies and creepy zombies!  Also check out our custom Halloween medals, a perfect best costume prize!

For more ideas, check out Halloween Party Ideas from Punchbowl, they have tons of great suggestions to get your creativity flowing.  Also check out our Trophies2Go pinterest page where I’ve pinned cute decorating ideas, recipes, crafts and also my favorite trophies and medals for a costume contest.  I hope your Halloween is full of treats, that's no trick!

Cheers!
Jessica

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Once upon a time, in 2000, Trophies2Go was one of the first trophy & awards companies to market on the web.  It began as a child of Jeff’s imagination during the Dot.com boom, right as we were having our first baby.  It was a crazy time, starting a business AND having a baby (I would not recommend).  However in the long run, both grew and grew and now 17 years later, both are healthy and happy.

Trophy and award orders are packed and ready to ship to customers across the US.

Two years ago, Jeff and I decided to again move with the times and launch our existing Trophies2Go website on a new platform called Magento.  And unfortunately it was really really hard.  The website looked fantastic, our products were outstanding, but we had a number of issues with customers placing orders, training staff on a new system, and bugs throughout the site.  At the same time, Jeff, our leader, had started a new business and wasn’t around to right the ship.  So I stepped in, Tom also became a partner and over the past two years, Tom and I have grown our sales and improved our site to the point where it’s one of the best in the awards industry.

At the same time as all this online growth was happening, our retail presence was shrinking.  Being in the Issaquah community since 1987 (30 years!!!) we had a number of loyal customers, but unfortunately, many of our long time customers had “graduated” out of buying trophy and awards for their teams, school, or companies.  Whether their kids grew up and they were no longer coaching, they moved on to different jobs, they retired, or moved away, our repeat local customers were diminishing.  All the while we had a beautiful showroom with lots of space, but not many customers to help pay the rent.

And then there’s Amazon…they sell everything and have changed the ecommerce landscape with their large product offerings and quick 2-day Prime shipping on most items.  Their products sell for cheap, are reviewed by other customers, and are delivered quickly, which is the new standard expected by savvy online shoppers.

Looking toward the future, the Internet is where it’s at, there’s no doubt.  With how much everyone lives on their phones, especially millennials, this is where growth will occur in retail.  This past June we decided to bite the bullet and close our showroom to be an exclusively online award retailer.  Bold move, but innovation is one of our company’s core values and we must be ahead of the times.  We can still help our local customers with placing orders and they can pick up at our Renton warehouse, but we no longer have a large showroom with shelves of products for customers to touch and feel in person.  Instead now everything is virtual!

What I have learned through this process is it’s scary to put all of your eggs in one basket.  I’m depending on my website and my development team to keep our virtual doors open and so far it’s worked well.  I’ve also learned that it’s awesome to have great team who’s got your back during a big transition such as this.  Everyone pitched in to help with our move and transition, with moving furniture and equipment, changing hours, installing shelves, and dealing with new phones and internet issues.  I am truly grateful to work with such outstanding people.  Also a special thank you to Gary Tinker from National Engravers, Inc for mentoring me through this process.

This recent article in our Awards and Personalization trade magazine, ’The World is Changing – Are You?’ , sums up how important it is to remain relevant during these dynamic times. It’s hard to make a change, but I’m confident it will be the right decision for our company, our staff and our customers in the long run.

Cheers! Jessica

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It’s Fantasy Football Season, finally!  Time to research your team and respond to your inbox or Facebook requests from your commissioner.

One way to thank your commissioner for their time and efforts is with an engraved flask and favorite spirit.

Your commissioner has a hard job, it takes time to herd cats.  They have to deal with whiners at times.  And they coordinate everyone’s schedules when setting up the draft, which can be a real PITA.  Here are some ways you can show your league commish how much you appreciate the time and effort they put into your league.

Free Stuff:

1.  Respond to their requests and information in a timely manner. Nothing is worse than not hearing from everyone when trying to nail down a date or collect fees.

2.  Don’t complain.  You’re not doing the work so quit whining.

3.  Be excited and participate.  It makes them happy knowing everyone is having a good time.  They also appreciate keeping a group of guys or gals together that would otherwise drift apart.

4.  Say thank you.  Enough said.

Gifts:

In addition to your participation and good attitude, a little thoughtfulness from your league goes a long way.  A small (or large) gift of appreciation will make your buddy feel good!

1.  Bottle of favorite liquor – Top Shelf is always appreciated!

2.  Engraved Flask – with your league name and some words of appreciation

3.  Engraved Glass Beer Pints – again with your League Name

4.  NFL Jersey – of his favorite team, ask his wife for sizing

Recognize the guy who does the most work for your league, after all he devotes time and dedication for you to have fun.  Having a good attitude, answering texts, messages or emails, and saying “thanks” goes a long way to thank someone for a hard task.
Have a great fantasy football season!

Cheers,
jessica

Did you know that Trophies2Go now carries personalized barware including engraved wine glasses, engraved beer pints & steins, and engraved cocktail glasses? Our exceptional personalized glassware will be enjoyed for years to come, with the same quality and service you already expect from Trophies2Go!

For the Special Dinner:

Is your company planning a special event? Personalize the wine glasses with the winery name or your company logo. We offer bulk case pricing for larger orders!  Taster Wine Glasses

For a Company Picnic:

Engrave your company logo on our most popular glasses, engraved beer pints. Each employee can take home their own commemorative glass to remember the event! Engraved Pint Beer Glasses

For the Family Reunion: 

Serve your family's favorite refreshing beverage in personalized monogrammed glasses! A gift to remember a special family gathering!  Engraved Barware Glasses

For A Wedding Reception: 

Toast the bride and groom with Italian-made monogrammed champagne glasses! Add the couple's name and date for an unforgettable keepsake!  Crystalline Champagne Glass

For the Golfer: 

Enjoy the 19th hole at your next golf tournament with engraved sports mugs. Give to the winning team, as a sponsor gift, or Closest to the Pin Prize! Add the course name and tournament logo for FREE!  Craft Beer Glasses

Summer is the perfect season to enjoy refreshing beverages that market your brand!  Trophies2Go can help you with the highest quality bar ware with deep etch engraving all within your budget.  Enjoy your next event this summer with a personalized memento!

Cheers!

Jessica

Do you have special plans to celebrate Independence Day?  Perhaps you are planning a 4th of July parade, BBQ, or cooking contest?  Or maybe you are hosting a fireworks display and picnic?  Add extra hype to your event with one of our 4th of July Awards!  See ideas below to take your event to the next level.

July 4th Awards:

These patriotic trophies are the perfect symbol for Independence Day!

We offer a large selection of 4th of July themed trophies for your celebration.  These include flag trophies, acrylic awards, and even fireworks medals!

4th of July Parade: If your parade has a competition between floats, bands, or other community groups, be sure to award trophies to the winners.  Popular awards include larger trophies with posts, such as our Rising Star Competition Trophies.  In two styles, these grand trophies feature star trim and can be made with red column, blue column, or stars and stripes flag column.

Barbecue Cook Off:  Attending a cookout?  Bring the host a one-of-a-kind BBQ trophy or engraved cutting board.  Or consider hosting your own BBQ cooking competition!  Have your contestants bring their favorite meat to grill and judge the winners. Check out our large selection of BBQ trophies here.

Cooking Contests:  The 4th of July is the classic time for hot dog and pie eating contests.  If you host a food contest, award your winners one of our cooking trophies.  Or make your own custom trophy, especially for your event with one of our sublimated awards.

Corn Hole is a fun 4th of July game for all ages!

Backyard Games: The holiday weekend is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy family time.  Backyard games, such as horseshoes, bocce balls, ladder ball, corn hole toss, and pickle ball bring the family together with good, wholesome, All-American fun!  Award trophies to your winners - see all of our selection in our Backyard Games section.

For other ideas for decorations, costumes, parades, and more, check out our 4th of July Pinterest Page!

No matter how you choose to spend the July 4th holiday, it's great to be an American!   Wishing you a happy and healthy Independence Day celebration with family, friends and neighbors.

Cheers!
Jessica

Editor's Note: This post was originally published on June 23, 2015.  It has been updated for content.

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