Hallmark Celebrates the Moments Between the Milestones

You may have heard the term “Hallmark Holiday”. It’s got a mostly negative connotation, indicating the speaker’s belief that the holiday he or she is talking about was created specifically to sell greeting cards. (I’m guessing that the insertion of the Hallmark brand is only because they are the most well-known company, which also happens to produce high quality products. Ahem.)

Putting that term aside for a moment or three, what’s wrong with a little extra celebrating in general? Whether you buy greeting cards or make them, or even if you choose to celebrate in ways that don’t involve giving cards, isn’t it great to be able to take the time to appreciate someone or something in your presence, something that might be deserving of some extra kudos or love?

I think it is.

And that’s why I was really excited to attend the Chicago stop on the Hallmark Tour a couple of weeks ago, so we could talk about the Moments Between the Milestones. Celebrating life’s little moments is great fun, especially when those around you don’t expect it.

During the fantastic morning at Uncommon Ground, a bunch of us Chicago bloggers got to meet and “play” with Hallmark superstars Molly Wigand (Writer), Trish Berrong (Creative Director), and Kevin Hosley (Design Photographer).

We started off by watching a video that Hallmark made for us, consisting of a “moment” that each of us sent in ahead of time. Watch this: it’s really beautiful and just goes to show you that all of life’s moments, big and small, are pretty amazing when you think about it.

(By the way, if you want to read the entire vitamin story that my moment references, click here.)

We got to participate in a couple of really fun exercises. One of them, a writing exercise with Molly, I wrote about already. We also did a photography exercise with Kevin. We were asked to find a partner and then take a picture of that person which doesn’t show the whole face, but does show emotion or tell a story. Michelle and I worked together, and after a few failed attempts I captured a picture that worked pretty well for my assignment:

I adore the folks at Hallmark, as well as their PR representatives (Hi Jon! *waving*). They are professional yet fun and friendly, they are über-creative, and they are approachable (very wonderful qualities all, don’t you think?). The event at Uncommon Ground, at which we practiced thinking about the moments between all of our various milestones was one I won’t soon forget. Thanks, Hallmark!

(Oh, I almost forgot my disclosure: we were provided breakfast and a t-shirt at the event, and we were also given a bag of assorted Hallmark products, including some recordable storybooks and greeting cards, all of which I gave away. I was not asked to write this post, but wanted to. All words and pictures are mine.)