Fortune Cookie Wedding Favor

The last few weeks, I've been brainstorming about wedding favors. GoPlanetEarth is gifting wedding favors to one of  our long time workers, Kaylee. She been with us for seven years and is tying the knot in August. Her wedding colors are turquoise and coral. I love the bright color combo.

The final (Kaylee approved) favor is pictured. The coral ribbon was shipped from Hong Kong. Yes, that's correct... Hong Kong! I needed just the right coral color, so I jumped on Ebay and found the perfect match.  Bulk chopsticks and turquoise take-out boxes are enroute.

I designed the round monogram seal and seating placement card in MS Publisher. A personalized fortune cookie is tucked inside each box. Kaylee is foregoing seating assignments, so I will be revising the favor card. In place of the guest name and table, there will be a message for each guest to do a "fill in the blank" fortune for the wedding couple. Guests slide the card from the chopsticks, fill in a message and drop card in a fortune cookie shaped box. How fun!

This same favor concept will work with Mold Market's fortune cookie soap mold or our tutorial on how to make your own fortune cookie soaps.

Place 2-3  fortune soaps in each box (heat-seal them in a poly type bag before placing in the box). Consider dipping cookie soaps in colored soap base and embellishing with sprinkles. The packaging design pictured might include coral colored soaps dipped in a turquoise color and dressed with white sprinkles, or vice versa.

Let your imagination run wild! There are so many color combinations you can use.

Checkout GoPlanet's printable fortune cookie sayings.





Having fun is one way to relieve stress and make us more productive. The problem is, we don't do enough of that fun stuff once we become big people. There is a reason why schools have recess periods (besides giving the teachers a break!). Research shows that kids who participate in a brief recess, perform better. So why don't we big people take note? That's a good question.

Keeping our employees happy and healthy should be part of the overall spectrum of the work day. Allowing employees to get out of the office for a brief 10 minute recess a few times during the day may just prove to boost productivity. How about an outdoor water balloon toss, a game of crochet or bocce ball, playing a game of Apples to Apples, hop-scotch, or even an egg tossing contest.

My husband has always said, "Happy Wife, Happy Life". The same is true for a business owner and his or her employees. Happy workers translates into

• fewer errors
• better attitudes
• employee longevity
• willingness to go that extra mile
• more resilient to stress
• fewer sick and call-off days

GoPlanetEarth is dedicated to providing recess time to our employees. In the end, it works in the favor of our customers. Do you have a recess plan in place for your business?

Low Cost Ways to Keep Long Term Employees

Very few small businesses can compete with the "big boys" when it comes to benefit packages. For most of us, benefit packages are limited (if we have them at all), and even paid time off can put a strain on operating capital.

Our company is located in Michigan which is currently one of the most economically depressed regions in the US. Automotive and industrial plants are closing weekly, homes are going into foreclosure, and many families that were once making six figures are now struggling to put food on the table. When a large plant closes so does a host of other small businesses due to the "trickle down" effect.

So what can a small company do when they can't offer major benefit packages? How can they retain long-term employees on a limited budget? This video offers some creative ideas that have worked for us through the years. The video expresses only a few of the many ways we reward employees (see more below). We believe we are doing something right. Our employee attendance rate is nearly 100% and turnover rate is less than 1%. We continually look for new ways to make this a fun place to work while remaining customer focused.

Other employee "perks" to consider:

• Educational Reimbursement. Our company offers employees a $750 tuition reimbursment per year.
  
  
• Twice a year, we take employees to dinner at an up-scale restaurant. Employees jointly pick the place we dine. We all dress up and have a night of fun.
  
  
• If an employee needs something to help them do their job better or more efficiently, we get it! No one knows the job better than the person doing it.
  
  
• Holiday bonuses based on years of service.
  
  
• Cash bonus and lunch on us whenever there is a birthday.
  
  
• This year we are implementing a wellness fund. Employees on the payroll for one year will receive an annual $125.00 wellness reimbursement for anything related to their mental, physical, or spiritual well-being.