Dapper Days are my Favorite Days

 Dapper Days at Disneyworld are by far my favorite days of the year!  

What is Dapper Day?  Well, it is Dapper Day itself is an organization out of California "that celebrates fun, refined styled from yesterday and today."  They organize events that encourage attendees to "step out in style."  You can keep up with when the next events are on their website.  

So at Disney World, it is a weekend where thousands of people dress up and come to the parks!  It is a time to hang out with old friends, meet new ones, and show off your style!  It is a great time to visit the parks whether you dress up or not. 

I think I finally realized what it is that I love so much about Dapper Day - it is the camaraderie. Everyone is there to see and be seen - you can hear "Happy Dapper Day!" as you walk and there is nothing but smiles and greetings!   For an extrovert, it is heaven!  I've made friends at Dapper Day that have gone far beyond the smile and greeting, and it's a time I look forward to mostly because of these relationships.  

So what did we wear to Dapper Day this spring?  

Well, Friday night we celebrated the final episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier with these disneybounds.  I channeled the Winter Soldier and Carlos was the Falcon.  This was worn to Disney Springs, where we went to meet up with friends and have dinner! 

Saturday we headed to the Magic Kingdom and were a part of a group Disneybound representing the Minnie Main Attraction Collection Series.  This group was organized by our friend Nastassia of  The Princess and the Bear (check out their Youtube channel for great Disney vegan/non vegan food reviews!).  We represented the Enchanted Tiki Room - one of our favorite attractions!  How did we do? 

Photo by Ellie Anne Images

Sunday was our favorite day - Epcot day!  Epcot is our favorite park and it's also a park where it seems to be easier to see different people - so we saw a lot of people that day!  It is the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot right now so we went with that as our theme for the day.  

Would you like to attend Dapper Day?  My hubby plans all of our trips and he can plan yours too!  Check out his travel site - Jet Set Tours!  

5 ways to be an encourager

Today is the National Day of Encouragement, so I wanted to share 5 simple ways to be a more encouraging person!

1. Smile. A smile may be a simple gesture, but it means a lot.  When you pass people, look them in the eye and smile.  If someone is coming to talk to you, greet them with a smile.  Make the effort to smile when you see your kids or your spouse.  I think we often have a tendency to save our grumpiness for our families (I know I do!), but they deserve our encouragement most of all.  
2. Say thank you.  When someone does something for you, thank them.  Be grateful for the things people do, even if it is expected.  Send thank you notes.  It is my new goal to tell 5 people thank you every day.  
3. Give compliments.  If you admire something about someone - tell them!  If you like someone's outfit, tell them.  Don't keep compliments to yourself.  Pay attention to the names of people that give great service and let their bosses know about it.  If your waiter is excellent, ask for the manager and tell them what a great job he did.  Shout out great customer service on social media.  Look for the good in people, and then compliment it!  
4. If you think of someone, reach out to them.  If someone is on your mind, there may be a reason.  Send them a message or even better, pick up the phone and give them a call.  Let them know you were thinking about them!  (It's always nice to know that people are thinking of us!)  You may find that they are going through something and need someone to reach out to them!  
5. Give gifts.  If you see something that makes you think of someone, and you can afford it, get it for them!  Bring your coworker their favorite candy bar.  Send in a favorite soft drink to your child's teacher!  Even small gestures like these can make a big impact - even if it just lets the person know you were thinking about them!  This one does not come naturally to me, but I feel like it is an important way to encourage someone so I am trying to be better at it.  One way you can do this if you aren't a natural gift giver is to make a list of 3 people that you will give a gift to each month - or each week - whichever works best for you! 

So there you have it, 5 easy ways to encourage people.  Who will you encourage today??

How to support your network marketing friends

I do not want to buy products or join a business, but I would still like to support my friend.  What can I do?

Ask your friend how you can support them.  If you are not interested in the product or joining a business, BE HONEST with them - but also let them know you would like to find other ways to be supportive.  I promise they will appreciate both the honesty and the support!

Support their social media presence.  If they have a Facebook business page, like it.  If they have a Facebook group, join it.  If they have an Instagram account, follow it.  LIKE things they post.  If something is relevant to share, share it on your own accounts. If you use the same product they sell but buy it from someone else - who cares?  Like and comment on their posts just like you are buying it from them.  No one else knows this, and even if you have another consultant, your friend will appreciate the online support. 

Host a party.  If your friend's business is run through parties, host one.  Have some friends over for a fun night or invite friends to an online party.  It doesn't cost you anything, and it may give you some free product rewards!

Be a referral source.  If you know someone who would be interested in the products your friends offers, make the referral and connect them!  Texting or facebook messenger makes it easy to start a group conversation, and then you can leave once you have made your introductions.

That's it!  4 easy ways you can support your friends who may be working a side hustle!