2013: A Year Full of New Features

It's that time of year where pretty much the entire Internet makes lists to reflect on what's happened over the last 12 months. Here at ezEvent we've released a ton of great features in 2013, and we're proud to present our picks for the 10 most notable ones (in no particular order):

1) Buyer Payment Options

We know that not everyone likes to pay online. We also know that our event organizers like options when it comes to how they collect their funds. For that reason, we now allow event organizers to choose between several different payment options. These options include ezEvent's Merchant Account for credit card processing, PayPal, and offline payment options such as pay by check, invoice the buyer, or pay at the door.

2) Help Center & Sample Events

ezEvent was designed to be very user-friendly, but we know that people will still end up with questions. To give our users the answers they need, we created a Help Center with 12 in-depth tutorials and 15 example events. If it's inspiration you need for your event page or if you want to master the event creation process, the answer can be found in the Help Center!

3) Merchandise

Selling merchandise is a great way to bring in extra revenue at an event. The problem is, if you go in without knowing how many people are going to buy your items and you produce more than you sell you could end up with a loss. To solve that problem, ezEvent now allows you to sell any and all merchandise alongside your tickets. Custom questions allow you to get into more details, such as what size or color t-shirt customers want, so you know exactly what you need to have with you at the event. Buyers will print off a voucher and exchange it for the merchandise at the event. Isn't that 'ez'?

4) Participant/Pledge Forms

Hosting a walk-a-thon, read-a-thon, or any other "a-thon" event that requires participants to collect pledge donations? ezEvent's particpant/pledge forms make it simple to keep track of the participants and all of the pledge donations they've collected all in one place.

5) Custom Event Header

If you want to grab someone's attention immediately, having an eye-catching image right at the top of the page is a great way to do it. ezEvent's newest feature allows you to upload a custom banner, poster, or other graphic to include as a header on your event page.

6) Attendee Information With Custom Questions

Do you need to know more about an attendee than just their basic contact info? Maybe you're planning for a dinner and need to know if you'll have any vegetarians in attendance. Maybe you want to know how guests heard about your event. No matter what you need to know, you can ask the question with the attendee information feature. Questions can have an open-ended text answer, or guests can select from multiple answers with a drop down box or radio buttons.

7) Ticket Scanning

You've sold out your event and the time has come to let guests into the venue. Our ticket scanning options make the process quick and easy! Whether you choose to scan using a QR code reader, a 2D scanner, or simply by entering barcode numbers into your computer, ezEvent's scanning system allows you to quickly check in guests and make sure there are no duplicate tickets.

8) Post Event Surveys 

Event planners work hard on their events, so it's important to get feedback once the event is over. ezEvent allow you to design a custom survey and send it out to all of your event attendees so you know what they thought of the event, the ticket buying process, and anything else you'd like feedback on.

9) Ticket Dividers

Many events have different categories of tickets or items for sale. Whether it's general admission, VIP, or merchandise, using ticket dividers helps to separate out different ticket groups so buyers can easily find and purchase various items that are on sale. Unlike tickets, dividers are just for display and organization. Not only do they separate your items, but you can even use them to add some extra color and style to your page! 

10) Calendar Widget

Many of our event organizers host multiple events that take place on different dates and times. We've created a nifty event calendar/event list iframe that organizers can post on their websites. When potential customers see a show they're interested in, they can click the buy tickets button and be directed right to the ezEvent page for that specific event date and time.

Keep an eye out in 2014 for more new and exciting features!

The Top 5 Christmas Cookies (With Recipes!)

You leave them out for Santa. You give them as gifts. You enjoy them after (and sometimes before and during) your Christmas meal. Cookies are a delicious highlight to any Christmas celebration, and baking has become as much a Christmas tradition as carols and stockings. If you're anything like me you wait until the last minute to bake because you can't decide what you want to whip up this year. Don't fear! We've compiled a list of the top 5 Christmas cookies (with recipes!) to help you prepare for your big Christmas event!

Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are a Christmas go-to because they're so versatile. They're essentially the blank canvas of the cookie world, which makes them great for people who don't really like sweets. For those who like a more flavorful cookie, they can be dressed up on the inside with flavors like lemon or almond. Sugar cookies are also perfect for decorating. You can cut them into cute shapes and make them your own with frosting, icing, sprinkles, and candies. The best part is you can let your kids do the decorating, and even if they look terrible they'll still look adorable.

Recipes: Easy Sugar Cookies; White Velvet Sugar Cookies; Chewy Sugar Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

Gingerbread cookies are like the more flavorful cousin of sugar cookies. They're very traditional during Christmas as they're packed with warm holiday flavors like ginger, molasses, and cinnamon. Like sugar cookies, they're also great for decorating. Typically found in the form of men and women, it's a Christmas tradition to add icing outfits to your gingerbread people. Basically, they brings out the fashion designer in all of us. While they can sometimes be a bit dry, they're a great pairing for a hot drink or a glass of milk.

 

Recipes: Classic Gingerbread Cookies; Spicy Gingerbread Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossoms

These chewy little cookies combine are the perfect combination of things people love: chocolate and peanut butter, candy and cookies. They're textured and crunchy, but have the smooth taste of peanut butter in each bite. They're so good that they're usually the first to disappear from a cookie swap or dessert platter, and you tend to find a lot of people make these because they're so easy to prepare. 

Recipes: Original Blossoms; Red Velvet Blossoms; Nutella Caramel Kiss Blossoms

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate crinkles are, soft, fudgy cookies encased in a coating of confectioners sugar. They're as close to a brownie as cookies get. It's rare to find a cookie made of chocolate during the holiday season, so for chocolate lovers these are a must have. There's also something magical about the way these cookies look like they're covered in snow. Even if it's a green Christmas, you'll still be in the winter spirit when you eat these.

Recipes: Martha Stewart's Crackle Cookies; Peppermint Fudge; Crinkles With M&M's

Russian Tea Cakes / Snowballs / Mexican Wedding Cakes / Butterballs

These buttery little delights go by many names, but no matter what you call them they're melt-in-your-mouth delicious. These cookies are simple to make and are a great gift because they're easy to pack up and actually taste better with time, which can't be said for many cookies. They're also great entertainment. Just imagine how ridiculous people look when they eat them and get the powered sugar everywhere!

Recipes: Classic Russian Tea Cakes; Lemon Russian Tea Cakes

What cookies are your favorite to eat on Christmas?

Host the Ultimate New Year's Eve Bash

New Year's Eve is the biggest party night of the year, so if you're hosting a New Year's Eve event you'll want to make sure it lives up to your guests' expectations! Whether you're staying in and having a few guests over or hosting a big bash, you can make the night unforgettable for everyone in attendance!

To start planning your event, you'll want to choose a theme. New Year's Even in itself is a great theme, and you can use decorations in colors such as black and silver that focus on the year that's about to begin. Glasses that have the upcoming year on them are always popular, and once guests put them on they become part of the decor! Other popular themes for New Year's Eve parties include black tie, casino night, 1920s, and white wonderland. The more lavish you go, the better! If your theme requires a certain attire, make sure to let guests know. No matter which theme you choose, you'll want to  have noisemakers, confetti, party hats, and other items placed around the event space so that guests can interact with them while they ring in the new year. Another great addition would be televisions that are airing the ball dropping in Time's Square, or a projector that's displaying  a countdown to midnight so guests can keep track of the time and count down along with it.

Since New Year's events typically start later in the night, you don't need to have a dinner or buffet. Since guests will be partying all night, it's important to provide them with tasty refreshments to help them make it to midnight. Serve heavy hors d'oeuvres such as tiny dishes of baked macaroni and cheese, chicken skewers, sliders, and stuffed mushroms. Of course, New Year's is mostly about the drinks. If there's ever a night for champagne, this is it. Make sure you have some bubbly to pop open when the clock strikes twelve! You should also consider having other classic cocktails and a signature drink of your creation.

Music is the key to entertainment on New Year's to get people dancing and having a good time. If you have the budget for it, hiring a live band or DJ is an excellent option for your celebration. Just make sure to book far enough advance! There will be many other New Year's events held on the same night, so don't lose out on a great musical act to another party. If you're hosting a large, big budget event, you could also consider hosting a mock celebration similar to the ones you'd see on televised New Year's celebrations. Hire tribute bands and celebrity impersonators similar to those you'd see on tv so guests will feel like they're celebrating in Time's Square without having to deal with the crowds and cold weather!