HeyDay’s Pre-Party Top 5
We recently hosted a Pre-Launch Party to test out the HeyDay app and get some early feedback.
As we shared in the “A Founder Story” post, Jill and I are first cousins. When it came time to test the app ahead of our launch, we decided to get our extended family together at my house.
We jokingly called it our “pre-party,” and it lived up to the fun. Here were our Top 5 moments from the night.
1. Making party prep a family affair
My whole family helped with preparations, decorations, food and even some HeyDay-themed party favors. Mom helped get the yard and house into party shape.
My daughter Rosie helped create logo stickers on her Cricut and painted a banner in our gradient color scheme.
My daughter Haddie and I worked through the grocery list and picked out greeting cards for our Thoughtful Station (see #4 below) at my favorite place to find them - Trader Joe’s. My husband accomplished his list of hosting tasks - one that always ends with getting ice. (If you haven’t seen Nate Bargatze’s hilarious comedy bit about buying ice for a party, take a minute to watch it here.) My dad and Rosie tracked down the final items we needed and printed logo stickers together.
2. Gathering three generations
My two brothers, one of my sisters-in-law and Jill’s sisters all came. Jill’s youngest son came, as did two of Jill’s nieces. My husband and girls were there, and my mom’s presence meant we had three generations gathered along with Allison and our social media manager, Darcy, who captured the evening with all these great photos.
As you’d expect, there was some good-humored sibling teasing. My brother tested out the reporting feature by sending a note in the app that his brother had called him a bad name once and should be banned from HeyDay. We’re investigating the claim, but as the older sister, I can confirm the name-calling went both ways back in the day. 😉
3. Seeing the app in action
It was so awesome to see HeyDay in action. Jill led us through the setup process with fun checklists she’d made for the evening. The import feature worked very well - maybe a little too well. At one point, as I was helping my mom skim through her imported contacts to see who she wanted to invite to connect, she exclaimed, “Wait, how did I get Lawn Pride in here?” We figured we didn’t need to keep up with their birthday or events so they were easily removed. 😂
The notes and questions we received from guests were all captured in real-time and led to new onboarding ideas and future feature options.
4. Using the Thoughtful Station
We wanted to have a tangible activity that captured the heart of HeyDay. My girls set up an awesome Thoughtful Station featuring cards for all occasions and stamps. They donated their fanciest pens to the cause. At the end of the party, we encouraged each guest to pick a card and complete it for us to mail on their behalf. Everyone could think of at least one card they could send. There was a sympathy card that hadn’t been sent and a “thinking of you” card my mom wrote to our aunt who couldn’t make the drive from Bloomington.
My brother was able to write out a graduation card and slipped some cash into it. (If you read our grad gift post, you know that was the perfect combo.) We can’t wait until HeyDay can help us all act on more of our good intentions. In a past post, we wrote about the power of small gestures - like sending the note even if it’s overdue or picking up a small treat that they love. That leads to the final highlight…
5. Sending guests home with “road trip” treats
To thank our guests for being on this journey with us, we wanted to send them home with a treat personalized to their preferences. Leading up to the party, we asked each guest this question: “If you were on a road trip, what snack or treat would you choose at a gas station stop?” The answers varied from Cajun snack mix to powdered donuts and from beef jerky to licorice. As part of our preparations, we went on a scavenger hunt that involved at least six stops to find them all. (Pro tip: I discovered Aldi sells a yummy Cajun trail mix!) My dad and Rosie secured the last treats at an actual gas station.
At the end of the party, we tied it together by sharing our gratitude for them coming along with us on this HeyDay ride over the last year and supporting us at every milestone (mile marker?!) along the way. Then we handed out everyone’s personalized road trip snack for the drive home. HeyDay will help us remember those favorites for next time. ☺️
In Summary…
Those were our Top 5, but the best part of the event was what came out of it. Yes, there were the notes we took and ideas that people excitedly relayed to us in real-time as they interacted with the app and with each other.
But even more importantly than that was seeing the impact of HeyDay already taking shape. At the party, Rosie connected in HeyDay with her cousin Cate. When Cate turned 21 just five days after the party, Rosie woke up to a HeyDay reminder that it was Cate’s birthday. That nudge prompted her to send a happy birthday text message, something she hadn’t done before. Seeing her joy as she told me that she’d wished Cate a happy birthday and already heard back from her gave me an “aha” moment.
I realized that I’d always been the extended family relationship manager for my husband and kids. I typically send the birthday messages or cards on behalf of my family. So, while the collective “we” had wished Cate a happy birthday in the past, this was the first time my teenager did it herself.
And HeyDay was the one to remind her to do so!
Back in October, we wrote, “At the end of the day, HeyDay is built on a simple truth: thoughtfulness matters. Being remembered, celebrated, and cared for makes life brighter—for the person receiving and the person giving.”
It feels amazing to be at the point where the app made that celebration brighter for my daughter and her cousin.
