Month: September 2010

Tired of Being Politically Correct During the Christmas (Holiday) Season

“It’s beginning to look a lot like the season of the year that generally brings snowwwwww.”

Sound familiar? Of course not. Bing Crosby is probably turning over in his grave. “It’s beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS” is the way it should be. It should also be the way it is in December. Personalized Christmas cards have gone the way of the dinosaur over the last few years. Everyone is trying to be PC (politically correct is the term).

Christmas used to mean carols playing on the radio, trees being sold on street corners, and everyone wishing each other a “Merry Christmas.” What happened? When did Christmas turn into a dirty word? Everything now seems to be geared for the “Holidays.” When was the last time a shopkeeper wished you a Merry Christmas? Quite a while, I’m sure. While I respect everyone’s religious persuasion, I do feel like I am being short shifted.

Christmas is more than just a religious holiday; it is a feeling of happiness and goodwill. If I wish you a Merry Christmas, I just want to share my joy of the season with you. Likewise, if I were to receive a Happy Hanukkah or a Kwanza card from a friend or co-worker, my thought would be “isn’t that nice that they took the trouble to include me in their holiday wishes.” I guess what I’m trying to say is, there is no hidden agenda. I’m just happy and want to share my happiness with those around me. If that’s politically incorrect, then that’s what I want to be.

Keeping the Peace with Winter Scenes Holiday Cards

With the United States becoming a melting pot we realize that not everyone celebrates Christmas. The days of wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” are all but gone. Now we say “Happy Holidays” and refer to the Christmas tree as the Holiday tree. In New York City the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is now “The Tree” – no Holiday or Christmas. We are seeing an influx of winter scenes holiday cards also; a winter scene makes no statement of religious affiliation. Winter scenes are a safe bet for businesses to send to their clients – there’s no chance of offending anyone! With that being said there are some very beautiful winter scenes on the cover of holiday cards. Babbling brooks and deer in the snow make a serene picture that is so nice to see and one can dream of being there to witness Mother Nature at her best. Skating in Central Park is also a delight to see. Winter scenes bring back fond memories of youth when snow meant no school instead of shoveling out our cars to get to work.

When I order my holiday cards, I like to order personalized holiday cards to make sending cards easier, not to say that it is a chore but I always seem to wait until the last minute to send my cards. Each year I promise myself to start earlier but I never do. So again personalized holiday cards are the way to go. I like to sign my cards also and try to dash off a quick note but if I don’t have too much time I don’t have to because I ordered personalized holiday cards! I get the envelopes personalized too…what a time saver! I read that about 20 billion holiday cards, letters, and packages are post marked in the U.S. between Thanksgiving and Christmas so I can’t be alone by ordering personalized holiday cards to save time!

A Business Christmas Cards Display that Caught my Eye

Last December while Christmas shopping for my Mom, a business Christmas cards display caught my eye. But first things first. It all started with my usual quandary of what to get my Mom for Christmas. At her age (88) she pretty much has everything she needs. So rather than wrack my little brain for a decent idea, I called her to ask her what she wanted, hoping against hope that she wouldn’t give me her usual reply, “Oh you don’t have to get me anything; as long as we’re together, that’s all I need.” How many times have I heard that?

But wait, right then and there she surprised me with an actual answer! She said she needed a reading lamp for her bedside table. Alright! I am going shopping! So I headed to the lamp megastore which, luckily for me, was practically in my backyard. Living three minutes from Paramus, New Jersey – the mall Mecca of the world – has its perks. I entered the store and was dazzled by the endless variety of lamps. They had floor lamps, table lamps, hanging lamps, huge lamps, tiny lamps, brass lamps, ceramic lamps, stained glass lamps. It was a lamp lover’s heaven and in no time I found the perfect brass bedside lamp for my mom. So I headed for the cashier, lamp in hand.

While waiting on line, I noticed that on the wall behind the cashier was a display of Christmas cards that the store had received from customers, vendors, etc. There must have been about 25 or so cards. The cashier noticed me looking at them. (Since I started working for The Gallery Collection, I seem to pay more attention to greeting cards wherever I may find them!) Anyway, I said to the cashier “Your Christmas cards look really pretty there.” She agreed and proceeded to point out her favorites. There were five that she and her co-workers agreed stood out from all the others. I wasn’t a bit surprised when she pointed to the faves and every one was a Gallery Collection card! Sweet!

I walked out of the lamp store that day with a smile on my face and the feeling of satisfaction that comes with knowing that I work for the best of the best when it comes to business Christmas cards! So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and order your Christmas cards from the Gallery Collection. You’ll be glad you did – I guarantee it!

Design #157CW – Holiday Toy Shoppe Christmas Card

My children are grown and gone, but I still want to go into that toy shoppe featured on design 157CW, Holiday Toy Shoppe Christmas Card, and buy toys galore! I mean, just look at the inviting striped awning and peppermint stick frame. The wreaths on the second floor windows are probably hiding all the elves who are working hard making toys. If that isn’t quaint enough, the bows on the gaslights and gaily trimmed snow-covered trees guarding the store are sure to elicit that old time Holiday spirit many of us remember and everyone wishes will be with them at this wonderful time of year.

Design #157CW - Holiday Toy Shoppe Christmas Card
Design #157CW - Holiday Toy Shoppe
Christmas Card

The unique feature of this personalized Christmas cards design is that it will appeal to the old and the young. Children will immediately identify with the wonderful holiday decorations, and the words “Toy Shoppe” alone will be enough to spark their imaginations. As for the adults, the design will amuse all of them, but those in the “senior” category will remember the days when little shoppes like the one on this card were sprinkled throughout the towns and cities of their childhoods.

It’s Easy Being Green with Personalized Holiday Cards

I see them everywhere – in the dentist’s office by the receptionist, in my Aunt Lucy’s kitchen next to the old wall phone, in the “automotively” fragrant service lounge where I’m waiting to have my car repaired, even in my modest gray cubicle at work – all sorts of calendars personalized with business contact info.

So last year, using the same idea, my husband and I decided to send out personalized holiday cards, unique ones that wouldn’t be tossed out with the trash on January 1st. Purposely, we opted for calendar cards. They are tri-fold and fit in a one-postage-stamp-sized matching envelope. Since we had several lines of space at the bottom of the calendar card to work with, we personalized a message for our family and friends and ended with our first names. The words were crisply embedded with a shimmering gold foil. We tried to craft a special phrase that would be encouraging, attractive and applicable throughout the year. If we were business owners the space on the calendar card would be used for our address, phone, fax, and website info.

Confident we had made a useful choice with our holiday cards, we were further delighted to discover that our calendar cards choice was designated as environmentally friendly. That means they were produced with raw materials from forests harvested and replenished in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. The elegant card paper stock was made through wind power and in facilities where certified renewable energy is used, offsetting carbon emissions. With sustainability being a keyword these days we knew we had succeeded in our green quest.

On a related note, it’s easy for anyone to see that in tough economic times it is more important than ever to give thanks to an individual customer or client that has remained loyal – an end of the year recognition to those who have frankly, kept all our places of employment going. On the personal side we chose personalized holiday cards to keep our family connections going.

The custom Christmas cards in a colorful and artistic calendar format are useful throughout the year and a solid choice. They are responsibly produced and the green way to go.

August Monthly Finalists

We’re pleased to announce that 4 Monthly Finalists were chosen for August! Each monthly finalist will receive a $75 Amazon gift card. Be sure to tell us what you think of the monthly winning designs by leaving a comment below; we’d love to hear from you! **And don’t forget, even if you weren’t chosen as a Monthly Finalist you may still be in the running for the $10,000 scholarship.

If you haven’t submitted a design yet for our $10,000 Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest, why wait? You might just be one of the next monthly prize winners.

Make it easy for your friends and family to view the Monthly Finalists by posting the following link to your personal or school website: https://www.gallerycollection.com/greeting-cards-monthly-finalists4.htm

Or, pass on the code below to your school webmaster or someone you know with a website or blog:

Congratulations to…

Dena Bracy of Fairfax, Virginia,
a junior at the Academy of Art University		 August Monthly Finalist for The Gallery Collection's $10,000 Greeting Card Scholarship - #9238
Carson King of Concord, North Carolina,
a freshman at the Savannah College of Art and Design		 August Monthly Finalist for The Gallery Collection's $10,000 Greeting Card Scholarship - #9201
Schuyler Bjork of Clearfield, Utah,
a home-schooled senior		 August Monthly Finalist for The Gallery Collection's $10,000 Greeting Card Scholarship - #9187
Jackie Williams of Rosenberg, Texas,
a senior at the University of Houston		 August Monthly Finalist for The Gallery Collection's $10,000 Greeting Card Scholarship - #9164

Design #610CS – Season’s Greetings Peaceful Winter Card

If you’re searching for the perfect business Christmas cards, look no further than design #610CS, Season’s Greetings Peaceful Winter Card. This tasteful card is printed on a rich, white card stock and features a serene painted scene of gray and white. A lone pine stands in the foreground of a snowy meadow while bare branched snow-covered hardwoods occupy the area to the sides of the pine and the background. Tiny iridescent silver foil snowflakes populate all the branches of the trees allowing the card to “shimmer” as you turn it in your hand. The words “Season’s Greetings” appear almost handwritten in the same glistening foil below the landscape. This selection is elegant in an understated manner and would be perfect to send as a corporate holiday card. It is non-religious in nature and can be sent to all clients and customers, regardless of each one’s particular spirituality. The design conveys a feeling of wintertime tranquility.

Design #610CS - Seasons Greetings Peaceful Winter Card
Design #610CS - Season's Greetings
Peaceful Winter Card

Personalized Christmas Cards Keep it Personal and Easy

At The Gallery Collection, you can order handsomely designed and manufactured Christmas cards, choose from many thoughtfully written greetings, and then you can personalize your selection with two lines of print. In today’s fast-paced world it is a welcome relief to know that you can have your cards ready to send without appearing rushed or lazy. The Gallery Collection’s personalized Christmas cards look like you spent the time to choose something unique and stylish to send to friends and family. The foil on the inside of the envelope looks so elegant, your recipients will know they are getting something extraordinary and distinctive before they even see the card inside.

Honestly, I like to sign my own cards so when I am given my complimentary order of personalized Christmas cards I let my neighbors have them and they add their personal note. They get so excited when I bring the catalog over. Since I only give them 25 cards, they make a list of the special people that get the “good” Christmas cards. At their New Year’s Eve party, my neighbors brag about how I give them the free cards order, and then I hear “Can you get me some cards too? They are so nice!” Everyone wants to be my neighbor when I bring home The Gallery Collection catalog…ahh! But will they take out my garbage or mow my lawn?!?

Ordering personalized Christmas cards should be on your to-do list early in the year. The Gallery Collection offers huge discounts in the beginning of the year to keep the plant busy…so order early and save a bundle! All you have to do is remember where you put them. Just think…you can get incredible Christmas cards at a decent price while impressing friends and family with your class and good taste. If only everything else in life could be so easy.

Design #528CS – Frosted Wreath Season’s Greetings Card

As the owner of a company that deals in public relations, I am always aware of making sure to treat people fairly when I am trying to get my message across. When it comes each year to sending out business Christmas cards, I try to be especially sensitive not to ruffle anyone’s feathers by sending out the wrong type of holiday cards. That is why I was so happy to receive a sample from The Gallery Collection of design #528CS, Frosted Wreath Season’s Greetings Card.

This holiday card design is published on white, thick matte paper with “Season’s Greetings” printed in a clean-looking, cursive font in a bright, classy-looking silver foil. The wreath – which is raised – contains wonderful detail that can be felt by running one’s fingers over the card itself. In addition, the colors used on the wreath’s details (blue, red, green and silver) are spectacular. Selecting which imprint color to use for the inside of this holiday greeting card will be quite a challenge since all the colors featured on the wreath will look good.

Design #528CS - Frosted Wreath Season's Greetings Card
Design #528CS - Frosted Wreath
Season's Greetings Card

Usually when it comes to selecting a holiday card, I wrack my brain each year because I am an indecisive person when it comes to deciding which holiday greeting to send out. This year, I will have no such problem; thanks to The Gallery Collection and design #528CS, my mind is made up!