One doesn’t normally think about business Christmas cards in February. February brings visions of snowflakes and candy hearts for Valentine’s Day. However, the mild temperatures are making the predictions of one certain Pennsylvania groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, seem silly. Six more weeks of winter? If it continues like this, everyone will welcome it!

So with a prediction of six more weeks of winter, it turns my mind to Christmas cards in February. There are many reasons to order your cards early. One of the best reasons is that because this is the off season, cards are offered at greater discounts. This is a winning situation for both business and customer. Employers are able to keep employees productive and customers reap the benefit of lower costs. Ordering early also gives you the best selection of cards. When waiting until peak season to order, you run the risk of that special card being sold out. During the holiday season we usually feel rushed with way too many things to do. Before you know it, you are in complete panic mode and wondering how you are going to get everything done.

While everyone else is scrambling in November to get their Christmas card order in, you can devote your time to other important matters. Just don’t forget where you stored your cards!

I don’t think it’s possible that anyone could receive too many Christmas wishes.  With so many families separated by hundreds or even thousands of miles, cards are the main way we are able to personalize and send greetings.  My holiday was brightened tremendously by  not only receiving  a card from my distant family, but also company Christmas cards from a local ‘mom and pop’  hardware store that I shopped frequently when I lived in that town.   Imagine my surprise when I opened the envelope to find a Christmas card complete with a picture of the store and the owners who still run the place inside.  The greeting was, “We all miss you here, but wish you well as you embark on your life journey”.   I have to admit, it made me quite homesick for a while, but as far as cards go, I’d have to say that one is my favorite.  I plan on keeping it out all year for motivation and inspiration to follow my dreams.

In my opinion, it’s great to receive these types of cards. Even if you receive business Christmas cards that aren’t as personal as mine was, you can be sure that the company behind them values you as a customer or colleague and truly does whish you and yours well.  After all, isn’t that what the holidays are about?

‘Twas right before Christmas, when all thro’ the place
The workers were working at such a great pace;
The typists were typing the papers with care,
The phones were a’ringing, their sound filled the air;
The clerks were nestled all snug at their desks,
With visions of Turkeys still so picturesque.

And Fran at the copier and I at the file
decided to have coffee in just a short while;
When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
We sprang to the doorway to see what was the matter;
When what to our wondering eyes should appear
But the boss his arms waving, his look full of fear.
More rapid than eagles his voice how it came
As he shouted and called us all by our name,
Now, Mary, now, Fran, now Alex and Brian
Up Gert and Up Greta Up Al and Up Simon.
To the conference room quick there’s no time like now
He said, “This problem is bringing a frown to my brow”.
Thanksgiving has passed and December is here
And our Christmas cards order is too late I do fear
What can we do? We’ll put our heads together
so as a team this crisis we’ll weather.

So off to the computers with all speed we did fly
To search all the sites in the Internet sky,
And there to our wearying eyes did we find
A website that had many choices for our bind.
There photo cards, business cards of choices a slew
There were trees, bells, snowflakes and ornaments too.
We pondered, we argued and then we decided
on the card where both business and thank you resided
Off again we did run, our selection to toss
With enthusiastic teamwork straight out to our boss.
A wink of his eye and a toss of his head
soon gave us to know we had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word but to his desk he did dash
Ordering our Business Christmas cards in a flash.
But we heard him exclaim as he ran out of sight,
We’ll wish all a Happy Christmas to our customer’s delight.

So you think not sending business Christmas cards this year is a good way to help save money in this recession? Think again! Now is not the time to cut back on your advertising. Sending Christmas cards is one of the best ways to increase your company’s visibility in a most economical way. In fact, now is the time to increase your mailing list. The companies that will make it through these tough times the best are those that are able to retain as many clients as possible, and sending cards is one of the best ways to accomplish that. Send Christmas cards, send Thanksgiving cards, send birthday cards – all of these will make a big impact on your recipients.

Not sure which cards will have the most impact? It’s really not that tough, just try to decide on the overall message you want to convey. The Gallery Collection offers a great array of designs from traditional to light-hearted, so you really can’t go wrong. We’ve even categorized the offerings to make your choice as easy as possible. You’ll see categories for Business, Personal, Themed, etc. You can choose whether you prefer to say Merry Christmas or a more generic Season’s Greetings wish. You can show your clients that you care about our environment by choosing a card from our Eco-Friendly category. You can’t go wrong with whichever design you choose, but you can go wrong if you don’t send your corporate Christmas cards. And remember, if you ignore your customers, they will go away!

Tis another Holiday Season before us …Bah Humbug! Another year of  business Christmas cards. It seems like the same old cards get sent year after year. But alas! I actually received  beautiful corporate Christmas cards from a company I had done business with in the past. It was one of the most intricate pieces of art I have seen in a long time. I sat back in my easy chair, read the card, and held onto every word. These days it seems that everyone is way too busy to really embrace the holidays, especially in the business world. So when I received my Christmas card I was thrilled to see that although I had not done business with them for a while they still took the time to remember me.

I was so excited about my receiving my Christmas card that I nearly forgot about all my family members coming to celebrate the holidays with me later that evening. I knew I had to get ready and had just remembered that I forgot to pick up the traditional holiday centerpiece for my table. I would have to think of something, and fast. There was no time to run back out. I hurried to gather everything needed for a warm and inviting family gathering, the fireplace was lit, the hors d’oeuvres were placed strategically around the table, the wine was chilling, Christmas lights and decor flavored the room, and the centerpiece of it all…. my business Christmas card!

I don’t know about you, but I have always had a hard time picking out holiday gifts for my co-workers. Last year, when the Secret Santa rolled around to me, I picked the name of someone I barely knew. That’s when I started re-thinking office Secret Santa gifts. I have always helped pick out our business Christmas cards, as I love the Christmas season, but the Secret Santa puzzle was turning me into a Grinch. I started to think about gift card ideas. I came up with a few versatile places that suited most people. Then I thought maybe I could get a small gift from the place as well as a gift card. After some serious thought, this is my list of Secret Santa gift ideas that suit (almost) everyone and aren’t too hard on the wallet:

•    Café gift – a gift card to a coffee shop, a small packet of tea or coffee, all packaged nicely into a beautiful mug
•    Foodie gift – a gift card to either a restaurant or a unique food store, a small package of food (i.e. cheese and crackers, or cookies), packed together in a basket
•    Music gift – an iTunes or record store gift card, a Holiday mix CD (They’re sold at bookstores and online, or you can make one yourself!), packed together in a music-themed gift bag
•    Library gift – a bookstore or Amazon gift card, a copy of either a cool book or magazine, tied together with a beautiful Holiday ribbon

One of the additions I made to these gifts was to use a copy of our business Christmas cards to hold the gift card. This way, I didn’t have to spend extra money on a card I wouldn’t be sending. It turned out that the card was the thing everyone remarked about, saying it was such a personal touch to give one of our cards to a co-worker. I don’t know if she ever used the gift, but she kept the card at her desk for months!

The Gallery Collection has done it again! Just when you think they can’t get any better they come up with vertical business Christmas cards. Design 734CW - Lyrical Tree Christmas Card is just one example of the beautiful designs available. The design is a mix of litho and foil printed on Mohawk Smooth White; this card stock is FSC certified paper so not only is it a very clever card it is eco-friendly. Business Christmas cards always stand out in a crowd of other cards, but now with vertical they can also stand above the rest.

Design 734CW – Lyrical Tree Christmas Card, is exactly that, lyrics to the Christmas carols “Deck the Halls” and “Oh, Christmas Tree” which are printed as if the words were ribbon-swirling back and forth to become the shape of a Christmas tree. The lyrics are decorated with bright gold foil ornaments which are embossed to make them really pop.

Design 734CW - Lyrical Tree
Christmas Card

We all know how important it is to send Christmas cards to the loyal people that support our businesses throughout the year, and it is equally important to send the best quality cards around!

How would it feel to be able to create a holiday card that enables you to provide your company’s name, website URLs, twitter handles or anything else you can think of directly on the front of the card?  Editable Text cards allow you to do just that!

When someone displays cards in their home, workplace or business office the first thing that is noticed is the cover design.  The front of each editable text card allows one to provide any information that is considered to be important.  Website information, email addresses, a short message or any other bit of information you’d like to be seen by all can be added to the front of any editable text holiday card design.

Editable Text Cards Design 54CJW
Botanical Thank You Christmas Card

Personalized Christmas cards have been around for quite a few years but the opportunity to customize the front of a card is relatively new.  You might think that the design choices for cards that can be customized on the front must certainly be limited.  Not so.  There are numerous beautiful designs in this new line of cards.  Whether your taste in Christmas cards is traditional, whimsical or anything in between you will be pleased to know that there is a card that will suit your specific needs.

While family and friends were visiting with me over the holidays, my cousin Jean noticed the beautiful Christmas card that I had received from The Gallery Collection which, along with the many holiday cards I received, was displayed on my credenza. When I told her the card was from my employer, she commented on what she felt was a very thoughtful gesture, that an employer would take the time to remember employees and associates, and being the owner of a small company herself, she decided she would like to send business Christmas cards to her associates and employees in the future.

Jean was impressed with the quality and design of the card I received and wanted to know how she could view an assortment of company holiday cards for her associates.  I suggested she log on to The Gallery Collection to view the wide assortment of designs and styles available.

After having thoroughly enjoyed browsing through the large selection of Christmas cards offered, Jean chose Design 585CS – City Snowfall. Chain reaction?  Yes, indeed. She now has her colleagues complementing her on the beautiful card and would like to know how they could order similar cards. Season’s Greetings!

Ever want to know what your customers REALLY think of you? Well, after recently opening ourselves up to Reseller Reviews we have found out! And you know what? We are so glad we did! Seriously, we were blown away at what we have read. For a company whose employees take true pride in providing a top quality product and delivering amazing customer service here at The Gallery Collection, you might understand that some of these reviews actually brought a tear to our collective eyes.

So without further ado, here is what some of our customers have to say about our Christmas cards and All-Occasion greeting cards (no editing of responses or timeline were done) and here is what we have to say back to them…

nancyt123
5 out of 5 stars
Posted Jun-17-2011

“My experience with Gallerycollection has been excellent. Great products and speedy delivery. “

Gallery Collection: Thank you! Providing our customers with excellent product and service is what we strive for.

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cbell7995
5 out of 5 stars
Posted Jun-16-2011

“Gallery Collection has a fabulous assortment of cards. Our company has ordered these cards for birthdays, congratulations, sympathy, anniversaries, get well, and thank yous. I am pleased at the high quality and brilliant colored designs. People are always honored to receive them.”

Gallery Collection: Wow! That was so nice! We are so pleased that you are pleased.

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chilmarkcharle..
5 out of 5 stars
Posted Jun-15-2011

“The Gallery Collection never disappoints us. This is the fifth year we’ve ordered our Company holiday cards from Gallery, and we find the artistry to be inspired and the production quality flawless. We also appreciate the significant discount offered us every year for ordering early. Every business in America should be this well managed and operated. Thanks for a very valued service. “

Gallery Collection: @chilmarkcharle we were blown away by your review. We couldn’t ask for anything better. Many thanks for your kind words.

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MevB
5 out of 5 stars
Posted Jun-14-2011

“We had not ordered in 5 years and none of the previous order information was on file in our offices. I went on line and found the cards that we needed being featured in a 50% discount + $75 off sale. I entered the order information online and submitted it. I received a confirmation email regarding the order. I was unsure about the artwork due to the time between orders. Phyllis called me within a day or two of the order to inform me that the logo was not on file and that I would have to re-submit it. She was very professional. She left exact instructions for what I needed to do. We kept missing each other on the phone, but we communicated by messages. I told her that I had a $200 budget and would need to switch the shipping rate to compensate for the cost for the logo. She found the best rate for me and kept my bill under budget. This was a very pleasant shopping experience. I will choose to continue doing business with this company. “

Gallery Collection: That is terrific to hear. We are glad that our customer service representative, Phyllis, was able to help you with your budget considerations. We are here to serve and keep our customers happy and provide that “very pleasant shopping experience” each and every time!

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kaykiger
5 out of 5 stars
Posted Jun-14-2011

“The website was easy to manipulate and the products were displayed beautifully………….”

Gallery Collection: Super. We work hard to make our website as user friendly as possible.