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!

Part of the excitement of the holidays for me isn’t just setting up the Christmas tree or shopping for presents but it’s also looking forward to receiving personalized Christmas cards. I remember being a little girl and looking forward to bringing in the mail in hopes that there were cards for us to place up on the mantel. I would pick out the scenes on the front of the cards that I liked best and after Christmas was over, I would cut them out and use them for fun projects. Sometimes I would cut them out and make Christmas tree ornaments from them to hang on the tree for the following year.

As I have grown up and started my own family, I haven’t lost that giddy feeling of opening my mailbox and receiving Christmas cards of my own. Having some friends and family members that have since moved away, the only way I get to see their families grow is when I receive my Christmas cards in the mail. I’m now an adult and don’t receive many gifts from Santa , so receiving the Christmas cards in the mail and ripping open the envelopes are like opening Christmas presents. I feel like for most of December, I get to open a gift.

I hope that my children will continue to carry on this tradition and so will their children. To me, Christmas cards are just as important as Santa, presents, a Christmas tree and carols. As time goes on, I hope that this will continue to be a tradition that keeps on giving.

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!

Deciding what style Christmas cards to order can often be an overwhelming decision. There are so many choices to choose from and new cards are being designed every year. When deciding what style card to order, I often find the best way to decide is to go with classic Christmas tree cards. New styles of cards come and go every year, and while there is certainly a demand for these cards, I prefer the traditional Christmas tree cards. These  cards never go out of style and are an iconic symbol of the American holiday season. By combining a personalized card with the classic Christmas tree you are getting the best of both styles – traditional style meets contemporary design.

My family has been sending holiday cards as long as I can remember. It started out with my mom and dad; my brother, myself and the family dog all signing the card (Molly substituted her paw print for a signature).  Molly eventually passed away and sadly the number of signatures was reduced from five to four. When my brother and I moved away to college the signatures were reduced even further. Today the number of signatures is down to just two. My father passed away and the new family pet Bailey has taken over for Molly! Now that I am an adult and I think back to those days when there were five signatures on the card, it really was a very special time in my life. As I grow older I find myself reflecting on those days more and more. Holiday tree cards are indeed a great way for the entire family to express their thoughts and feelings to those who truly matter to them the most.

Ok, I’m a creature of habit. I pick the same type of holiday card every year. I tend to gravitate towards winter, landscape scenes. I look and compare and look some more, until I find the perfect card that calls out to me! I like to look at the card and imagine myself transported into a peaceful village, with smoke swirling out of the chimneys. I always feel at peace as I look at these wonderful holiday scenes. I was very content picking my cards. Until, that is, our new City Scenes Christmas Cards arrived.

These beautiful Christmas cards depict scenes of great cities. As I look at them, I can imagine myself transported into some places that I have not had the privilege to see, as well as a couple that I have.

Design 76ACW - New York City, Tribute in Light
Christmas Card

My personal favorite card is Design 76ACW – New York City, Tribute in Light Christmas Card. No matter where you are or what cities you have been to, we can all relate to these powerful, symbolic lights that commemorate the World Trade Center! As I look at the scene, I feel some sadness, but more than that, I feel such a sense of pride. I’ve always known that I live in a great country, but this event showed that we are also a great people and capable of great things when we all work together!

Some other scenes show the Boston Harbor, Seattle’s Space Needle, Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and the White House, in Washington, D.C., just to name a few. Take a look through our selection and I’m sure that you will find one that jumps out at you. Like me, you might just have a hard time deciding!

Every year around the holidays, we all send out dozens (sometimes even hundreds!) of greeting cards. Usually, we save some, display some on the mantle or the fridge, but most of them end up in a pile to be recycled. I began buying environmentally friendly holiday cards in order to make my efforts to be festive a little more green, but I still ended up recycling so many holiday cards that I received. It seemed so wasteful that I had almost given up on sending holiday cards and decided to send e-cards instead. Then I went to a friend’s house during the holiday season, and she had streamers made of cards strung up throughout her house. At the top of every doorway and even hanging from one window sill, she had ribbons strung which were holding old greeting cards. I was amazed at her ingenuity in re-using old Christmas cards as decorations. Her idea only works for horizontal cards, however, so I began to give some thought to new ideas of re-using greeting cards to decorate. This is the list of ideas I’ve come up with over the past two holiday seasons:

•    Holiday Postcards:  If I receive a holiday card which only has writing on the one panel inside, I cut the front off of the card and use it as a postcard. I draw the lines and boxes on the blank side and leave the design from the front of the card as the front of the postcard. Then I can mail someone a Christmas postcard! It costs less in postage, too. If the card design is a photograph with no writing on it, many times it is suitable for all occasions, not just holidays.

•    Holiday Streamers: My spin off of my friend’s idea was to create streamers from all kinds of cards: vertical, horizontal, even photo cards. I simply punch a hole in the top and bottom of each card and string a ribbon through the holes. The ribbon covers the back of the card so that the front design can be seen when the streamers are hung. In order to avoid the streamers being too heavy, I usually cut the card in half if it is a folded card and use only the designed half. These streamers look beautiful all over the house, and they can be used year after year. The greatest part is that you’ll never run out of materials!

•    Paper Ornaments: For those of you who want to be even more creative, you can cut ornaments out of old greeting cards. Simply make a stencil of a holiday-related object, such as a candy cane, a stocking, a Christmas tree, a dreidel, a snowflake, or any object that relates best to your holiday traditions. Using the stencil, you can cut out many matching and non-matching objects out of received greeting cards. We decorated our tree with these paper ornaments last year and they looked beautiful! This is a great, easy craft to do with children, and then you can let them color on the blank side if they wish. You can even use a little glitter glue on the edges to make it extra special.

Being eco-friendly can be so much fun, and it can be a money-saving adventure in these trying times. Kids love craft projects, especially around the holidays, and even more so when they know you’ll be displaying their beautiful artwork around the house. These ideas are just a starting point. If you think of more great craft ideas to re-use recycled greeting cards, please comment below and let me know. Happy Recycling!

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!

I have always loved Christmas cards with simple elegant beauty. Before now I had not thought that the color black was attractive for Christmas cards. It always seemed more appropriate for the holiday season to use more vibrant colors. I changed my mind when a card with the utter beauty of a wreath of gold berries done in lustrous foil against a deep black background took my breath away. Design 867CX – Holiday Berry Wreath Christmas Card, with its sprinkling of red berries and a simple bow done in a rich red foil, has been elevated to a level of beautiful sophistication. Season’s Greetings printed in a flowing script states exactly what I want to convey to my clients and associates.

Design 867CX - Holiday Berry Wreath
Christmas Card

This exquisite personalized holiday card on sturdy black stock is my choice this holiday season. Design 867CX – Holiday Berry Wreath Christmas Card makes me feel I am sending my clients and associates a tastefully simple yet exquisitely beautiful holiday wish this year.

My Mother and Father could never tell me when it was Christmas, as the thought of all of the fun filled family moments would make me utterly sick with excitement. I would lie awake, which seemed to be all night long, waiting for the noise of his sleigh bells, the sound of glistening snow tapping my bedroom window, the moon shining through our living room window and Santa’s arrival. Mom would decorate a circle of greens with ornaments of shiny red and gold which included sprigs of holly, the tiniest little red berries and a golden bow. The wreath’s fragrance of the forest permeated our home before our family walked through the front door. I knew Christmas was getting closer, and the man who had white hair, and a red suit, would bring special toys to my two sisters and I. I would save my small allowance so I could walk to the Red Letter Gift shop to buy my parents something beautiful. My next clue that my favorite holiday was approaching was the daily arrival of the man in the white truck who delivered our mail…beautiful shiny, shimmering holiday wreath cards. These cards looked just like the wreath my Mom dressed up for our big wooden door. Perhaps she got her idea from those cards. Many other cards were decorated with white sparkling snow covering pointed green trees that led me to even more anticipation. I knew that Dad would soon take all of us to pick out our Christmas tree.

Christmas has always blessed my family with so many extraordinary memories. I have always remembered the excited feeling I got when all of my parent’s very special friends and family took the time to send us their beautiful shiny, shimmering Christmas cards. These friends always wrote a special wish for us. In the time of computers, email and cell phones, some have forgotten about the beauty and the thrilling feelings that Christmas cards deliver to your heart. I learned the thought, time and personal touch a Christmas card brings to my favorite holiday warms the heart for a life time. I continue to encourage my own children that a Christmas card or any type of greeting card will warm, encourage and make a special person smile. And to all a good night!

Every year as autumn approaches we begin to think about the holiday season that is fast upon us.  They begin with Halloween, then comes Thanksgiving, then Christmas.  And with the holidays comes the annual selection of personalized holiday cards.  Recently I came across a specific card, Design 732CS – Christmas Eve Holiday Card, that immediately caught my attention.  It is a bright, cheery design that catches the eye and brings a smile to your face.  Colorful buildings are set in a rural country village featuring horse drawn sleighs while carolers in the Village Square sing in front of an evergreen tree decorated for the holidays.

Design 732CS – Christmas Eve Holiday Card

The cartoon like artwork of Design 732CS – Christmas Eve Holiday Card, has a whimsical feel with farm animals peeking from behind barn doors and windows, wreaths hung everywhere and Christmas trees prominently displayed in some of the homes.  And as smoke wafts from chimneys a bright full moon teams up with seemingly endless stars that fill the night sky to illuminate the snow covered village below.  Santa Claus is ready for a landing as he descends from the sky with his famous reindeer and gift laden big red sleigh to deliver presents to the joyful townsfolk. This design will be something fun for everyone who receives it.