When I was a kid, I would leave out cookies for Santa and milk for Rudolph every Christmas Eve before I went to bed. Having been one of those kids who was never asked to join in any reindeer – I mean, playground - games, I felt an affinity for Rudolph, one that I didn’t feel towards the other eight reindeer. So, he got the bowl of milk. I didn’t expect him to share with the others either.

I would always include a letter to Santa with the treats, written on a pretty Christmas card. Sure, I sat on his lap at the mall and told him all about the Cabbage Patch Kids or Jem dolls I wanted, but he saw so many kids during the span between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I wanted to be sure he remembered me and leaving personalized Christmas cards seemed like a good way to make an impression. It never dawned on me that a “reminder card” put out on Christmas Eve may be a little too late. Santa was magic, after all. He’d make it happen.

I usually found whatever it was I asked for under the tree when I woke up early the next morning. The cookies and milk were gone, and a brightly wrapped package or twelve rested on the tree skirt. I do remember one time, though, when Santa wrote back.

While most of the specifics are hazy, I imagine his note – written on a holiday card, just like mine to him – mentioned what a good girl I’d been and reminded me to be a good girl for my parents for the New Year. After all, he was watching, right? The one detail I do remember, though, is that his handwriting was so sloppy, it looked like he misspelled my name. In fact, he called me by a boy’s name!

I showed my mother the offending holiday card, wondering how Santa could possibly address my Christmas card to Lee, and not Dee. Somehow, she explained the “error” all away. I guess moms are good at that.

Whenever I find myself “bah-humbugging” the holidays, I think of Santa and the magic he brings to Christmas. The kid in me still remembers. And, I have to confess, I still look at the table near the tree each year and wonder if he’ll leave me Christmas cards and write me again.

The poinsettia plant, as classic a symbol of the Christmas season as eggnog and candy canes, is an excellent choice for your personalized Christmas cards. Design #485CW, Poinsettia Sparkle Christmas Card, shows off this traditional holiday flower by beautifully depicting a white bloom against a Christmas red backdrop. The design comes to life with delicate embossing and a subtle glittering snowfall which adds just the right amount of twinkle. The ivy accents also lend a nice touch. Personally, I would choose our gold foil for the greeting and imprint personalization on this Christmas card, really ensuring to make your holiday greeting stand out from the rest.

Design #485CW - Poinsettia Sparkle Christmas Card

Equally impressive as a choice for your personalized Christmas cards is design #658CX, Satin Jewel Christmas Card. This stunning Christmas ornament contains bold jewel colors such as green, red, blue, and pink delicately outlined in a rich, iridescent gold foil. I really like the way the design starts off with a diamond-shaped border and then changes to a whimsical swirly pattern. Hung from a velvety red bow with a leafy sprig, this ornament really made an impression on me when I first saw it. This is one of my favorite Christmas designs from The Gallery Collection.

Design #658CX - Satin Jewel Christmas Card

I went to the post office the other day with my personalized Christmas cards in hand to purchase my stamps. Everyone else finally got around to doing their holiday cards too because the line was rather long. The woman in front of me made her way to the front desk and asked the clerk for some stamps. The clerk said “No problem, what denomination?” The woman exclaimed, “My goodness, has it really come to this?” The clerk was quite puzzled but asked again, “What denomination?” The woman said, “Well, I have 30 Catholic, 15 Baptist, 12 Jewish, and 14 Presbyterian.”

OK, so I was simply trying to tell my corny joke, but the point is some people do give a lot of thought to the recipients of their Christmas cards, as well they should. We all want to be sensitive to the fact that different people celebrate (or in some cases, don’t celebrate) different seasons and holidays. You certainly don’t mean to offend anyone but you do want spread some cheer and joy during the holidays (just don’t spread your fruitcakes, please!). Don’t worry so much about it and just send Christmas cards that suit your taste and help you spread that joy. My company has a lot to choose from including holiday cards depicting ornaments, trees, winter scenes, masterpieces, wildlife and patriotic designs. But I have to say, I am partial to the lighter side of things such as design 206CS – Merry Christmas from All of Us or 496CS – Sparkle Bear Greetings. Who could possibly be offended by this polar bear having a ball while rolling around in the snow! How fun!

Choose what greeting cards you prefer and I will try to refrain from making more bad jokes (but I won’t make any promises).

There is nothing like receiving personalized Christmas cards around the holiday season. Stunning images of peace, happiness, and the good-old Christmas tree all talking to me and saying, “It’s about time to receive some presents.” Maybe they tell you, “Time to buy some gifts for others,” but to each his own.

Now it’s time to hang them all over my apartment, up and down the doorway to the front hall…covering every inch I can spare much like the walls covered in a Houlihan’s or TGIFriday’s with various trinkets. Only my trinkets are in the form of greeting cards, expressions of holiday greetings on display for the whole world to see…or whoever shows up at my place.

Now the Christmas season is over. No more presents to open. No more eggnog to drink. Oh look, here’s my trophy wall of personalized Christmas cards. Now seems to me this is just a waste, throwing them out with no thought of what else can be done with them. So I’m thinking to myself over and over, “What do I do with these greeting cards?”

I sip my coffee and then there it is, a spectacular idea literally staring me in the face. Take your empty coffee can, wash it out, dry it, and let the fun begin. Pick up a spray paint can of whatever color you think will look good as a base and paint the can. Then go over to your Christmas cards and pull them off the wall carefully; I know that’s hard because we always pull them off so quick and to the point.

Now cut out those beautiful images of Christmas trees and snowmen and swirly holiday greetings and glue them to the outside of the spray painted can. After collaging the images to the outside of the can, cover the can with a clear glue or a clear-drying finish to protect your masterpiece. Let it dry, and there you have it – a candy dish for next year. And you actually did something creative with your time while finding a way to reuse all of those old holiday cards.

Design #143CS, A Christmas Celebration Holiday Card, will make wonderful personalized Christmas cards to send to your friends and loved ones. This card is a depiction of an old fashion winter scene. You can see a family all bundled up sitting in an open sleigh, being pulled by two large Clydesdales over a snow covered bridge. The family dog is barking enthusiastically at their arrival. In the background it looks as though it is still snowing. You can see glittering snowflakes covering small pine trees, which gives the appearance that the snow storm is not yet over. This holiday card is truly a celebration of Christmas. The more you look at this design the more you long for a traditional Christmas, with all your family and close friends around you.

Design #143CS - A Christmas Celebration
Holiday Card

Design #830CX, Dazzling Christmas Wreath Card, is a Merry Christmas card that features a very sophisticated, abstract depiction of a wreath. It is a beautiful shade of red with gold ribbons and iridescent snow flakes running down one side. On the right side of this card are the words “Merry Christmas.” This particular design is very tasteful and elegant.

Design #830CX - Dazzling Christmas Wreath Card

If I were sending this card, I would most likely send it to co-workers as opposed to family members. I’m not quite sure why, except in my opinion it gives a more corporate feeling. Are you thinking of going green? This is a great card to start with because it is made from recycled paper. It would also be an elegant touch to sign this card with a gold gel pen, really making your holiday wishes complete.

What if there was no such thing as sending out personalized Christmas cards? You’d have no personal messages from family and friends; no winter scene artwork to decorate your home with; and no pictures of your loved ones to place on your mantle.

Holiday cards have such a way of bringing a smile to your face as you open each envelope and look to see who thought of you. It’s also great to sit down and write out messages to family and friends who you may not have seen in years…and the ones you saw last week! So even though you’d still have your holiday parties, your holiday decorating, and your holiday treats – this time of year just wouldn’t be the same without the tradition of giving and receiving those lovely personalized holiday greeting cards!

Personalized Christmas cards may be something we all take for granted these days, but as with so many other things, personalized holiday cards didn’t always exist. Originally, people made their own greeting cards. The first known “manufactured” Christmas card was in 1843 London, with one individual commissioning a lithographic artist to design and print his cards. Presumably, he still had to sign them.

As Mrs. Claus pointed out to her hubby, people were always saying “thank you” to Santa for his gift-giving (past, present, and anticipated future) but rarely thought to say “thank you” to any of Santa’s elves. So, at some point, Santa decided it was only right and prudent to give Christmas cards to all of his elves, who after all, had worked so diligently all year to provide for the holiday happiness of others. There were a lot of elves, but Santa did have all year to prepare the cards, plus he had the able and enthusiastic assistance of Mrs. Claus.

Years passed and the world population kept increasing. Fortunately, the elfin population increased proportionally, so the workshop was able to keep pace in the production of toys and other goodies. Another fortunate event was the invention of computers, which made Santa’s record-keeping, not to mention his delivery scheduling, more manageable and efficient.

One problem, however, came to be known as “Santa Burn-Out.” He simply could not keep up with hand-signing so many Christmas cards! Poor Santa lost weight and was starting to lose the twinkle in his eyes. But then Santa became a customer of The Gallery Collection. His custom Christmas cards are now perfectly, professionally printed, and he’s able to send them in such a timely fashion that the elves receive them while Santa is making his Christmas Eve deliveries. And, you know what? Now that Santa uses personalized holiday cards, when his big annual journey is completed, he gets the biggest, warmest “welcome home” that you can imagine!

RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ - December 3, 2008 - Prudent Publishing’s GalleryCollection.com, the leading personalized Christmas cards and corporate Holiday cards publisher in the nation, announced today that it has joined Operation Gratitude and the 2008 Army-Navy Football Game to support deployed service members through Operation Gratitude’s “Letters to Heroes” letter writing campaign.

Operation Gratitude has been sending care packages to individual service members deployed overseas since 2003. “Letters to Heroes” coordinates efforts to provide heartfelt letters to service members, which are then included in each care package.

GalleryCollection.com and Operation Gratitude donated 28,000 holiday cards and will distribute the cards at the 109th Army-Navy Game, being held at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on December 6. At the game, fans will use the holiday cards to write personal letters of appreciation to service members, and these personalized Christmas cards will be delivered in each Operation Gratitude care package.

Holiday cards will also be made available for personalization at several Philadelphia hotel welcome tables, the Army-Navy Gala held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on December 5, and Penn’s Landing.

The first Army-Navy Game kicked off in 1890 at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, but it didn’t become a true annual tradition until 1930. Generally played on the first Saturday in December, the game is considered one of the longest lasting rivalries in college football. To learn more about the 2008 game, visit http://www.PhillyLovesArmyNavy.com/.

To learn more about Operation Gratitude and how to contribute to the organization’s military support efforts, visit http://www.opgratitude.com/.

About GalleryCollection.com - Prudent Publishing’s GalleryCollection.com is the leading publisher of premium quality Christmas cards and business Holiday cards in the United States. Established in 1929 and still family owned, the company offers direct-from-the-publisher prices that include customized ink and foil imprints, a large selection of memorable greetings, and matching deckle-edged envelopes made of recycled paper. GalleryCollection.com also offers numerous types of all occasion greeting cards including business birthday cards, thank you cards, and anniversary cards, many of which are FSC-certified (SW-COC-002530) and produced with Green-e certified

Contact:
Greg Koizim
(201) 641-7900 x427

About Operation Gratitude - Operation Gratitude (www.operationgratitude.com) is the 501 (c) (3) non-profit, volunteer organization that annually sends 100,000+ care packages of items and letters addressed to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile overseas regions. Its mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member’s face and to express to all troops the appreciation and support of the American people. Since its inception in March, 2003, Operation Gratitude has shipped more than 375,000 packages to American troops deployed overseas.

Contact:
Carolyn Blashek
www.youtube.com/OpGrat
Infoline: (818) 909-0039
Tel: (818) 789-0123

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” a quote by John Lennon, is quite profound and can mean different things to different people. To me, it means that life can be so busy and hectic that in many instances we lose sight or control of what we would like to do. Before we know, years have gone by and we regret missing out on the things we wanted to do.

For instance, think of all the people that you have met and lost contact with over many years’ time. Whether it be coworkers, neighbors, teammates from a club or sports team…how many really close friends do you not see as often as before, or perhaps, never?

So how do we try to keep something like this from not occurring? One way is to make sure personalized Christmas cards are sent to those whom you may not have social contact with—either seldom or at all—to let them know they’re in your thoughts. Custom Christmas cards can be personalized with a longer, personal message or a shorter, handwritten message on the inside of the Christmas cards.

In any event, it is the thought that counts (as they say), and keeping touch with someone by sending custom Christmas cards each year is a great way to let someone know you’re still thinking about them even you may not have seen them for a long, long time.

Oh the weather outside is frightful, and shoveling is so not delightful…so much to a large extent that my back is now in shambles! I’m one of those guys who tends to hurt himself getting out of bed, never mind having a driveway of snow in my way. So the snow came down…it has been shoveled, and now I’m taking a sick day because I can’t get out of bed.

Can there be anything worse than this? Well I guess there can but I’m talking about me now. There’s nothing on TV, the dog won’t leave me alone, and I would rather sit in silence then call my fiancé one more time.

Oh look, the mail is here. Maybe I’ll get up for a minute to see if the new Sporting News has come out. Oh shucks! It hasn’t. This was a wasted trip. Oh wait, maybe not. Here’s an envelope addressed to me from my dear Aunt Rose who resides in Florida.

I open it up and then followed today’s first and only smile.  My aunt has decided to send me a holiday Card. That may not mean much to you, but to me that’s big. Someone took the time to pick from hundreds and thousands of personalized Christmas cards one that would make me smile.

How did she know a snowman would bring this smile to my face? Who knows, but sometimes holiday cards can do that to you. In an era where people don’t like to take the time…a holiday card shows me you care. A bad back couldn’t even take that away.