With Christmas only days away, I have received many holiday wishes from family, friends and colleagues.  I have gotten e-cards, emails, phone calls and text messages, but nothing compares to having personalized holiday cards in your hands.  There’s something about a card that makes you feel like that person went the extra mile to send their holiday wishes.

Out of all the Christmas cards I have received so far, my favorite one was from a colleague in New York.  It was a Gallery Collection design.  It was a striking red berries design with a black background.  The colors were absolutely beautiful.  I have it hanging by my desk.  There is no way an e-card could compete with this card!

That is why every year I continue to send personalized Christmas cards.  I put mine in the mail the first week of December!  It is sort of a holiday tradition for me.  I made sure to send one to each person that I wanted to extend my warmest wishes to, both personally and professionally.  In this day and age, it is so easy to get caught up in doing everything electronically.  But there are just some things that the electronic world can never beat: sending Christmas cards!

There are a lot of mundane things about life.  We must engage in a lot of routines every day of our lives that we don’t want to do.  Luckily, for the sake of those that appreciate them, there are a few things that can make us smile, push us to laugh and nudge us to feel good even when we aren’t expecting it.  For me, there are few things better to achieve this end than custom holiday cards.  A good greeting card goes a long way.

You can’t get personalized holiday cards just anywhere.  It’s cheaper to pick a card off a dollar rack at a drug store but it doesn’t feel as good as a one especially prepared with my unique message and name typeset on it.  I want to send, and receive, something that doesn’t look disposable.  You wouldn’t be able to throw away an outstanding greeting card the way you would if it were picked off a discount rack down the block.  There’s pride that goes into making a good greeting card like there would be when constructing a hand-written letter; it’s just more intimate and that’s not something you want to forget like yesterday’s news.

The bottom line is that custom holiday cards are something that have the potential to last and be remembered for years to come, and in a world of mundane, forgettable routines,  personalized holiday cards beats most things.

Today the globe is more interconnected than ever.  Business ties span the entire world: manufacturing in China, customer service in India, distribution networks in the United States.  While today’s business environment is diverse and expansive as ever, there are still a few commonalities that can bring us closer together.  English is used as a lingua franca, bridging the various business communities together.  The Gregorian calendar helps to keep us on the same page in terms of dates.  Since almost everyone uses these standards, sending out non denomination holiday cards at the end of the year can be a good way of keeping up business contacts while ensuring that you do not offend anyone’s sensibilities.

It is important to respect the cultures and traditions of everyone you are in contact with.  A common gaffe committed is sending out Christmas cards to those who do not celebrate the holiday.  So picking a card that does not entail a specific holiday or the items stereotypically associated related with that holiday is important.  Yet, a level of intimacy can still be retained with personalized holiday cards.  Some of the best cards for this are winter themed, like a blustery winter landscape or magnified snowflakes.   If there are clients in the southern hemisphere, one might be better served with one that showcases wrapped presents.  Just be sure to stay in touch in an appropriate manner this holiday season.

Each year, when I sit down with my Christmas list, which is inevitably long, my husband asks the same question. “Are you really going to wrap all those?” You see, the gifts don’t bother him, but wrapping, to him, is a waste of time and a waste of paper. He does not understand why I would go through so much trouble to give my friends, family members, and co-workers small gifts that are wrapped perfectly. I explain, every year, that it’s my way of showing that I care. Last year, things were a bit different. I just didn’t have the time! I looked at my Christmas lists, one for gifts and one for cards, and I had a light bulb moment. I realized I could wrap the small gifts in our personalized Christmas cards! My husband was obviously ecstatic about this plan, and he even “wrapped” his gifts for others all by himself.

We themed the “small” gifts around this idea and we ended up having so much fun picking out gifts in every price range. In the end, it turned out we had bought all our gifts to fit in cards. My co-workers received glass pendants, his co-workers received ornaments, and many on our list received gift cards. Since we always buy personalized holiday cards, with our names and a message printed inside, we used those beautiful cards to wrap everything. We sent our daughter a pair of handcrafted earrings and a gift card, and our son-in-law received tickets to a game. The most exciting part of our “small” gift adventure was the challenge. It was like a game, trying to find gifts in every price range that we could fit inside our Christmas cards. My husband had such a good time; he’s continuing the tradition this year!

As a child growing up in the 70’s I always associated the exchange of holiday cards with Christmas. I can remember the excitement of Christmas preparation and with that the picking and choosing of our family’s holiday card. My Mom would look forward to the holiday for weeks in advance. Carefully choosing our family card, my Mother would then meticulously develop the card list, and beautifully personalize everything with all of our names, even the family dog.

Although it is indeed better to give than to receive, we all excitedly anticipated receiving our cards in the mail. It was a race to see who got the first look at the incoming cards. Some personalized holiday cards were signed with just names, while others had paragraphs of stories. Friends we talked to every day and cousins we hadn’t seen for years. All incoming cards were displayed for all to see hanging from the archway into our living room. Every year we counted them all to see how many we received. When family and friends would visit during the season you could see them looking for their card on display.

Now that I am all grown up with children of my own, I continue the tradition started by my mother. Every year we choose our family holiday card and mail it to family and friends. My kids enjoy reading the cards and displaying them in our living room just as much as I did.

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.

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.

When companies send personalized holiday cards there are always different thoughts behind them. Should it be informal, should it be formal, should I do foil, should I do ink? This paralysis of analysis can sometimes slow you down so much you don’t bother even sending cards out.

It may not seem like a big deal but getting personalized Christmas cards out to your clientele is truly significant. In these trying times it is nice to know someone remembers you spent money there. The card puts you back on the mind of your valued customer.

I found a fool proof way of doing cards each year. I sell heavy equipment parts. So each year I take a picture of my dog Frank and pose him on a new construction vehicle as the driver. So when I make my Christmas cards, I throw in the added bonus of a picture of Frank inside.

You cannot even imagine the reception this gets each year. There isn’t a returning customer who doesn’t ask about Frank when he or she comes through the door. And the key to that statement is, “when he or she comes through the door.” I want my customers to return, I hope if you are a business owner you would want the same. I guess the only exception would be a funeral home. I suppose there is not much return business when it comes to that.

In most businesses you need to go that extra mile for your customers. The moral of the story is take time to put together a personalized Christmas card and have fun with it. It does not have to be something you worry about doing each year, you can make it exciting!

The old family Woody! Design 725CS – Vintage Holiday Greetings Card, is the perfect image for personalized holiday cards. Most people love to see that old automobile in photos or drawings; it may bring back fond memories of times past, a reminder of friends and family and holiday traditions that you still pass on to this day. What a great way to put a smile on the face of everyone who receives this treasured holiday classic!

Design 725CS – Vintage Holiday Greetings Card, is a beautiful watercolor of the woody wagon automobile all dressed up for the season, carrying home the beloved family Christmas tree and all decked out with a wreath pinned to the grill of the car. The bright Christmas red of the automobile against the green tree makes this card a true stand out. It is finished off with a hint of silver foil to add a little bit of sparkle. This holiday card is so beautiful it can be framed and displayed, and bring joy to all who see it, all year long.

Design 725CS - Vintage Holiday Greetings Card

My favorite part of the holiday season is getting together with my family and decorating the tree. I have always put much time and effort into the placement of the ornaments so that the tree would look perfect. I also like to buy one or two new ornaments every year and have a big unveiling of the new additions. Since this tradition is so important to me, I thought it would be fun this year to send holiday ornament cards to all of my friends and family.

Everyone who knows me understands my deep love for ornaments. I’m always on the lookout for my next great piece. Whenever I am in a store, or on a trip, or when I receive a catalog, I can spend hours browsing for just the right thing. So this year I spent hours browsing for just the right personalized holiday cards. I wanted something stunning, with a beautiful ornament to represent my love for the holiday season and the traditions that I hold so dear.

I went to The Gallery Collection’s website and I browsed all of the ornament cards. I was shocked at all of the choices I had. There were ornaments in gold, silver, and all sorts of different colors. There were cards printed on green stock and cards printed on blue stock. I could have spent all day on the website trying to decide which ornament would be perfect for my personalized holiday cards. I was like a kid in a candy shop! I could barely narrow my choices down. I knew my decision to send out holiday ornament cards this year was a good one. Everyone would think of me the moment they opened the envelope.

I finally made my choice among the vast amount of cards that I loved, although I have to say, it was tough! There were so many different designs that I wanted; I know I’ll be ordering my personalized holiday cards from The Gallery Collection again next year. I just wish that I could be with everyone when they open the cards I’m sending. A bright, sparkling ornament is the best way I know how to spread the holiday cheer!