Design 731CS – Snow-Covered Tree Holiday Card, is a photograph of an apricot tree on a Rocky Mountain ranch in Western Colorado.  On the surface of the photograph, which has been embossed to appear three dimensional, is a light sprinkling of silver foil which brings the snow to life. There is something soothing and peaceful in winter scenes holiday cards, like a hush. Winter scenes are also perfect for someone looking for Season’s Greetings cards. This scenic design is printed on kromekote which is an FSC certified paper.

When I found that the photograph on Design 731CS – Snow-Covered Tree Holiday Card, was of an apricot tree I wondered how it survived in what seems to be a blizzard. I think of fruit trees as growing in warm climates not Western Colorado of all places.  Turns out that apricot trees can tolerate the cold weather unless they are just starting to blossom and there is a late frost.  Maybe winter scenes holiday cards should come with a fact sheet so we can admire while we learn!

Design 731CS - Snow-Covered Tree
Holiday Card

Design 735CS – The Northern Cardinal Holiday Card, depicts a male cardinal perched on a snowy pine branch. We know that this cardinal is a male by its bright red color; a shade of red you can’t take your eyes off and the red is so striking against the white snow. This photo works well for personalized Christmas cards because it seems to illustrate the holidays and give one a cozy, familiar feeling. According to National Geographic the male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird due to its vibrant color.

Design 735CS - The Northern Cardinal
Holiday Card

The Northern Cardinal is a songbird; they sing about two dozen songs. You can almost hear the cardinal singing the card’s message of Season’s Greetings. The Northern Cardinal design would also make an appropriate  business holiday card because the image and message are non-denominational.

Design 735CS – The Northern Cardinal Holiday Card, is printed on a glossy paper called kromekote. Kromekote is now FSC certified so not only would you be choosing a beautiful Season’s Greeting card but you would also be helping to preserve our forests; the FSC logo is printed on the back of the card. The cardinal photograph is bordered in green to accent the green in the pine branches and the red drop shadow panel is embossed to give the card more character. The shimmering silver foil sprinkled on the tree giving the illusion of sparkling snow.

Design #850CS – Midnight Snowflake Sparkle Holiday Card, really catches your attention. I think it’s a perfect design to send to business associates. I don’t often know which holidays are celebrated by each of them, but I do know that not all of them celebrate Christmas in the religious sense. These holiday greeting cards even work for sending good wishes to my myriad of friends. After all, who could take offense at Mother Nature’s beautiful snowflakes? Both the lovely falling snowflakes and the gorgeous color scheme of shimmering foils and deep blue card stock make this a design that anyone can treasure, no matter what they celebrate.

Design #850CS - Midnight Snowflake Sparkle
Holiday Card

Like a 3-D movie, the brilliant starry snowflakes of this design seem to be floating in and out of a midnight blue background. The glow of solid silver and solid teal foils are magically balanced with reflective silver foils, in exquisitely embossed lacy detail. What a rich way to send my Season’s Greetings!

I usually get around to disposing the personalized Christmas cards I received during the holiday season sometime around the 4th of July. This year I seem to have gotten a jump on it…I started during the second week of June!

As I toss these cards into the trash I can’t help but notice that quite a few people use personalized Christmas cards. Evidently there are a number of companies that offer individual personalization on the Season’s Greetings cards they sell but I can detect the difference in quality from one to the next. Initially I noticed a difference in the feel of the paper used to make the cards. Some are very flimsy while others are sturdier. There are shiny and textured cards, smooth and embossed cards, small and large cards. Artwork on the cards can range from understated to festive. I also noticed that the color of the inks and foils used in printing differed in quality from card to card.

Design #092CW - Frosty Season’s Greetings

One of the Christmas cards that caught my attention was from The Gallery Collection. Design #092CW, Frosty Season’s Greetings Card, displays a simply drawn snowman surrounded by snowflakes. This image sits atop the words “Season’s Greetings.”  This was all deeply embossed on the cover of a plain white card in gold foil. Gold foil was also used inside the card for the greeting and the sender’s personalization printed beneath it. For a simple Season’s Greetings card, I was quite impressed! I flipped the card over to see if the company name was on the back, and sure enough “The Gallery Collection” was imprinted in gold foil and accompanied by the website. Watch out Hallmark…you’re not the only greeting cards company with loyal customers who look to see who produces the cards they receive.

Design #584CS, Winter Frolic from All of Us Holiday Card, is a festive way of saying Season’s Greetings to just about anyone. This design features four penguins dancing carelessly in the snow. They are wearing red reindeer antler hats and have rosy red cheeks. Santa Claus is featured center stage wearing his typical garb we have come to know and love – his red and white hat and coat along with his signature black boots. The green mittens that are occupying his hands help to bring your attention to the snowflakes that are gently falling all around them. The snow is highlighted with silver foil that reflects the full color spectrum. The words “Season’s Greetings from all of us,” which are written in bold red ink, seem to pop off the white stock paper.

Design #584CS - Winter Frolic From All of Us
Holiday Card

The card comes with a white envelope that is lined in silver foil and is available in the seal fast envelopes. Design #584CS is the perfect Season’s Greetings holiday cards to send to friends, family, and those special clients you could never do without.

When I set about to order my Christmas cards, I became aware that in the past, being politically correct was not an issue that affected me. I reviewed some of the cards that I received in previous years and, lo and behold, most of them wished me a Merry Christmas!

The more I think about it, the more I am starting to doubt the “correctness” of avoiding the Merry Christmas phrase. After all, do the recipients of these cards not know that the season in Season’s Greetings includes Christmas?

In my opinion, anyone who thinks about me and takes the time to contact me is obviously not trying to offend me. On the other hand, if I am aware that a friend or contact is sensitive to this issue, I will act accordingly. I think that we should take the recipients of our cards into consideration, and then choose a card that pleases us as well as it would please them. It is a well known observation that when choosing a gift, one should choose something that they would really like to keep for themselves!

Should we no longer send Season’s Greetings cards altogether? Of course not; but let’s not make using “Merry Christmas” a thing of the past either.