Month: December 2011

Can You Receive Too Many Company Christmas 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?

Personalized Greeting Cards – Keep Your Customers Thinking of You

Sending personalized greeting cards is one of the easiest and most economical ways to keep your company name foremost in your customers’ minds. When you think about it, they are a low cost form of advertising. When you pay for advertising, you are never sure of who will actually see it or whether it will be seen at all. A greeting card actually ends up in the hand of a live person. Most of us enjoy receiving cards and will most likely hang on to them for a while. Unlike newspapers that end up in the recycle bin, greeting cards are actually displayed, so that everyone in the office can view them.

Assorted greeting cards abound these days. There are so many choices. There are cards to fit every situation. Fun, elegant, simple, feminine or masculine are just a few. There are thank you, congratulations, get well or sympathy cards and let us not forget the most popular, holiday cards. Calendar cards are another good option and are a great way to have your company name displayed every day of the year.

Personalized greeting cards can be typeset with an imprint or can be signed by hand. They can even be a combination of both. One can choose from a provided list of greetings or be creative and make up a customized greeting. Logos can be added to the card or can simply have the company name imprinted. There are so many choices and options available.

When you send a greeting card, you are letting your customers know that they are not just thought of part of the time, but that they are an important component in the success of your business. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and personalized greeting cards allow you to convey this very important message. Sending greeting cards keeps your customer in mind, but more importantly, it keeps you in the mind of your customer.

Sending Personalized Holiday Cards Never Gets Old

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!

‘Twas Right Before Christmas

‘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.

Custom Holiday Cards – Lots To Love

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.

Personalized Christmas Cards and My Annual Holiday Poem

As the holiday season approaches, I once again begin my search for the perfect personalized Christmas cards to send to family and friends.  I love the elegance that a beautifully imprinted card portrays.  Rather than simply sending the card by itself, I have made truly custom holiday cards by including a poem about the past year and what our family has been doing.  My annual Christmas poem is meant to be the opposite of the traditional Christmas letter that sometimes turns into a resume of sorts and tends to look like the writer is bragging about their family accomplishments!  Thankfully, my family has a good sense of humor because I tend to poke fun at each of our idiosyncrasies in my annual poem.  One year, for example, I feigned surprise that our daughter had managed to keep all her fingers intact during her first semester as an architecture student building models in the woodshop.  Anyone knowing Sara’s accident-prone nature surely understood the joke.  Another year, after buying a small convertible car, I made fun of my “mid-life crisis” and my need to buy a younger looking vehicle in order to avoid the realities of aging.

Each year I get many comments and compliments about my whimsical Christmas poem.  I love hearing the responses from family and friends because I know I have accomplished my goal of transforming the traditional card into something even more unique and memorable.  The humorous spin on the year’s events has also helped our family refrain from taking life’s ups and downs too seriously.  Instead it has allowed us to embrace the inevitable challenges we all face.

People send holiday greetings to let their loved ones to let them know they are thinking of them and to lift their spirits.  This year, why not combine your elegant personalized Christmas cards with a little silliness and humor?  After all, tis’ the season to be jolly!!

The Gallery Collection Donates 40,000 Greeting Cards to Soldiers’ Angels for Returning Troops

The Gallery Collection has a long standing history of supporting our troops both at home and overseas. Today, we are proud to announce a donation of 40,000 greeting cards to Soldiers’ Angels for the troops that will be returning home from Iraq. We are especially honored to be making the announcement today, on the National Pearl Harbor Day of Remembrance, December 7th, 2011.

On October 21st, President Obama announced the end of The United States of America’s involvement in the war in Iraq. 40,000 troops will be coming home for the holidays, and The Gallery Collection is sending Soldiers’ Angels an equal number of cards for signing events, care packages and many other purposes to support our troops. We welcome our servicemen and women home gladly, and we are proud of their service to our nation.

Design 628CX - Peaceful Dove Holiday Greeting Card
One of the eight different card designs being donated by The Gallery Collection. What would you write inside greeting cards being sent to the Troops returning home?

While to many this issue is politically charged, what The Gallery Collection finds most important is the fact that after an 8 year involvement in Iraq, our troops will be returning home to family, friends, and all the people that have missed them and love them dearly. Some may feel we are bringing the troops home too early; others may feel as if the troops should have returned home years ago. But we can all agree that we will be happy to greet them when they come home.

The Gallery Collection has been working with Soldiers’ Angels since 2007, making numerous donations of greeting cards to help support them in their mission of “May No Soldier Go Unloved.” We are sincerely grateful to our troops, and pleased we can make such a large donation to welcome them home.

Company Christmas Cards Can Be For More Than Just Business

About two years ago I moved from Danbury, Connecticut to Seattle, Washington. This was a big step in my life. I was starting a new career and moving away from all my friends and family on the East Coast. After a couple months at my new job the holidays rolled around and I received beautiful company Christmas cards. The quality of the card was outstanding from the paper, to the raised design, to the writing inside. I was in awe. I was also caught by surprise because I had never received a holiday card at my old job, in Connecticut, and I had been an employee there for 4 years. This immediately made me feel special but I could not get over the quality of this card.

The next year the holidays rolled around again and I get another Christmas card from my boss. This time the card was even more dazzling. It came on blue paper with silver snowflakes and the inside had silver writing. I couldn’t resist asking my boss where he got these cards from. He told me The Gallery Collection. That day I visited the website and found hundreds spectacular cards. I knew right then I wanted to share these cards with my family.

This year I am sending all my family back on the East Coast some of these beautiful Christmas cards. I am selecting a card that has a breathtaking picture of the Seattle skyline. I love this picture because it will really give my family back home an idea of what I get to see everyday and how much I love it here in Seattle. So, don’t think corporate holiday cards are just for at work. Give them a personal touch and I’m sure your family will enjoy them as much as I have.

New York City Christmas Cards – Start Spreading The News

Finally, a card that can be saved and displayed long after the holidays are over and is gorgeous to look at too! How many times do you take a day trip into New York City and want to snap a picture that captures all the beauty and excitement of the City, but you just can’t find the right light or the right angle? Well, I’ve just seen the perfect cards. New York City Christmas cards offer a variety of New York cards with breathtaking views.

Whether you want to capture the splendor of the Statue of Liberty against the night sky or the iconic Empire State building at twilight, these cards are amazing. There is even one picture of the skyline at night with the buildings reflected in the Hudson River. It’s the perfect solution to sending a card but also sending something that can be representative of the area in which we live. New York City, in particular, has so much to offer, that this is a great way to show off the City at its best.

Design 77ACW - New York City Montage Christmas Card
Design 77ACW - New York City Montage
Christmas Card

I’m already thinking of how I can send these cards out to family and friends who might fly in and out of a New York City airport but never get to appreciate the sights of the City. These cards could also be a great reminder of a wonderful weekend spent during a family reunion or even a wedding. So may great memories will be revisited when someone opens these cards and once again remembers what a great time they had visiting the City. I even saw a card with the “Wall Street” street sign. That would be fun if I had a business in the financial district.

The more I look at these cards the more fascinated I am by them. They look like framed pieces of art. And yet, these are places I’ve been to. I have a feeling that once my friends and family who live across the country see these new cards, I may be getting more out of town guests than I’m used to who will want to see these places for themselves.