Category: Holiday Cards and Tidbits

The Three Little Elves That Loved Personalized Holiday Cards!

Every year I usually just stress myself out with trying to get all three of my children to sit for the perfect holiday card to send to friends and family. This year I decided that they are all at an age were they can sign their own names and make it more personal. I wanted personalized holiday cards without the stress of getting the perfect portrait. So I searched the web looking for the “perfect card.” I came across The Gallery Collection late one night since that is the only time I get access to the laptop. The next day I called and had them send me a few samples. I wasn’t expecting much, because it’s only a greeting card, right? Boy was I wrong! One of the samples that I received was of Design 077CX – Cheerful Greetings Card. The excitement I felt of seeing the three elves on the card reminded me of my children. I knew instantly that was our card this season. The next day, I instantly called and placed my order for our cards. The woman I spoke to was so patient and helpful. When we got to the personalization she asked what I wanted. I explained that I was planning on having the whole family sign the cards. She pointed out something I did not even think of – children usually do not want to sit and sign all of those cards. So she told me that they can put all of our signatures on the cards for us. A couple of weeks later my cards arrived and they were breathtaking.

In my excitement to order my holiday cards, I happened to make my order a few short of my Christmas card list. Since I was so pleased with my first choice, I decided to mix it up and order a different design. I went back to the website to browse some more, and I have to say I’ve become quite addicted to this site! I soon found another card, Design 727CW – Purrfect Packages Christmas Card and called again and placed a second order. When my second order arrived I was just as amazed as I was with the first initial order. They were even able to reuse our signatures! The whole family fell in love with our Christmas cards. They even helped stash them in the envelopes and place the stamps on. Sending our cards was stress free this year and I owe it all to The Gallery Collection.

Christmas Cards Time or Mayan Calendar End of the World!

Fourteen days. That’s it. According to a countless number of people and their interpretation of a 5,000 plus year old calendar, the end of the world is coming in fourteen short days on December 21st, 2012. The date 12/21/12 has been floated in front of us for what seems to be years now. Over the past decade, the Earth has survived many other “End of the World” dates but this time it’s for real, right? The Mayans predicted this many millennia ago through their Mayan Calendar so it has to be true, right? Wrong. We will all wake up on December 22nd, laugh off another failed End of Days prediction, and continue the excitement of the holiday season.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways that the world is going to end on the 21st. A popular notion is that planet Nibiru is going to collide with Earth. This was first predicted to happen in May of 2003 but when (surprise, surprise) it didn’t, the date was moved to 12/21/12 to coincide with the end of the Mayan Calendar. Lucky for us, NASA itself has confirmed that we are in no danger of being as much as scratched by any rogue planets.

What else is out there that is going to destroy our world? The planets are going to align and supposedly create some sort of devastation but that means very little. This has happened multiple times in the past few decades and we are still here. Maybe the sun is going to put out a powerful solar storm which will destroy Earth. Sure, it is true that the sun is entering the peak of its solar cycle (which happens once every 11 years or so). This isn’t a threat to Earth as a whole, however. The only things that need to be afraid are some satellites floating far above Earth.

Is speculating about the end of the Earth an interesting conversation topic? Sure it is. It gives everyone something to talk about at their holiday parties over the next few weeks. Who doesn’t enjoy taking about some cataclysmic event? Is the end of the world something to be legitimately nervous about? Absolutely not. Spend your time enjoying the season and not worrying about the silly speculation. You will be happy you did when you wake up on December 22nd and realize you still have to send out all your Christmas cards!

What Your Christmas Cards Say About You

November is an exciting time of the year. There’s Thanksgiving, a time we gather with our families and stop for a moment to give thanks for the smallest blessings in our lives. That’s what I do anyway–it gives me perspective. But it’s also the time when I begin to think about what kind of Christmas cards I want to order.

You see, I have a thing about greeting cards. I know, many say it’s just a card and who really cares what it looks like or what it says; it’s the thought that counts. That is true. But how about the card that arrives year after year with an incorrect last name, or the one with the wrong apartment number and no zip code, which then causes it to arrive days after the holidays? That can certainly make you look like no effort was made at all. What about those beautiful personalized Christmas cards with names imprinted? That can save you tons of time and effort, but still show you care.

Christmas is a beautiful time of the year. Yes, it’s hectic with everything one has to do to prepare for it. But when I sit down to write my cards it’s really the only time in the year that I get to think back on all the special people in my life and how thankful I am to them. And although I cannot afford to get everyone a gift, it is through my Christmas cards that I am able to express my gratitude individually. So yes, before I send out each card, I make sure every “t” is crossed and every “i” dotted, because they mean that much to me.

The Perfect Corporate Holiday Cards

The corporate holiday cards I send every year are not only my way of wishing greetings for the holidays, but they are also my way of connecting with people I have not had contact with for a while. At least I know once a year we can catch up with each other’s lives and bring back some good memories.

The holiday cards I pick out have to be a reflection of my thoughts and feelings. This requires me to spend countless hours reading countless cards to make sure I find the right design that expresses exactly what I. This became an impossible task over the years!

However, I finally realized that in order to be able to address all the different holidays of the season and also be able to say the “right” words, I needed to order custom holiday cards.

The cards had to be beautiful and I needed them personalized with my name along with a special greeting. The array of greeting card designs offered by The Gallery Collection is incredible, and the designs are all distinctively beautiful. There is such a great selection of greetings that I didn’t even need to create my own. And the quality of the cards and envelopes is very impressive, to say the least.

So now I can send company holiday cards that are impressive and says exactly what I want.

Company Holiday Cards Are Good Reminders

Recently I received very classy company holiday cards from a group I had done business with about 3 years ago.  When it arrived I thought it was from my cousin who owns her own business and it is doing very well.  It was a beautiful envelope with a gold foil lining and a frilly edge.  The return address was in gold foil and it really was impressive.  At that point when I saw the company who sent it I was surprised.  While they did a great job for me a few years back, I had forgotten about them.  I thought about it and as it just so happened I realized I could utilize their expertise on an upcoming job I was involved with.  I contacted them and we set up a meeting to discuss doing business together again.

I am so happy that this group decided to do company Christmas cards to all their past customers and business associates. If they had not contacted me I would have had to put out this job for bid. I now can deal directly with a company I have first hand knowledge does a really good job. What a time saver those holiday cards were for me, and more business for them!

Reunited by Personalized Holiday Cards

When I was just sixteen I dated the love of my life, Ed, for four years. We did everything together. We spent school days together walking to class. We spent summers at the pool. We celebrated our birthdays and holidays with each other and our families. No matter what we did, we were laughing. We really had an amazing time together.

Three years into the relationship he went away to college. I missed him like crazy. We talked on the phone. We visited when we could afford it. We sent personalized holiday cards, birthday cards, cards for everything. As time went by the cards became less personal, and they became less frequent. So did the phone calls. Season’s greetings were almost never exchanged anymore. After about 11 months it seemed as if the relationship that once was my world was now just a memory. I always wondered where Ed was, how he was doing, and was he the one who got away?

Nine years passed. I still thought about Ed once in a while, maybe a little more during the holiday season. I was working as a receptionist in a doctor’s office. It was the middle of December and I had “decked the halls” of the office with holiday décor, lights, and bells. Before I left one night I was hanging all the Season’s Greetings cards sent to the office and the doctor. As I hung the last card I noticed something oddly familiar. Inside the company president thanked the doctor for his business. At the bottom of the card, clear as day, I’d recognize that handwriting anywhere, “Best Wishes, Ed.” I couldn’t believe it, I hadn’t seen or heard from him in nine years and there was that familiar signature printed on the card. Could it be? Could it be my high school sweetheart, Ed?

I wasted no time calling the number on the card. It turns out it was my Ed and he had been thinking about me too! We were both single and lived fifteen miles from each other. That was 2 years ago that we finally found each other after nine years. We now live together and are getting married next month. We even have the holiday card that brought us back together framed in our family room!

‘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.

Christmas Cards and My Big Italian Celebration!

Ah, the joys of Holiday traditions….

It’s a magical scene:  A perfectly shaped triangular Christmas tree is nestled in the corner of our cozy living room.  Personalized Christmas cards for every little boy and girl signed by Santa Claus accompany each gift under the tree.  Overstuffed red and green stockings line the fireplace.  To me, this paints the perfect picture of Christmas.  It wouldn’t be quite complete though, without the most important tradition of our never-ending feast, filled with all the holiday favorites!

The month-long celebration usually kicks off at Thanksgiving, but the real treat is on Christmas Eve when my grandmother brings out her old recipe book from the attic.  I’m sure she knows how to make everything from memory after twenty-something years, but the perfectionist she is, each ingredient has to be measured to the teaspoon to be sure its just right.

Depending on your background, there may be a few traditional dishes that are always served on Christmas Eve.  For my family, it’s the “Feast of the Seven Fishes” meal consisting of anchovies, lobster tails, stuffed shrimp, eel, baccala (salted cod fish), mussels, and clams which are all prepared with my great-grandmothers special seasoning.  To compliment the main attraction, everyone takes part in bringing homemade side dishes such as pasta, meatballs, sausage and peppers, potatoes, vegetables, salad, and lots of fresh Italian bread and butter for dipping.

After filling our tummies, it’s time for the kids’ favorite part of the day – opening presents. First everyone has to open their Christmas cards. Once a peaceful scene, the living room soon erupts into chaos as the first present is opened.  Ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper are strewn around the room in a happy mess of children and toys.  While the kids are preoccupied with their new gadgets, the adults move on to the next order of business and start preparing dessert.  Classics like fresh cannolis, Neapolitan ice cream, Rice pudding, and my grandmothers famous triple-Chocolate Cherry mousse cake are always big hits.

Once everyone has eaten to their hearts content, it’s time to make the long journey back home to snuggle in our beds and await the second round of festivities on Christmas day.  In the words of Santa Clause from my favorite Christmas tale: “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Work Appropriate Secret Santa Ideas

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!