christmas cards Archives - Page 18 of 19

Personalized Christmas Cards Maker GalleryCollection.com Joins Operation Gratitude and Army-Navy Game to Support Troops Overseas

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

Christmas Cards or Holiday Cards? Decisions! Decisions!

A well-meaning office faces a quandary: send clients best wishes for the holidays and appreciation for their business all year with good old-fashioned Christmas cards. Or expand the warmth and gratitude in greeting cards that say “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings” instead, to show respect for the culture of each of its customers.

It’s tempting either way. Christmas evokes tradition, comfort, and the times when we lived so similarly to our neighbors and the folks at the office. The Christian faith, the feasts, the gift-giving, and the colorful decorations – these make Christmas a special and irreplaceable time of year for everyone who celebrates it. Christmas cards have been part and parcel of the season for over 150 years. Can you imagine a year where you saw not a single Christmas card all December? Christmas cards for the Christmas holiday…of course!

When all or most of your clients celebrate Christmas, the choice to send business Christmas cards is easy. However, a growing percentage of today’s workforce and clientele observe something other than Christmas in the fall and winter: Diwali, Hanukkah, the New Year, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and Eid al-Fitr, to name but a few. The globalization of our world can be reflected in holiday cards. While it would be difficult to identify every holiday in a single greeting card, it’s easy and thoughtful to leave the holiday open with a seasonal, non-religious sentiment inside of your greeting cards that lets your recipients know you wish them well, regardless of their religious or non-religious affiliations.

Holiday cards that refer to the “Holidays” or the “Season” give you greater latitude when winter greetings are appropriate and the holidays being celebrated by your recipients vary. Nevertheless, whether you send Merry Christmas cards or greeting cards that wish Peace on Earth, Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings, any holiday cards you send will surely be appreciated.

The Pioneer of Corporate Christmas Cards

John Calcott Horsley was an English narrative painter living in London from 1817 to 1903. Some of his better known commissions are two frescoes, painted in the Houses of Parliament and most notably, the holiday card his friend Sir Henry Cole asked him to paint. His friendship with Horsley came from their shared enthusiasm for art and working together to organize The Great Exhibition in 1851.

In 1943 Cole decided that he would surprise his friends with a novel and colorful holiday card at Christmas time instead of the usual Christmas letter. At that time letters were time consuming to write and were hand delivered. Cole’s idea meant that from the lithograph John painted, personalized holiday cards could be printed and mailed in pre-printed penny post envelopes. You could say it was the first form of corporate Christmas cards.

The card measured 5-1/8 by 3-1/4 inches. It was printed in a dark sepia ink and hand colored. The design is framed by a trellis of vines forming three panels. The side panels depict figures representing two of the acts of charity, “feeding the hungry” and “clothing the naked.” In the center is a picture of a family party, including three generations, from grandparents to grandchildren, drinking wine. Below is the greeting, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”

Within ten years, Christmas cards were the rage of England. Of the 1,000 original personalized Christmas cards printed, only 12 are known to still exist. This card came to be known as the first commercial Christmas and New Year’s card.

Business Thanksgiving Cards – The Christmas Cards Alternative

I know you may think I’m crazy, but by the time Labor Day rolls around, all I can think of is Christmas. Christmas shopping! Christmas decorations! Christmas trees! Christmas carolers! And most importantly, Christmas cards! It’s enough to make even the most relaxed of us turn visions of sugarplums into visions of that mean one, Mr. Grinch!

For those of us already mentally making our list and checking it twice, the act of sending business greeting cards is not strictly a Christmas ritual anymore. This is a relief for a number of reasons. First of all, as much as I’d love to make a point to send my best wishes to colleagues and clients, if I wait until December, I’m taking a gamble on whether those business greeting cards will ever make it to the mailbox! Secondly, if I wait until December, my Christmas cards are bound to get lost in the shuffle with all of the other business greeting cards being sent at the same time.

That’s why business Thanksgiving cards are a great alternative. Thanking those you’ve done business with a month before the norm allows your message to stand out when it’s received and allows you to cross one more task off your list before the end of November. It also saves you the trouble of choosing between Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or Season’s Greetings for the face of the design on your business greeting cards.

There is plenty to be thankful for as autumn and winter are coming upon us, and one of those things is the option of business Thanksgiving Cards!

Personalized Christmas Cards Haven’t Always Been my Thing

To me Christmas cards were something I was used to receiving rather then giving. I guess the old Christmas saying, “It’s better to give, than receive,” was meant for someone other than me.

I was never one to give personalized Christmas cards. In fact, at home my wife and daughter usually held this honor. And I must say, it was an honor they both did with great enthusiasm. However, a career change would eventually alter my perception about giving Christmas cards.

My earlier business occupation was in a blue collar field that was mostly dominated by men. We were not accustomed to giving gifts and exchanging personalized holiday cards with each other. For the holidays we would usually have a quick group lunch. Afterwards, we would run home to help out our wives.

However, as the world changed, so did our field. More and more women began taking interest in the technology field and during this transition, the giving of Christmas cards became a yearly event. However, I must admit, I was a little shocked to receive holiday cards from some old-time field personnel.

Now, several years later, I enjoy giving Christmas cards. This is a way for me to show someone that I took the time to say “hi” and to wish them happy holidays. I like to send out personalized holiday cards because of my terrible handwriting. It wasn’t easy growing up as a southpaw and my handwriting is pretty terrible. I certainly never won any awards for my penmanship. Personalized Christmas cards took away a lot of the stress of signing. It’s faster and neater. My friends can easily see that the card came from me.

Today we live in a fast pace world of electronics. People don’t talk…they chat; people don’t read books…they read web pages. It’s a great feeling to receive a Christmas card because it tells me someone took the time during there busy day to think about me and to say that I am special to them.

Personalized Christmas Cards Make Life a Little Easier

The holiday season is fraught with tasks that seem to never get done. Whether it is in the business world or one’s personal life, the holidays are, without a doubt, the most hectic time of the year! Although we all enjoy receiving Christmas cards, preparing and sending them to clients, family, or friends can be quite a tedious undertaking. Signing the cards, addressing envelopes, and applying postage stamps to each one are not only time consuming tasks but can often prove to be very frustrating. A way to eliminate one of these jobs is rather simple.

Personalized Christmas cards can do away with the chore of signing each and every card you send. Stuffing, addressing, and applying postage to the envelopes are jobs that still remain to be done but the elimination of signing each card is not only a time saver, but an impressive way to indicate from whom these holiday greeting cards were sent. Along with your personalization you might consider adding a line such as “Happy Holidays,” “Have a Wonderful New Year,” or “Merry Christmas.” Use your imagination to convey that little extra expression of your feelings toward those who are important to you.

I’d bet if you try it once you’ll send these custom personalized Holiday cards year after year.

Custom Holiday Cards and Puppies Go Paw in Hand

I have to say, people have gotten pretty creative with their holiday cards and messages over the years but how many people have gotten creative with who delivers those holiday messages? I always look forward to the variety of custom holiday cards I receive as the holidays approach, with one favorite in particular.

For over 10 years, I received a holiday card from Ben, one of my favorite creatures. You might be thinking “creature” is an odd word to describe a close friend or relative but Ben was my cousin’s dog and I always playfully referred to him as her first born, considering how much he was babied over the years. What can I say, I babied him too since I was the go-to person for dog-sitting Ben while I was in high school. We were all attached! Every year as I received holiday cards from friends and family, this unique holiday card would arrive with his info in the return address and a paw print signature. Enclosed in the holiday card would be a detailed newsletter describing the happenings of his favorite “pets” from the past year, my cousin Sheila and her husband Greg, and in later years his “kid pets,” Anna and Danny.

Now you and I both know that Ben was not writing the letters but it made his greeting cards stand out amongst the other holiday cards. This tradition was something the entire family looked forward to every year. Ben’s perspective had a spin to it that everyone enjoyed reading. However, 2007 was a very difficult year for my cousin’s family and the unpleasant and emotional decision of putting their 13-year-old adored pet to sleep had to be made. It is not easy putting your pet’s pain and suffering to an end knowing it is going to be the beginning of your own.

It was difficult for the couple who had spoiled a dog for the nine years of marriage prior to the arrival of their first child. The kids had taken over the focus of attention for four years but Ben was always a beloved member of the family and his loss was deeply felt. The house was quieter, free of the black dog hair and the endless trail of chew toys and stuffed animals. Everyone felt something was missing. The most trying moment came when it was time to send out that year’s holiday cards. Who was going to account the happenings of the family this Christmas? Ben was definitely missed.

One day when I got home from doing some Christmas shopping, I casually rifled through the day’s mail, which included some Christmas cards. I noticed a greeting card envelope with two small paw prints on the front. Curious, I opened the greeting card to see a great photo of our Ben and additional photos of my cousins’ family (the kids were cute too!) Enclosed was a newsletter similar to what I had received for all those years but with a slightly different perspective. This holiday card was from Jackson and Sawyer, two lab puppies (one chocolate, one black) being given to the “kid pets” on Christmas Day. The letter ended simply: “With love from Jackson and Sawyer, in loving memory of Gentle Ben 1994-2007.” I had a good cry after reading the letter. A new pet can never replace a pet that is no longer with you, but it can be a great way to honor their memory. Well, that and the tattoos but we’ll save that story for another day!

Spread Some Joy with Holiday Card Design 086CS

GalleryCollection.com has recently introduced a new design to our already extensive Christmas cards line-up – 086CS Frosted Merry Christmas Die-Cut Holiday Card. It is the sixteenth addition to our ever popular Die-Cut Christmas Cards line extension.

The friendly card design is sure to put a smile on any recipient’s face. It features nine giddy snowmen holding up a banner that reads “Merry Christmas from All of Us.” Beneath the snowmen is a die cut window that will showcase your company name, leaving a lasting impression in the minds of your customers, vendors, and employees.

Design 086CS is embossed on environmentally-friendly, white matte paper. The paper stock is not only made from windpower energy, but it is also FSC certified (SW-COC-002530). Additionally, the paper stock is Green-e certified, which means that renewable energy has been verified and approved for use in the manufacturing process.

If you’re looking to spread some joy this holiday season, what better way to do so than with design 086CS. This premium quality die cut holiday card will speak highly of your company, your taste level, and your eco-consciousness.

Buying Personalized Holiday Cards – It’s Just the First Step

You know the old saying “The cobbler’s son has no shoes?” Strangely enough, since I work for a company that makes personalized holiday cards, it actually applies to me. I heard that saying a lot as I was growing up. Why? Well first there was my uncle. We lived in an apartment in his building and of course he would be the one to call whenever there was a plumbing problem because not only was he the landlord, he also owned his own plumbing business. Yet he would come and replace our faucet with old pieces he could find laying around and sometimes use duct tape to seal a leaky pipe, always saying he would be back to fix it later. And of course, later could mean 6 months, or even a year!

Then of course there is my grandfather, who after he retired from the fire department, started his own house painting business. Yet the outside of my grandparents’ house remained unpainted for about 27 years. In fact, it didn’t get painted until after he retired from that business and handed it down to my uncle who decided to surprise them and paint their house while they were away on vacation.

Now there’s me. My company, The Gallery Collection, specializes in personalized holiday cards. I’m able to order a custom holiday card imprinted with my family’s names and a holiday message. In addition, we can have the mailing envelopes printed with our return address. I pick out my personalized holiday cards in March for goodness sake! All I have to do come December is address the envelope, stick a stamp on it and mail it! Yet there I am every December 21st or 22nd, hurriedly going through my collection of old envelopes with return addresses as I send out my Christmas cards. No, I don’t have an address book. I simply have a collection of envelopes from greeting cards that I have received over the years. If you send me holiday cards with your return address on it, you’re sure to get greeting cards back. If you don’t, hopefully I can look up your address online. If you’re not listed, you’re probably out of luck and hopefully you will learn your lesson and include your address next time! That is…if there is a next time.

Peace on Earth Expressed With Greeting Cards

A close but cynical friend, in thanking me for the Christmas cards I sent in 2001, asked me why and how I had come to choose Peace on Earth holiday cards at such a sorry time. Our grief, never forgotten, was still very raw from the senseless and insane acts of hatred that had taken so many innocent lives. I did my best to explain my thoughts, feelings and reasoning for sending Christmas cards with this theme. I have since found other examples of peaceful greetings throughout history, whose simple statements are eloquent on the necessity for all of us to achieve peace on Earth through our thoughts and actions.

“A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.”
– Aesop

“Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy.”
– Thomas Jefferson

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.”
– Abraham Lincoln

“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.”
– Jawaharlal Nehru

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
– Calvin Coolidge

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
– Neil Armstrong

“The journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step. So we must never neglect any work of peace within our reach, however small.”
– Adlai E. Stevenson

These benevolent words can inspire us to seek peace on Earth through everyday actions. Each of the Christmas cards I send expressing peaceful greetings is one small step that I can take toward making this world a better place.