Tag: greeting cards

Let’s Discuss Company Christmas Card Etiquette

One of my most favorite parts of the holiday season is sending Christmas cards to all my customers, family and friends.  The thing is when sending company Christmas cards there is a certain etiquette that must be followed.  Not only do you want to share your well wishes but you also want to make a statement and be remembered.

My first rule is to get them out before anyone else.  I want my card to stand out above the rest.  Sometimes waiting too long means your well-meaning gesture get lost in the mix of every other card.

Although I celebrate Christmas, I want to avoid offending anyone.  If I am unsure of their belief, I send Season’s Greetings or Happy Holiday verses instead of Merry Christmas.

The third rule of etiquette for sending company Christmas cards is to always, and I mean always, include your return address.  Not only is it important for your recipient to have your address, it is important to know if one of your customers or potential customers has relocated.  By adding your return address to the envelope, the post office will return the undeliverable card to you so you.

My last rule but of significant importance is to include a brief hand written note.   This shows that you really care and that you believe in the personal touch.   

Sending company Christmas cards is a great way to leave a lasting impression.  Just be sure to make it a good impression by following certain rules of etiquette.

Empowering Employees Through Sympathy Cards

When it comes to writing out sympathy cards for employees, some people can express their feelings with words on paper much more easily than with words in person.  Others can just get stuck and not know where or how to start.  They feel like if they write too much, it may come across like the recipient is reading a long paragraph on how sorry you are for their loss.  Yet, if they write too little, it seems as though it was a rushed sentiment, and that they did not take enough time to truly express their heart-felt thoughts. Either way, it is important to empower employees through sympathy cards regardless of the length of the message.

In the office, a sympathy card is a wonderful source of encouragement; it will make the employee feel like they are valued and are thought about on a personal level.  They are inexpensive, yet extremely rich in meaning.  Giving your employee a sympathy card simply implies “I care.”

The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult rough patches a person can go through in their lifetime. Writing a sympathy card is one of the simplest things you can do to help lift your co-worker’s spirit.  Your employee will appreciate the fact you took the time to express your feelings, and that goes a long way.

Retirement Party Ideas For Coworkers

When planning someone’s retirement party, think about what they like when it comes to the theme, speeches, and who to invite. Not all retirement parties need to be galas. Think about local hangouts, parks or even a party in the office depending on what suits the person.

A retirement party can be anything you want it to be:

  • A luncheon during the workday
  • A big gala on a Saturday night
  • A sporting event on a Sunday afternoon
  • After work dinner with the team

There are no particular etiquette rules to guide a retirement party. The party can really be anything that suits the interests and personality of the retiree.

A retirement party is the opportunity to celebrate the retiree’s past accomplishments as well as their future endeavors. The party should therefore reflect these endeavors.

Some retirement party ideas for what to do at the party are as follows: Speeches, Commemorate the Retiree, Create a theme, do invite Family and Friends of the retiree, and create a playlist with fun songs.

The final thing to decide on would be the food. If you know the retiree’s palette then you can order food that they would like followed by CAKE.

Choosing The Right Greeting For Your Holiday Cards

We’ve all been there. Fast forward, and it’s early November. The pressure is on because the Holiday season is right around the corner, and you need to pick a Holiday card to send out to your loyal customers! So, you choose a Gallery Collection Christmas Card, but you have yet to choose a greeting. Yikes!

You’re left scrambling because you want to pick the perfect one! After all, the greeting of your holiday card is extremely important. The greeting helps define your company’s wishes for the most important season of the year as well as all your well wishes for the New Year to come!

Luckily, it isn’t time just yet to panic. Let’s breakdown some options to get you ready for when the time truly comes. First, did you want to go with a short and sweet greeting? The “Season’s Greetings and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year” greeting would fit the bill! If you’ve like to say a little more, the Gallery Collection has an entire selection of longer, descriptive greetings that would work in that case too. Ones such as “Wishing You and Your family a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and peaceful New Year.” Are your recipients religious? There are also religious greetings such as “Joy to the World, let Earth receive her king!”

In the end, if you simply can’t find one that fits your needs, you also always have the option to write your own. The important thing is to find the greeting that you feel expresses your company’s morals and holiday wishes

5 Helpful Tips for Writing Meaningful Sympathy Cards

Sending sympathy cards is never one of those things we like to do. We want to acknowledge a person’s passing, but we don’t always know what to write. Often times we don’t know if we are making the recipient feel better or worse. It can be challenging to say the right thing, so I provided below 5 helpful tips for writing meaningful sympathy cards...

  1. Less is sometimes more. Try to keep the message brief especially if the greeting already expresses most of what you want to say. You might end with:
    • I am so sorry for your loss
    • We are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers
    • Sending prayers and hugs
    • Our sincere condolences
  2. Show appreciation. If you were familiar with the loved one, make it personal.
    • What a wonderful lady your Mom was. I am so fortunate to have had her in my life.
    • Celebrating the life of a great man and sharing in your mourning.
    • Remembering your Dad and all the funny stories he would tell.
  3. If you are in a position to do so, you may add a note offering help. Try to be specific and follow up on your offer.
    • Thinking of you at this difficult time. I’m here if you need a shoulder to lean on.
    • I know this is a difficult time. I am thinking of you and am here to help with walking the dog, babysitting and running errands. Please let me know.
    • I know things are hectic for you. I will call you to see what would be good night to drop off a meal.
  4. Close with a warm, graceful and respectful closing.
    • With sympathy
    • With warm thoughts and prayers
    • With prayer and sympathy
    • My heart goes out to you and your family
  5. What to avoid. Be sensitive and mindful.
    • I know how you feel
    • She is in a better place
    • He was so young
    • It was meant to be

If you are not sure what to say, it is best to keep it simple. Just sending a sympathy card will let the recipient know you care.

Expanding Family – Greeting Cards Needed!

I feel as if I’m living in a lifetime movie. Believe it or not, I recently had the pleasure of instantly adding 20 new family members! Yes, you read that right. 20! Not exactly an everyday occurrence. As we all know, more family members means more birthdays, anniversaries, and events to be prepared for. So needless to say, I need lots of greeting cards and quickly.

A little background into how this happened. Long story short, my sister and I were raised by my father. We never knew our mother. Last year, we decided to do a DNA test only to find out we had unknown second and third cousins on the other side of the country. As we dug deeper, we found our mother was still alive and had remarried. Before you know it, we found our we had 3 siblings we never knew! All of them with families and kids.

As we begin a new chapter in our ever expanding family, the plan is to keep up with all the events of their lives and catch up on everything missed. I think the best thing to do at this point is to prepare by purchasing several greeting card assortment boxes because there’s going to be a lot of events coming up in the near future and there’s no better way to prepare for all of them.

3 Reasons To Add Signatures To Your Greeting Cards

Signatures add that extra something to all of your greeting cards, but it can be difficult – not to mention overwhelming – to do. Not so with the aid of The Gallery Collection! They offer the ability to submit your signatures and print them exactly how you want them to appear inside your cards! Here are three reasons why you should add signatures to your greeting cards today!

1. By adding signatures, your cards will always look polished, professional, and exactly the way you want them – no matter the occasion! Additionally, ordering greeting cards with signatures with The Gallery Collection is easy and not time consuming at all. The process is simple. You could upload your signatures online, or if it isn’t handy, a template of your card will be sent for you to sign so you know exactly how the  placement of the signatures will appear in your card!

2. Personalizing your greeting cards with a signature will surely impress anyone -from potential new customers to co-workers to family members! The Gallery Collection even has other items, like invitations and calendars, that will really stand out with your John Hancock in any color foil.

3. Signatures add a personal touch to your greeting cards, without the hassle of wrangling the employees together for a signing party – which risks damaging the cards. If it’s many employees, it saves on time. If it’s only a few signatures your card needs, but those people are busy higher-ups, you won’t need to bother them with another request.

The Lost Art of Thank You Cards

Recognizing good deeds or generous gifts is just common courtesy; however, it seems that most people of today do not make acknowledgements of “Thank You”.
When I was growing up, my mother would always make sure we sent Thank You cards for birthday gifts, Christmas presents and any other generous offering we received. Of course, my brother and I would whine and complain because we would have to handwrite each card, but it taught us to show appreciation for all that we are given.

I would send Thank You cards out for my children when they were little but now it’s their turn. Naturally, their response is “Can’t I just send a text?” My response is to ask them how it feels when they get a card a mail. That seems to be enough of an explanation. We all get that warm and fuzzy feeling when there is a surprise in the mailbox even if it’s as simple as a card.

Doing the right thing in your personal life will carry through to your professional life. When business associates stop in with donuts or my boss brings us lunch, I always make sure to send a Thank You card. The first time I did this my boss was so surprised that I would do such a thing.

Don’t fall victim to the lost art of Thank You Cards.

A Corporate Game-Changer: Thanksgiving Cards

Thanksgiving cards are often over looked by businesses and this is a mistake. Oftentimes companies focus all of their efforts on Holiday cards each year, but why not try a new approach? Thanksgiving cards can be a fresh way to engage your clients, business contacts, and vendors.

Thanksgiving cards are a great way to send your company’s thanks and show gratitude. Since it’s before the holiday rush, and near Black Friday, this is a great time to send coupons or promotions for your products and services. Use a corporate-appropriate Thanksgiving card to send out special offers to certain clients or to advertise upcoming sales or releases.

Sending Thanksgiving cards is also perfect because of the timing. It is a great time to send a card seeing as your recipients won’t have over-flowing mailboxes yet. Your thoughtful card will stand out for sure and won’t be as likely to get tossed.

Show your appreciation with a beautiful card like the Harvest Wreath on Door Thanksgiving Card. This card is elegant and also offers you the chance to personalize the front of it with a personal message or company name. If your client displays their card, you’ll be getting a nice bit of advertising as well. Now that’s something to be thankful about!

Card Assortment Boxes Make Things Easy

Have you ever been at a work Christmas party in the past and people you did not think would give you a Christmas card…end up giving you a Christmas card?  How dare those terrible people do something nice that you did not expect!  I have been in that situation before being a veteran of many, many Christmases over the years.  Let me tell you this; I do not have that issue anymore.  I purchased a Holiday Assortment Box  and now I no longer have to fear the niceties of people.

Do not just stop there.  You can get yourself a Birthday Assortment Box as well.  Perfect for the office.  You do not want to give the same card out to people as birthdays come along.  It looks impersonal to do that.  Get a box that has multiple choices so you can vary it up throughout the year.  People will smile and you will smile in the back of your mind knowing that you cared enough to get that person to smile.  There is this thing called karma and you want to be on the right side of it as much as you can.  All in all these are two simple ways to make people happy and to get rid of the extra frustration that could creep up if you do not have cards handy.