Tips and Advice Center

In addition to sending tides of good cheer, holiday cards are also ideal for expressing gratitude and thanks for friendship, support, or even for a gift you may have received earlier in the holiday season.

When personalizing your holiday card, be sure to be specific when expressing gratitude. If you are thanking a friend or loved one for friendship, note some elements of the friendship you cherish and why you may cherish them. If it is for support, perhaps during a tough time, let the recipient know just how much he or she helped you.

If your “thank you” is for a gift from a friend or loved one, directly reference the item in your personalized note. You may also want to include a few lines on how you intend to use the gift, if applicable.
Remember, holiday cards are a great way to reach out and communicate with a friend or loved one; be sure to take full advantage of the opportunities they offer.

With a little organization and thought, you can send beautiful happy holidays cards and still stay within a reasonable budget.

Start planning in advance to determine how many holiday cards you should send. Be sure to work in the cost of stamps as well as any other card features you might like to have, such as imprinted paper holiday cards or return envelopes. Keep your list of recipients for these holiday cards within what makes sense for your budget. For example, the rules of etiquette maintain that you should send holiday cards to those who have sent you cards in the past as well as anyone new, including close friends or associates.

Affordable, yet elegant, holiday cards are available through many online retailers, such as HolidayCardsUnlimited.com, who offer boxed holiday cards that fit a wide range of budgets while still delivering value. They accomplish this through a wide variety of boxed holiday card designs all constructed out of high-quality card stock with beautiful graphics.

According to the Greeting Card Association, there are numerous emotional benefits from exchanging holiday cards. Holiday greeting cards are an opportune time to focus on building friendships and nurturing personal and professional relationships. Whether the card is shared between a husband and wife or long-lost college friends, holiday greeting cards are a way to build special connections between people and share sentiments and personal feelings in writing.

Holiday cards are also a perfect way to cross generational borders and figuratively bring those living geographically apart much closer. For many, these happy holidays cards may serve as a keepsake to revisit special moments in time.

Whether you are sending funny holiday cards, recycled holiday cards, or patriotic holiday cards, you and your recipient can enjoy positive emotional benefits. Given our reliance on e-mail which is often associated with impersonal correspondence, sending paper holiday cards offer a refreshing way to connect with others.

Americans love to greet, especially during the holidays. This is not just evident by the stacks and stacks of unique holiday cards available. Statistics gathered by the Greeting Card Association prove that holiday greeting cards are huge in America.

• Americans purchase seven million greeting cards each year from more than 3,000 greeting card publishers.
• Nine out of ten households buy greeting cards with an average of thirty cards per year for each household.
• The most popular holiday cards are Christmas and related seasonal holiday cards, which account for more than sixty percent of all seasonal card sales.
• In 2008, more than two billion boxed and individual Christmas cards were sold in the U.S. alone.
• Holiday cards can be purchased from nearly 100,000 national retail outlets. And despite the convenience of e-cards, Americans still understand the value paper holiday cards, they remain the most popular.

Knowing what to say in paper holiday cards can be one of the most challenging aspects of sending your cards each year. The good news is that you don’t have to go it alone. There is so much help at your fingertips.

One of the most ideal reasons for using an online holiday card greeting service is the fact that companies such as HolidayCardsUnlimited.com offer a range of greetings that can be imprinted for customized holiday cards. These same companies will also imprint other messages that you may be able to use from other sources.

Start by consulting famous quotations from quote books or online quote websites. When you find something appropriate, paraphrase it while making sure the main message remains intact. It’s best not to directly lift quotes or sayings as this may come across as impersonal.

Remember, as long your message if heartfelt, you can’t go wrong. Your recipient will certainly appreciate the message.

The holidays are a time of joy, and many like to share that cheer with funny holiday cards. Scenes featuring penguins, polar bears, and Santa’s workshop can easily serve as a backdrop for humorous situations.

Humorous holiday cards are ideal for close friends and family, particularly those you’ve shared many laughs with in the past. Sending humorous holiday cards to these individuals on your list can serve a dual purpose. First, you can share a chuckle at the joke or images on the card. And also, more importantly, a personal message of caring, joy, and appreciation can really drive the holiday sentiment home.

Humorous holiday cards also work for casual acquaintances and professional colleagues. Though, don’t automatically assume that all funny cards are appropriate for all audiences. Many individuals view the holidays with respect and reverence. Stick to the safe, lighthearted humor in any card you send them.

To keep with tradition, many card givers prefer holiday cards with tried and true symbols of the season. For example, there are obvious symbols like the Christmas tree and Santa Claus. There is also much animal imagery, including the dove, which represents peace on earth, and the donkey, cow, and lamb, representing the manger animals.

A more obscure, but no less important or appropriate animal symbol can be found on cardinal holiday cards. The cardinal is known as the Christmas bird, primarily because of its bright red color. The bird is a symbol of the cheer, hope, and warmth of the season. Cardinal holiday cards provide a wonderful and traditional way of sending bright and happy thoughts to loved ones during a cold winter season.

As an interesting side note, the cardinal also contains religious symbolism. Many believe the cardinal’s bright red color represents Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. This makes the bird a unique symbol honoring both the religious and secular aspects of the holidays.

Photo holiday greeting cards are a popular option for those looking to send extra special holiday greetings. This holiday card option allows families an opportunity to share a group portrait or cute snapshot of the children that other family members and close friends can enjoy.

Photo cards are also ideal for those celebrating a new family addition. Many new parents opt out of sending an announcement mailing, opting instead to double up with a photo holiday card that also serves as a holiday greeting, saving both time and money.

Photo holiday cards that feature a slit for inserting coupled with a card “window” for viewing make for great holiday greetings. These cards allow the recipient to remove the photo after the holiday season and put the photo in a frame or album to keep long after the holiday is over. These photo holiday cards offer versatility and can be ordered from Holiday Cards Unlimited in a vertical or horizontal format to match your photo.

Cards are a wonderful way to get back in touch with an old friend, even in an age of quick connections through email and social networking. Nothing sends the message that you truly would like to reconnect like a holiday card you took the time to select, personalize, and send.

To which friends do you send cards? Should you include high school and college friends? How about old neighbors? What about friends from work? How about extended family, including cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews, and nieces? If you have a long list, count your blessings, as you are truly fortunate to have so many friends and loved ones with whom to connect.

When sending cards to friends, begin by returning the favor to anyone who already reached out to you with a card. From there, make each a personal consideration. Maybe you want to send a card to an old friend you lost touch with over the years as a means to rekindle the relationship. Think about any family or friends who need cheering up, being sensitive to the changes in their lives. A card may even lead to a closer relationship.

If it all possible, consider ditching the paper address book! One of the most efficient ways to track addresses is through a computer program like Excel or Outlook. It may take some time to set up and type in each name and address, but that time more than makes up for itself when it comes to addressing paper holiday card envelopes.

For those with a large amount of envelopes to address, consider using blank self-adhesive address labels, a printer, and a popular word processing program like Microsoft Word. Step-by-step instructions on how to set up an address label template can often be found in the program’s “Help” option or online. Try searching “how to make mailing labels” in Google to find answers to aligning the address lines and importing data from a data file.

Of course, this option is great for the computer savvy. For those less technologically inclined, trying to figure out the process may cost more time than addressing the envelopes by hand. If you decide to go the manual route, an electronically stored address book is still extremely helpful as a quick reference that is easy to update.

Stuffing the envelopes with the holiday cards and sticking on the labels is an easy task you can do while watching television in the evenings. Be sure to use a slightly damp sponge when sealing the envelopes as this saves you the unsavory task of licking each holiday card envelope.

If you are taking the time to select, personalize and send holiday cards, you probably understand what makes them so special. But just in case you need a reminder, consider these wonderful holiday card benefits.

Traditionally, greeting cards have always been a way to communicate how much you care for someone else. There is nothing better than opening your mailbox and seeing paper holiday cards from friends or family. Amongst all the bills and flyers, holiday cards are something special. Holiday cards create smiles and warm a person’s heart.

Holiday cards are a way to keep connections strong as well as bring happiness and warmth. The holidays present opportunities to express sentiments that you may otherwise overlook in day-to-day contact. Holiday cards are also an excellent way to make feel people wanted and appreciated, especially those you may not be able to see in person during the holidays.

It’s important to make holiday cards a family affair by including children, and possibly even pets, in the holiday greetings. It’s a warm and friendly way to send the well wishes of everyone, even those too young to do it themselves, or incapable of speaking!

Have older children sign their name alongside your signatures on paper holiday cards. For younger children too young to write or draw, sign for them. For smaller children able to draw but not sign, have them include a small drawing. Though, be sure to indicate on the card whom the drawing represents.

A stamp or drawing of a paw print can easily signify a family pet. Though, you can get creative and use a drawing of a bone to symbolize a dog or whiskers and pointed ears for a cat. You might even consider posing with your pets for a holiday portrait for your next batch of holiday photo cards.

Because they feature a huge selection, online holiday card retailers are an excellent source for finding specialized holiday cards that match many hobbies, careers, and personalities. Choosing a card to reflect an important aspect of your life adds a wonderful touch of personalization. Here are a few suggestions:

• An avid golfer might consider golf holiday cards.
• Wall Street holiday cards are available for those working in the financial world. Not to be left out, lawyer holiday cards are also available for legal beagles
• Nature lovers, animal enthusiasts, and outdoorsy types might consider wildlife holiday cards or cards featuring natural scenes of snow-covered mountains.
• Any comedian or yuckster can probably crack a few smiles and get a few giggles with humorous holiday cards.

Holiday cards make for festive holiday décor, especially if they are creatively displayed. Here are some ideas for doubling up your cards as holiday decorations.

Many people simply place their personalized holiday cards on the counter, table or shelf. However, holiday greeting cards can also be stuck to the wall, doors, or fireplace. Instead of damaging-causing tape and tacks, try Blue-Tac, which is a putty-like substance that secures the card firmly and cleanly.

Also, consider “card trees” and “card wreaths.” These festive holiday items can be found at most craft stores and double as card holders.

Finally, consider gathering all your cards and creating a scrapbook of holiday greetings. A festively designed scrapbook makes a great coffee table book for your holiday guests to casually browse through during visits.

The holidays are a time for sending thoughts of hope and optimism. Holiday greeting cards provide an excellent vessel for your well wishes and warm welcomes. Start by trying to come up with your own original verse. Be creative and have fun with your positive holiday card messages. For those who need an extra bit of inspiration when crafting greetings, try turning to famous salutations and time-tested phrases.

For example, consider a quote from inspirational author Catherine Pulsifer who provided this positive thought to share at the holidays: “If I could wish a wish for you, it would be for peace and happiness not only now, but for the whole year through!" This saying is simple, clear, and conveys a positive message.

Use this quote as inspiration when crafting your own unique holiday message. For further inspiration, browse a few other cards and read the verses. Be sure to express the sentiment in your own words, however. This makes the card truly personal.