Christmas Cards and their Lasting Beauty

It’s February and I just put away the Christmas cards that were sent to me this past holiday. You may wonder why it took me this long. Yes, I know it’s been a month and a half since Christmas but I was enjoying the artistry of the holiday cards and didn’t feel the need to take them down immediately. Or maybe I’m just lazy!

During the Christmas season, I display all of the holiday cards that my husband and I receive on the back of our front door. With a little tape and strategic positioning, the door quickly turns into a collective masterpiece of Christmas trees, ornaments, snowmen, and landscapes. Photo cards showcase the smiling faces of our nieces, nephews, and friends’ children, who all seem to grow up faster and faster every year. Also included are business Christmas cards extending season’s greetings from our employers and colleagues. It’s nice to pass by the colorful display and admire all of the well wishes sent to us by friends and family.

All good things must come to an end though, so I relented and decided it was time to take down the holiday cards. I don’t throw them out because I like to reuse the designs in creative and eco-friendly ways. Greeting cards are perfect for making decorations or adding some style when wrapping gifts. Keeping our Christmas cards also ensures that we include each sender on next year’s mailing list. I look forward to seeing new cards next Christmas!

The Benefits of Business Anniversary Cards

When do you expect to get an anniversary card? Wedding anniversaries? Sure. Personal milestones? Of course. But how about an anniversary card for the date you started your job? Business anniversary cards were never anything I had even considered – that is, until I got one!

I couldn’t imagine why I was getting mail from my office but was pleasantly surprised upon opening it. Inside the deckled-edged envelope was a magnificent anniversary card, signed by the company executives and thanking me for my hard work and devotion. It reinforced my feelings of being appreciated and valued at my job, and I surely was happy to go to work the next day.

But think about the opportunities. If business anniversary cards can make your employees feel valued, then imagine how they can make your customers feel. Why not send clients or vendors anniversary cards to observe the day they began working with your company? And in the same way these cards might encourage your employees to look forward to going to work, which after all is a good thing, business anniversary cards might make your customers look forward to giving you some extra business!

For the Love of Sending Greeting Cards

My friends will all tell you how much I love sending greeting cards. I’m the type of person who has been known to read half the cards in the store before selecting the perfect one (which is why nobody I know will go to a card store with me). I don’t just send birthday cards or Christmas cards; I love sending thinking of you cards or even “Today is Wednesday” cards. Whatever the occasion, I’ll buy cards in advance so I have them on hand when needed. Naturally, when I started working for a greeting card company, my friends laughed and said I must be in heaven now.

I am in heaven because not only are there new and beautiful cards to admire every year, I am surrounded by people who continually chat about greeting cards. “How do you like the new birthday cards?” our Creative team wonders. “Which Christmas cards are your favorites?” asks our Chief Marketing Officer. “Did you see the new assortment box?” questions a coworker. The all-things-greeting-cards atmosphere combined with the enthusiasm of our employees are surefire ways to produce a quality product that I personally love to talk about.

So when my boss asked me to write for our greeting card blog, I decided that my love of greeting cards was the perfect topic. Greeting cards are a wonderful way to connect with people, and I’ll share a tip…I save and reuse cards too. I cut up the cards with great pictures and use them as gift tags or presents. This is a terrific way to reuse a paper product, and anything friendly for the environment can’t be a bad thing.

Business Thank You Cards – A Classy Way to Apologize

I recently got back from visiting a friend who lives in Cincinnati. The trip was very enjoyable, with the exception of the return flight back to Newark. On that flight, I accidentally spilled my complimentary soda on Roy, a very well dressed business man sitting next to me. I was extremely embarrassed to find out that he had to go directly to a meeting after landing at the airport. I felt so bad about the incident that I offered to give him some money to cover the cost of dry cleaning. What was even more embarrassing was that I was all out of cash when I opened my wallet! So I took down his full name and address, promising that I would send him the dry cleaning money in the mail once I got home.

When I returned home, I immediately opened up a box of business thank you cards. I enclosed $25 in the card and wrote a note thanking Roy for his patience and understanding. A few months later, I received a greeting card in the mail. Apparently Roy had pulled my address off the return label of the original envelope and decided to send me a thank you card. Inside he wrote a note saying that he was impressed with my honesty in sending him the dry cleaning money. In addition to this, Roy was intrigued with the concept of using corporate greeting cards and started sending them to his business clients. He noted that he has already gotten positive feedback on the cards, which he feels will lead to customer loyalty.

The best part of this story was that Roy enclosed a small envelope inside the card. It contained $8.73…the leftover change from his dry cleaning bill.