Author: Henry L.

Personalized Christmas Cards and My Annual Holiday Poem

As the holiday season approaches, I once again begin my search for the perfect personalized Christmas cards to send to family and friends.  I love the elegance that a beautifully imprinted card portrays.  Rather than simply sending the card by itself, I have made truly custom holiday cards by including a poem about the past year and what our family has been doing.  My annual Christmas poem is meant to be the opposite of the traditional Christmas letter that sometimes turns into a resume of sorts and tends to look like the writer is bragging about their family accomplishments!  Thankfully, my family has a good sense of humor because I tend to poke fun at each of our idiosyncrasies in my annual poem.  One year, for example, I feigned surprise that our daughter had managed to keep all her fingers intact during her first semester as an architecture student building models in the woodshop.  Anyone knowing Sara’s accident-prone nature surely understood the joke.  Another year, after buying a small convertible car, I made fun of my “mid-life crisis” and my need to buy a younger looking vehicle in order to avoid the realities of aging.

Each year I get many comments and compliments about my whimsical Christmas poem.  I love hearing the responses from family and friends because I know I have accomplished my goal of transforming the traditional card into something even more unique and memorable.  The humorous spin on the year’s events has also helped our family refrain from taking life’s ups and downs too seriously.  Instead it has allowed us to embrace the inevitable challenges we all face.

People send holiday greetings to let their loved ones to let them know they are thinking of them and to lift their spirits.  This year, why not combine your elegant personalized Christmas cards with a little silliness and humor?  After all, tis’ the season to be jolly!!

The Gallery Collection Donates 40,000 Greeting Cards to Soldiers’ Angels for Returning Troops

The Gallery Collection has a long standing history of supporting our troops both at home and overseas. Today, we are proud to announce a donation of 40,000 greeting cards to Soldiers’ Angels for the troops that will be returning home from Iraq. We are especially honored to be making the announcement today, on the National Pearl Harbor Day of Remembrance, December 7th, 2011.

On October 21st, President Obama announced the end of The United States of America’s involvement in the war in Iraq. 40,000 troops will be coming home for the holidays, and The Gallery Collection is sending Soldiers’ Angels an equal number of cards for signing events, care packages and many other purposes to support our troops. We welcome our servicemen and women home gladly, and we are proud of their service to our nation.

Design 628CX - Peaceful Dove Holiday Greeting Card
One of the eight different card designs being donated by The Gallery Collection. What would you write inside greeting cards being sent to the Troops returning home?

While to many this issue is politically charged, what The Gallery Collection finds most important is the fact that after an 8 year involvement in Iraq, our troops will be returning home to family, friends, and all the people that have missed them and love them dearly. Some may feel we are bringing the troops home too early; others may feel as if the troops should have returned home years ago. But we can all agree that we will be happy to greet them when they come home.

The Gallery Collection has been working with Soldiers’ Angels since 2007, making numerous donations of greeting cards to help support them in their mission of “May No Soldier Go Unloved.” We are sincerely grateful to our troops, and pleased we can make such a large donation to welcome them home.

Company Christmas Cards Can Be For More Than Just Business

About two years ago I moved from Danbury, Connecticut to Seattle, Washington. This was a big step in my life. I was starting a new career and moving away from all my friends and family on the East Coast. After a couple months at my new job the holidays rolled around and I received beautiful company Christmas cards. The quality of the card was outstanding from the paper, to the raised design, to the writing inside. I was in awe. I was also caught by surprise because I had never received a holiday card at my old job, in Connecticut, and I had been an employee there for 4 years. This immediately made me feel special but I could not get over the quality of this card.

The next year the holidays rolled around again and I get another Christmas card from my boss. This time the card was even more dazzling. It came on blue paper with silver snowflakes and the inside had silver writing. I couldn’t resist asking my boss where he got these cards from. He told me The Gallery Collection. That day I visited the website and found hundreds spectacular cards. I knew right then I wanted to share these cards with my family.

This year I am sending all my family back on the East Coast some of these beautiful Christmas cards. I am selecting a card that has a breathtaking picture of the Seattle skyline. I love this picture because it will really give my family back home an idea of what I get to see everyday and how much I love it here in Seattle. So, don’t think corporate holiday cards are just for at work. Give them a personal touch and I’m sure your family will enjoy them as much as I have.

New York City Christmas Cards – Start Spreading The News

Finally, a card that can be saved and displayed long after the holidays are over and is gorgeous to look at too! How many times do you take a day trip into New York City and want to snap a picture that captures all the beauty and excitement of the City, but you just can’t find the right light or the right angle? Well, I’ve just seen the perfect cards. New York City Christmas cards offer a variety of New York cards with breathtaking views.

Whether you want to capture the splendor of the Statue of Liberty against the night sky or the iconic Empire State building at twilight, these cards are amazing. There is even one picture of the skyline at night with the buildings reflected in the Hudson River. It’s the perfect solution to sending a card but also sending something that can be representative of the area in which we live. New York City, in particular, has so much to offer, that this is a great way to show off the City at its best.

Design 77ACW - New York City Montage Christmas Card
Design 77ACW - New York City Montage
Christmas Card

I’m already thinking of how I can send these cards out to family and friends who might fly in and out of a New York City airport but never get to appreciate the sights of the City. These cards could also be a great reminder of a wonderful weekend spent during a family reunion or even a wedding. So may great memories will be revisited when someone opens these cards and once again remembers what a great time they had visiting the City. I even saw a card with the “Wall Street” street sign. That would be fun if I had a business in the financial district.

The more I look at these cards the more fascinated I am by them. They look like framed pieces of art. And yet, these are places I’ve been to. I have a feeling that once my friends and family who live across the country see these new cards, I may be getting more out of town guests than I’m used to who will want to see these places for themselves.

Spread Christmas Cheer With Recycled Greeting Cards

We all know it is of utmost importance to show your clients how much you value their business. Sending them Christmas cards is a great first step. What’s an even better way, you ask? How about sending them recycled greeting cards? Why not give the best impression you can possibly render?? When you send out environmentally friendly cards, you are providing an excellent example. With today’s economy, it is super important to reuse, recycle, and be “green” in as many ways as we can. Your clients will not only be impressed; they’ll be extremely happy to know that the person they conduct business with is eco-friendly.

Design 725CS - Vintage Holiday Greetings Card
Design 725CS - Vintage Holiday Greetings Card

The Gallery Collection features many Christmas Cards that are FSC certified or are produced with recycled paper. Some of those cards boast proud symbols of our green ways, such as Design 725CS – Vintage Holiday Greeting Card. In addition, our ink is agri-based ink made from vegetable oils extracted from linseed and soy. Why not take pride in the choice of cards you send out, and choose one that is ecological? Your clients will notice your good taste and be pleased. Better yet, you’ll know you’re taking the right steps to help our fragile environment while showing your clients you care!

Uncle Charlie’s Christmas Cards

As a kid I was always excited when the holiday season was on the way. Christmas was always my favorite time of the year. I loved being surrounded by family, food, fun, and of course gifts. One of the most interesting gifts that I received was my Uncle Charlie’s Christmas cards. Uncle Charlie always gave me and my brother the greatest cards. He usually would switch it up every year between money or gift cards from my favorite stores. The cards were always more interesting themselves though because of the messages he wrote in them. My Uncle Charlie was a bit of a jokester and he always had something funny to say. I recall one year he wrote to me, “Don’t tell your brother, I gave you more money.” He would write the same thing to my brother and both of us would have an evil smile on our faces laughing at each other.

Uncle Charlie’s personalized Christmas cards were also spectacular because he would sometimes include illustrations he drew himself. Uncle Charlie was quite the creative being. One year he drew Santa falling off a reindeer and dropping all of the gifts all over the bottom of the card. Another year he drew a bunch of elves hanging from the lettering inside the card. He would always tell me if I didn’t do well in school, Santa was going to drop all of my gifts into the ocean and they would float to children who deserved them. I never received a bad grade in school!

Remember Customers With Business Christmas Cards During Tough Economic Times

So you think not sending business Christmas cards this year is a good way to help save money in this recession? Think again! Now is not the time to cut back on your advertising. Sending Christmas cards is one of the best ways to increase your company’s visibility in a most economical way. In fact, now is the time to increase your mailing list. The companies that will make it through these tough times the best are those that are able to retain as many clients as possible, and sending cards is one of the best ways to accomplish that. Send Christmas cards, send Thanksgiving cards, send birthday cards – all of these will make a big impact on your recipients.

Not sure which cards will have the most impact? It’s really not that tough, just try to decide on the overall message you want to convey. The Gallery Collection offers a great array of designs from traditional to light-hearted, so you really can’t go wrong. We’ve even categorized the offerings to make your choice as easy as possible. You’ll see categories for Business, Personal, Themed, etc. You can choose whether you prefer to say Merry Christmas or a more generic Season’s Greetings wish. You can show your clients that you care about our environment by choosing a card from our Eco-Friendly category. You can’t go wrong with whichever design you choose, but you can go wrong if you don’t send your corporate Christmas cards. And remember, if you ignore your customers, they will go away!

Fan of Beantown? Send Boston Christmas Cards this Holiday Season

The Red Sox, Samuel Adams Lager, the T, Harvard Square, The Celtics, and clam chowder…. What do these all have in common?  They come from one of the most amazing cities in the world – Boston, Massachusetts!  And this year you can show your Boston Pride with our new Boston Christmas Cards!

Boston always fills visitors with a sense of history. Though it is definitely a teeming urban metropolis, much of the colonial architecture still remains. Is Cambridge your old stomping ground (or maybe your current one)? Then Design 80ACW – Boston, Cambridge Christmas Card, is for you, complete with crimson cardstock to match the Harvard colors.

Design 82ACW - Boston, Beacon Hill Christmas Card
Design 82ACW - Boston, Beacon Hill
Christmas Card

Do you want a card that portrays that classic historic Boston feel? Design 82ACW – Beacon Hill Christmas Card, features Acorn Street which was built in the late 1820s and is thought of as one of the most picturesque streets in the United States.  You can almost hear the clip-clop of horse hooves on those cobblestones.

The City of Boston is also known for its waterways, and we have cards that capture their majestic beauty. Design 71ACS – Boston Harbor Christmas Card, is the perfect choice for the nautical aficionado, featuring sail boats  and yachts so vibrantly you can almost feel the sunshine on your face and the wind in your hair. During a brisk New England winter, this card will bring a welcome reminder of warm days to come.

Nothing really says Happy Holidays like a nighttime skyline photo like Design 70ACW – Boston Skyline at Night Christmas Card.  Boston is lit up like a brilliant Christmas tree and that image is accented by the reflection of the city lights on the water. It’s a peaceful and serene scene that will also display beautifully in the homes and offices of those on your card list.

Boston is a city filled with history, tradition and beautiful scenery.  Share your love of this great city with one of our Boston Christmas cards this holiday season!

Tis The Season For Business Christmas Cards

Tis another Holiday Season before us …Bah Humbug! Another year of  business Christmas cards. It seems like the same old cards get sent year after year. But alas! I actually received  beautiful corporate Christmas cards from a company I had done business with in the past. It was one of the most intricate pieces of art I have seen in a long time. I sat back in my easy chair, read the card, and held onto every word. These days it seems that everyone is way too busy to really embrace the holidays, especially in the business world. So when I received my Christmas card I was thrilled to see that although I had not done business with them for a while they still took the time to remember me.

I was so excited about my receiving my Christmas card that I nearly forgot about all my family members coming to celebrate the holidays with me later that evening. I knew I had to get ready and had just remembered that I forgot to pick up the traditional holiday centerpiece for my table. I would have to think of something, and fast. There was no time to run back out. I hurried to gather everything needed for a warm and inviting family gathering, the fireplace was lit, the hors d’oeuvres were placed strategically around the table, the wine was chilling, Christmas lights and decor flavored the room, and the centerpiece of it all…. my business Christmas card!

The Wide-Ranging Suitability of Non Denominational Holiday Cards

Today the globe is more interconnected than ever.  Business ties span the entire world: manufacturing in China, customer service in India, distribution networks in the United States.  While today’s business environment is diverse and expansive as ever, there are still a few commonalities that can bring us closer together.  English is used as a lingua franca, bridging the various business communities together.  The Gregorian calendar helps to keep us on the same page in terms of dates.  Since almost everyone uses these standards, sending out non denomination holiday cards at the end of the year can be a good way of keeping up business contacts while ensuring that you do not offend anyone’s sensibilities.

It is important to respect the cultures and traditions of everyone you are in contact with.  A common gaffe committed is sending out Christmas cards to those who do not celebrate the holiday.  So picking a card that does not entail a specific holiday or the items stereotypically associated related with that holiday is important.  Yet, a level of intimacy can still be retained with personalized holiday cards.  Some of the best cards for this are winter themed, like a blustery winter landscape or magnified snowflakes.   If there are clients in the southern hemisphere, one might be better served with one that showcases wrapped presents.  Just be sure to stay in touch in an appropriate manner this holiday season.