Author: Henry L.

Christmas Cards and My Big Italian Celebration!

Ah, the joys of Holiday traditions….

It’s a magical scene:  A perfectly shaped triangular Christmas tree is nestled in the corner of our cozy living room.  Personalized Christmas cards for every little boy and girl signed by Santa Claus accompany each gift under the tree.  Overstuffed red and green stockings line the fireplace.  To me, this paints the perfect picture of Christmas.  It wouldn’t be quite complete though, without the most important tradition of our never-ending feast, filled with all the holiday favorites!

The month-long celebration usually kicks off at Thanksgiving, but the real treat is on Christmas Eve when my grandmother brings out her old recipe book from the attic.  I’m sure she knows how to make everything from memory after twenty-something years, but the perfectionist she is, each ingredient has to be measured to the teaspoon to be sure its just right.

Depending on your background, there may be a few traditional dishes that are always served on Christmas Eve.  For my family, it’s the “Feast of the Seven Fishes” meal consisting of anchovies, lobster tails, stuffed shrimp, eel, baccala (salted cod fish), mussels, and clams which are all prepared with my great-grandmothers special seasoning.  To compliment the main attraction, everyone takes part in bringing homemade side dishes such as pasta, meatballs, sausage and peppers, potatoes, vegetables, salad, and lots of fresh Italian bread and butter for dipping.

After filling our tummies, it’s time for the kids’ favorite part of the day – opening presents. First everyone has to open their Christmas cards. Once a peaceful scene, the living room soon erupts into chaos as the first present is opened.  Ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper are strewn around the room in a happy mess of children and toys.  While the kids are preoccupied with their new gadgets, the adults move on to the next order of business and start preparing dessert.  Classics like fresh cannolis, Neapolitan ice cream, Rice pudding, and my grandmothers famous triple-Chocolate Cherry mousse cake are always big hits.

Once everyone has eaten to their hearts content, it’s time to make the long journey back home to snuggle in our beds and await the second round of festivities on Christmas day.  In the words of Santa Clause from my favorite Christmas tale: “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Work Appropriate Secret Santa Ideas

I don’t know about you, but I have always had a hard time picking out holiday gifts for my co-workers. Last year, when the Secret Santa rolled around to me, I picked the name of someone I barely knew. That’s when I started re-thinking office Secret Santa gifts. I have always helped pick out our business Christmas cards, as I love the Christmas season, but the Secret Santa puzzle was turning me into a Grinch. I started to think about gift card ideas. I came up with a few versatile places that suited most people. Then I thought maybe I could get a small gift from the place as well as a gift card. After some serious thought, this is my list of Secret Santa gift ideas that suit (almost) everyone and aren’t too hard on the wallet:

•    Café gift – a gift card to a coffee shop, a small packet of tea or coffee, all packaged nicely into a beautiful mug
•    Foodie gift – a gift card to either a restaurant or a unique food store, a small package of food (i.e. cheese and crackers, or cookies), packed together in a basket
•    Music gift – an iTunes or record store gift card, a Holiday mix CD (They’re sold at bookstores and online, or you can make one yourself!), packed together in a music-themed gift bag
•    Library gift – a bookstore or Amazon gift card, a copy of either a cool book or magazine, tied together with a beautiful Holiday ribbon

One of the additions I made to these gifts was to use a copy of our business Christmas cards to hold the gift card. This way, I didn’t have to spend extra money on a card I wouldn’t be sending. It turned out that the card was the thing everyone remarked about, saying it was such a personal touch to give one of our cards to a co-worker. I don’t know if she ever used the gift, but she kept the card at her desk for months!

Personalized Christmas Cards Are A Gift In Themselves

Part of the excitement of the holidays for me isn’t just setting up the Christmas tree or shopping for presents but it’s also looking forward to receiving personalized Christmas cards. I remember being a little girl and looking forward to bringing in the mail in hopes that there were cards for us to place up on the mantel. I would pick out the scenes on the front of the cards that I liked best and after Christmas was over, I would cut them out and use them for fun projects. Sometimes I would cut them out and make Christmas tree ornaments from them to hang on the tree for the following year.

As I have grown up and started my own family, I haven’t lost that giddy feeling of opening my mailbox and receiving Christmas cards of my own. Having some friends and family members that have since moved away, the only way I get to see their families grow is when I receive my Christmas cards in the mail. I’m now an adult and don’t receive many gifts from Santa , so receiving the Christmas cards in the mail and ripping open the envelopes are like opening Christmas presents. I feel like for most of December, I get to open a gift.

I hope that my children will continue to carry on this tradition and so will their children. To me, Christmas cards are just as important as Santa, presents, a Christmas tree and carols. As time goes on, I hope that this will continue to be a tradition that keeps on giving.

Design 734CW – Lyrical Tree Christmas Card

The Gallery Collection has done it again! Just when you think they can’t get any better they come up with vertical business Christmas cards. Design 734CW – Lyrical Tree Christmas Card is just one example of the beautiful designs available. The design is a mix of litho and foil printed on Mohawk Smooth White; this card stock is FSC certified paper so not only is it a very clever card it is eco-friendly. Business Christmas cards always stand out in a crowd of other cards, but now with vertical they can also stand above the rest.

Design 734CW – Lyrical Tree Christmas Card, is exactly that, lyrics to the Christmas carols “Deck the Halls” and “Oh, Christmas Tree” which are printed as if the words were ribbon-swirling back and forth to become the shape of a Christmas tree. The lyrics are decorated with bright gold foil ornaments which are embossed to make them really pop.

Design 734CW - Lyrical Tree Christmas Card
Design 734CW - Lyrical Tree
Christmas Card

We all know how important it is to send Christmas cards to the loyal people that support our businesses throughout the year, and it is equally important to send the best quality cards around!

Sending Corporate Holiday Cards Is Just Good Business!

There are a number of good reasons I send corporate holiday cards to my customers. The rationale is simple; it’s good business. I use them to impress my customers with the fact that I truly appreciate working with them and working for them. At a time of year that’s all about goodwill, sending a card is a great way to connect with the VIP’s of our business…the customers. Christmas cards work for me, but for bigger companies with a more diverse customer list the solution is easy; go with more general holiday cards.

The biggest problem I have is selecting a card! But it’s time well spent, because there’s only one thing better than sending the card, and that’s sending a card that really gets noticed. I get compliments on the cards I send every year; how stunning they are, how original, nostalgic, sophisticated, etc. What started out as a sincere effort to say “thanks” turned into an amazing marketing tool. It’s a  real win-win proposition.

I’m usually pretty traditional with my selections, but this year I might go out on a limb. I’ve been looking at a couple Christmas cards for business on black paper. With bright gold, green and red foils they’re really attractive and classy. They caught my eye right away, and I’m thinking they might be just the right touch this year!

My Holiday Greeting Cards Dilemma – Imprint or Hand Sign?

Some things were just simpler when I was single – I knew everyone I was sending holiday greeting cards to and could just take care of writing and addressing them when it suited me. I have traditionally hand signed my annual cards and very often – depending on the recipient – added a personal note. I didn’t have to consult anyone when picking out a design or deciding on the greeting for the inside. Some years I wanted a winter scene or snowflakes while other years I’d gravitate towards one with a beautiful ornament – a personal favorite of mine. With so many gorgeous cards to pick from, it’s always a challenge to choose just the right one.

You’ll notice the overabundance of “I” so far?   Well up until last year, I only had to consider “I”.  Now that I’ve been fortunate enough to find the most perfect-absolutely-fabulous man in the world and was smart enough to marry him, many, many things have changed.  While some adjustments are obvious, some are less so.  All of a sudden my (now our) mailing list just about doubled in size.  The chosen design has to represent both of us – no longer just me.  We also have to agree on the greeting and of course, how do we deal with who signs which cards?

Luckily, friends of ours (also recently married) made a great suggestion which eliminated this problem. Over a leisurely lunch, laptops at the ready, we were able to agree on our first design together along with which greeting we wanted to send to our friends and families.  Now for “who’s going to sign them?”  Imprinted holiday cards solved this for us.  We had both of our names and a short message printed at the bottom of the cards and there was still plenty of room if either of us wanted to handwrite something.  They looked great and our problem was solved.  We also decided to include our new address on the flap of the envelope so everyone would have it.   As a couple, we were really happy with the cards we sent out and intend to do it again this year.

Snowflake Christmas Cards – No Two Alike

They say that no two snowflakes are alike. Well the same goes for the snowflake Christmas cards offered by The Gallery Collection, You may find other similar snowflake cards just as you may find other similar snowflakes, but the nicest array of these traditional symbols of Christmas can be found right here. There is a wide array of snowflake card designs on the website to choose from and you will not find these exquisite designs any place else. Some cards showcase just the snowflake, while others use snowflakes as details to complement a deer, or a snowman or penguins. The dark stock cards with the silver snowflakes on the front are gorgeous, and you can personalize them with silver foil. The silver foil on the inside of the card echoes the silver on the front of the card for a dramatic presentation.

Design 850CS - Midnight Snowflake Sparkle Holiday Card
Design 850CS - Midnight Snowflake Sparkle
Holiday Card

Snowflake Christmas cards can be sent to those who don’t celebrate Christmas but want to celebrate the season. Not all of them reference Christmas – some say Holiday Greetings or Season’s Greetings. So if you are a fan of snowflakes there are several designs from which to choose. And whether you live in cold weather climates that experience these frozen ice crystals or you live in warm weather climates and just want to associate the season with the symbol you will find exactly what you are looking for.

Making The Most Out Of Personalized Christmas Cards

Each year, when I sit down with my Christmas list, which is inevitably long, my husband asks the same question. “Are you really going to wrap all those?” You see, the gifts don’t bother him, but wrapping, to him, is a waste of time and a waste of paper. He does not understand why I would go through so much trouble to give my friends, family members, and co-workers small gifts that are wrapped perfectly. I explain, every year, that it’s my way of showing that I care. Last year, things were a bit different. I just didn’t have the time! I looked at my Christmas lists, one for gifts and one for cards, and I had a light bulb moment. I realized I could wrap the small gifts in our personalized Christmas cards! My husband was obviously ecstatic about this plan, and he even “wrapped” his gifts for others all by himself.

We themed the “small” gifts around this idea and we ended up having so much fun picking out gifts in every price range. In the end, it turned out we had bought all our gifts to fit in cards. My co-workers received glass pendants, his co-workers received ornaments, and many on our list received gift cards. Since we always buy personalized holiday cards, with our names and a message printed inside, we used those beautiful cards to wrap everything. We sent our daughter a pair of handcrafted earrings and a gift card, and our son-in-law received tickets to a game. The most exciting part of our “small” gift adventure was the challenge. It was like a game, trying to find gifts in every price range that we could fit inside our Christmas cards. My husband had such a good time; he’s continuing the tradition this year!

Holiday Cards For Business – It’s The Thought That Counts

We have all heard of the age old saying, “It’s the thought that counts.” You would usually refer to this saying if you receive something that you either did not want or felt someone put very little thought into presenting you with. The same comparison can be made about holiday cards for business. You get a card, open it up, and it is so flimsy that you only response can be, “Well, it’s the thought that counts…I guess.”

When a company chooses to order their holiday cards from The Gallery Collection, they are demonstrating the fact that they care about the message that they’re sending to their customers and clients. They can choose from many appealing and appropriate designs. Next they can select a greeting from the many offered, or they can customize their own greeting. Next they choose the coloring of the print inside from one of the lovely ink choices or elegant gold or silver foil. A company can further personalize their corporate holiday cards by adding a company logo or employee signatures.

From the time the recipients open up one of these holiday cards and see the elegantly lined envelopes, and after pulling out the card and seeing how beautifully it is adorned, they will realize that this is a card experience like no other. Once they feel the weight of the sturdy card and proceed to open it they will be excited by the elegance within. They will definitely know that a lot of thought went into the selection of that card and that their business relationship with the company was appreciated.

As a business you do have the option of buying a box of ordinary holiday cards, but when your customers receive Gallery Collection business holiday cards, they will know that they were well thought of…and that is what really counts!

Christmas Tree Cards – An American Holiday Classic

Deciding what style Christmas cards to order can often be an overwhelming decision. There are so many choices to choose from and new cards are being designed every year. When deciding what style card to order, I often find the best way to decide is to go with classic Christmas tree cards. New styles of cards come and go every year, and while there is certainly a demand for these cards, I prefer the traditional Christmas tree cards. These  cards never go out of style and are an iconic symbol of the American holiday season. By combining a personalized card with the classic Christmas tree you are getting the best of both styles – traditional style meets contemporary design.

My family has been sending holiday cards as long as I can remember. It started out with my mom and dad; my brother, myself and the family dog all signing the card (Molly substituted her paw print for a signature).  Molly eventually passed away and sadly the number of signatures was reduced from five to four. When my brother and I moved away to college the signatures were reduced even further. Today the number of signatures is down to just two. My father passed away and the new family pet Bailey has taken over for Molly! Now that I am an adult and I think back to those days when there were five signatures on the card, it really was a very special time in my life. As I grow older I find myself reflecting on those days more and more. Holiday tree cards are indeed a great way for the entire family to express their thoughts and feelings to those who truly matter to them the most.