In association with DailyLit.com, The Gallery Collection is offering free digital downloads of Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic, A Christmas Carol. The free digital versions have been made possible by DailyLit.com, who sends books to readers in digital installments via email or RSS feed.
If you’re interested in signing up for free digital installments of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, please visit: http://dailylit.com/books/christmas-carol.
RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ – December 3, 2008 – Prudent Publishing’s GalleryCollection.com, the leading personalized Christmas cards and corporate Holiday cards publisher in the nation, announced today that it has joined Operation Gratitude and the 2008 Army-Navy Football Game to support deployed service members through Operation Gratitude’s “Letters to Heroes” letter writing campaign.
Operation Gratitude has been sending care packages to individual service members deployed overseas since 2003. “Letters to Heroes” coordinates efforts to provide heartfelt letters to service members, which are then included in each care package.
GalleryCollection.com and Operation Gratitude donated 28,000 holiday cards and will distribute the cards at the 109th Army-Navy Game, being held at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on December 6. At the game, fans will use the holiday cards to write personal letters of appreciation to service members, and these personalized Christmas cards will be delivered in each Operation Gratitude care package.
Holiday cards will also be made available for personalization at several Philadelphia hotel welcome tables, the Army-Navy Gala held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on December 5, and Penn’s Landing.
The first Army-Navy Game kicked off in 1890 at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, but it didn’t become a true annual tradition until 1930. Generally played on the first Saturday in December, the game is considered one of the longest lasting rivalries in college football. To learn more about the 2008 game, visit http://www.PhillyLovesArmyNavy.com/.
To learn more about Operation Gratitude and how to contribute to the organization’s military support efforts, visit http://www.opgratitude.com/.
About GalleryCollection.com – Prudent Publishing’s GalleryCollection.com is the leading publisher of premium quality Christmas cards and business Holiday cards in the United States. Established in 1929 and still family owned, the company offers direct-from-the-publisher prices that include customized ink and foil imprints, a large selection of memorable greetings, and matching deckle-edged envelopes made of recycled paper. GalleryCollection.com also offers numerous types of all occasion greeting cards including business birthday cards, thank you cards, and anniversary cards, many of which are FSC-certified (SW-COC-002530) and produced with Green-e certified
Contact:
Greg Koizim
(201) 641-7900 x427
About Operation Gratitude – Operation Gratitude (www.operationgratitude.com) is the 501 (c) (3) non-profit, volunteer organization that annually sends 100,000+ care packages of items and letters addressed to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile overseas regions. Its mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member’s face and to express to all troops the appreciation and support of the American people. Since its inception in March, 2003, Operation Gratitude has shipped more than 375,000 packages to American troops deployed overseas.
Contact:
Carolyn Blashek
www.youtube.com/OpGrat
Infoline: (818) 909-0039
Tel: (818) 789-0123
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” a quote by John Lennon, is quite profound and can mean different things to different people. To me, it means that life can be so busy and hectic that in many instances we lose sight or control of what we would like to do. Before we know, years have gone by and we regret missing out on the things we wanted to do.
For instance, think of all the people that you have met and lost contact with over many years’ time. Whether it be coworkers, neighbors, teammates from a club or sports team…how many really close friends do you not see as often as before, or perhaps, never?
So how do we try to keep something like this from not occurring? One way is to make sure personalized Christmas cards are sent to those whom you may not have social contact with—either seldom or at all—to let them know they’re in your thoughts. Custom Christmas cards can be personalized with a longer, personal message or a shorter, handwritten message on the inside of the Christmas cards.
In any event, it is the thought that counts (as they say), and keeping touch with someone by sending custom Christmas cards each year is a great way to let someone know you’re still thinking about them even you may not have seen them for a long, long time.
If you’re looking for a way to create the perfect custom Christmas cards, look no further for I’ve got the answer for you! The key to making that lasting impression is to make your Christmas cards a personalized experience to each person you’re writing to. And no, that doesn’t mean you have to buy difference greeting cards for all your recipients.
I’m sure it’s been said before about many things, but the personalized touch is all about the details. You should start off by picking out your personalized holiday cards design. This design should be something your recipients would like, but more importantly something that reflects your personality. Next pick out a greeting that you would actually say to people in conversation. Creating an original greeting that is universal for your friends is another way to really make your cards unique. There is no escaping having to pen in something in writing to each of your recipients, but remember to make your writing stand out with a high quality pen and ink.
When you personalize your holiday cards, it really makes the season special. Giving generic store bought Christmas cards with nothing more than the person’s name and a generic season’s greetings will have your recipients smile. However, the combination of a beautiful design, a greeting from the heart, and a thought out, hand-printed message written from you in fine ink will have them thankful for seasons to come.
Oh the weather outside is frightful, and shoveling is so not delightful…so much to a large extent that my back is now in shambles! I’m one of those guys who tends to hurt himself getting out of bed, never mind having a driveway of snow in my way. So the snow came down…it has been shoveled, and now I’m taking a sick day because I can’t get out of bed.
Can there be anything worse than this? Well I guess there can but I’m talking about me now. There’s nothing on TV, the dog won’t leave me alone, and I would rather sit in silence then call my fiancé one more time.
Oh look, the mail is here. Maybe I’ll get up for a minute to see if the new Sporting News has come out. Oh shucks! It hasn’t. This was a wasted trip. Oh wait, maybe not. Here’s an envelope addressed to me from my dear Aunt Rose who resides in Florida.
I open it up and then followed today’s first and only smile. My aunt has decided to send me a holiday Card. That may not mean much to you, but to me that’s big. Someone took the time to pick from hundreds and thousands of personalized Christmas cards one that would make me smile.
How did she know a snowman would bring this smile to my face? Who knows, but sometimes holiday cards can do that to you. In an era where people don’t like to take the time…a holiday card shows me you care. A bad back couldn’t even take that away.
To me Christmas cards were something I was used to receiving rather then giving. I guess the old Christmas saying, “It’s better to give, than receive,” was meant for someone other than me.
I was never one to give personalized Christmas cards. In fact, at home my wife and daughter usually held this honor. And I must say, it was an honor they both did with great enthusiasm. However, a career change would eventually alter my perception about giving Christmas cards.
My earlier business occupation was in a blue collar field that was mostly dominated by men. We were not accustomed to giving gifts and exchanging personalized holiday cards with each other. For the holidays we would usually have a quick group lunch. Afterwards, we would run home to help out our wives.
However, as the world changed, so did our field. More and more women began taking interest in the technology field and during this transition, the giving of Christmas cards became a yearly event. However, I must admit, I was a little shocked to receive holiday cards from some old-time field personnel.
Now, several years later, I enjoy giving Christmas cards. This is a way for me to show someone that I took the time to say “hi” and to wish them happy holidays. I like to send out personalized holiday cards because of my terrible handwriting. It wasn’t easy growing up as a southpaw and my handwriting is pretty terrible. I certainly never won any awards for my penmanship. Personalized Christmas cards took away a lot of the stress of signing. It’s faster and neater. My friends can easily see that the card came from me.
Today we live in a fast pace world of electronics. People don’t talk…they chat; people don’t read books…they read web pages. It’s a great feeling to receive a Christmas card because it tells me someone took the time during there busy day to think about me and to say that I am special to them.
I frequently find myself pondering over the mysteries of life, like who was the first person to find that cow milk would be good for other creatures…namely humans. Who, indeed, coined the term “human?” Who searched for wax in trees and efficiently mixed it with sugar and other chemicals to form chewing gum?
And in the same fashion, do you ever wonder where personalized holiday cards first came from? Who imagined to inscribe something artistic on some form of canvas and then thought, “Let’s get creative this year. Instead of expressing to everyone best wishes for the holidays in person, why don’t I create something festive and write a note inside it. Auntie T. might appreciate it since I haven’t seen her in years. I wonder how her dog is.” It was in this regard that the very first custom holiday cards came to be…though this being on a very basic level.
Personalized Holiday cards actually first came around in the early 19th Century from where else, but Europe. Wouldn’t you know they would be the trend-setters of the day back then as well? The first technique was founded in 1796. Lithography, as the technique was called, could be used to reproduce large numbers of drawings first drawn on a finely-textured stone, starting the craze as we know it today.
The year 1843 marks the coming of the first Christmas card in England, produced by John Calcott Horsley for Sir Henry Cole. Americans didn’t catch up until the 1860s when a German Lithographer started producing the first colored cards, although custom Holiday cards around this era were primarily associated with New Year’s (and I would think this cut the hassle of going out the next day with a hangover). And as it were, roughly 20 years later these cards were replaced with the modern Christmas card as we know it today and the large-scale marketing frenzy for personalized Christmas cards began.
It’s funny how the mind works. One question leads to another and another, until finally I’ve determined the historical roots of personalized Holiday cards.
These days, personalized Christmas cards are available in an endless variety of designs and themes, but one of my favorites is Peace on Earth holiday cards. For me, this sentiment really conveys what the holiday is all about. It also reminds me of one of the most special Christmas cards that I received many years ago. The Christmas card was from my cousin Mike. He was serving in Vietnam during the war and counting the days until his tour of duty was up so he could come home to his family in Pennsylvania. A few days before Christmas, he sent me a beautiful Peace on Earth holiday card that expressed his wishes. It showed “The Lion and the Lamb” resting peacefully side by side. I cried like a baby when I read Mike’s Christmas card and I hoped and prayed for his safe return. Thankfully, my prayers were answered and my cousin came home safe and sound three weeks later.
As I think back on that time so long ago, I realize that the one thing that all of us wish for, especially at Christmas time, is peace on Earth. This might seem like a pipedream that will never come true, but I don’t ever want to give up hope that we someday will live on a peaceful planet. I suppose that sounds naïve and unrealistic. Well, maybe so. It would probably take a miracle for our world to be at peace, but Christmas is a time for miracles, so I’m going to keep on hoping.
This Christmas, I’ll be sending Peace on Earth holiday cards to all my friends and family. Sending holiday cards is a small but meaningful gesture, one that will make me feel a little more hopeful that one day Mike’s wish will become a reality.
GalleryCollection.com is excited and proud to announce our donation of 180,000 personalized Holiday cards to Soldiers’ Angels for use in Holiday care packages to deployed troops. If you recall, last year we made a similar donation to the organization, which provides support and assistance to fallen, injured, and deployed members of the United States military.
Regardless of anyone’s personal sentiments towards the war, there are thousands of men and women stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan who won’t be able to celebrate the holidays with their friends and family. Being a publisher of holidays cards – and in the spirit of the Soldiers’ Angels credo, “May no soldier go unloved” – GalleryCollection.com wants to make sure that no soldier feels forgotten this holiday season. So all 180,000 of our troops stationed overseas will be receiving an imprinted holiday card thanking them for their services and wishing them a happy Holiday Season and New Year.
We are donating three different peace-themed greeting cards. Here is what each design looks like:
And here is the personalized message that will be imprinted on the inside of each card:
We also donated an additional 180,000 blank holiday cards to a fellow company, which will be sending the cards to each service member overseas to write home to their family and friends.
Stay tuned for more activities involving GalleryCollection.com and Soldiers’ Angels.
I don’t know about you but I always have the hardest time picking out my Christmas cards every year. I personally like to go with one of the winter scenes cards we offer since they seem to be the most universally appealing to the very diverse group of people on my holiday cards list. I also have a personal preference for the personalized holiday cards we offer with winter scenes since they bring back some very happy childhood memories
I am especially fond of winter scene cards depicting a country landscape, since those greeting cards remind me of the Christmas tree farm we would trek to every winter to cut down our family Christmas tree. If you have visions of ten-year-old girl wielding an ax, don’t worry, my dad was in charge of the cutting and my sisters, brother, and I were in charge of getting the hot chocolate and apple cider from the stand set up in the farm’s barn.
Looking back, my parents were pretty brave taking their five kids on this annual adventure. We weren’t exactly the most pleasant group of people to have in the back of a station wagon (later on, a minivan) for the two hour trip from our home in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon to the farming communities brimming with Christmas tree farms. Looking at winter scenes Christmas cards really puts a smile on my face. I think I’ll send one of those greeting cards to my parents and siblings to see if they all have the same thought when they get their holiday cards in the mail this year.
