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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

City Scenes Christmas Cards Featuring Photos of Your Favorite Cities Have Arrived!

Ok, I’m a creature of habit. I pick the same type of holiday card every year. I tend to gravitate towards winter, landscape scenes. I look and compare and look some more, until I find the perfect card that calls out to me! I like to look at the card and imagine myself transported into a peaceful village, with smoke swirling out of the chimneys. I always feel at peace as I look at these wonderful holiday scenes. I was very content picking my cards. Until, that is, our new City Scenes Christmas Cards arrived.

These beautiful Christmas cards depict scenes of great cities. As I look at them, I can imagine myself transported into some places that I have not had the privilege to see, as well as a couple that I have.

Design 76ACW - New York City, Tribute in Light Christmas Card
Design 76ACW - New York City, Tribute in Light
Christmas Card

My personal favorite card is Design 76ACW – New York City, Tribute in Light Christmas Card. No matter where you are or what cities you have been to, we can all relate to these powerful, symbolic lights that commemorate the World Trade Center! As I look at the scene, I feel some sadness, but more than that, I feel such a sense of pride. I’ve always known that I live in a great country, but this event showed that we are also a great people and capable of great things when we all work together!

Some other scenes show the Boston Harbor, Seattle’s Space Needle, Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and the White House, in Washington, D.C., just to name a few. Take a look through our selection and I’m sure that you will find one that jumps out at you. Like me, you might just have a hard time deciding!

My Holiday Cards Tradition

As a child growing up in the 70’s I always associated the exchange of holiday cards with Christmas. I can remember the excitement of Christmas preparation and with that the picking and choosing of our family’s holiday card. My Mom would look forward to the holiday for weeks in advance. Carefully choosing our family card, my Mother would then meticulously develop the card list, and beautifully personalize everything with all of our names, even the family dog.

Although it is indeed better to give than to receive, we all excitedly anticipated receiving our cards in the mail. It was a race to see who got the first look at the incoming cards. Some personalized holiday cards were signed with just names, while others had paragraphs of stories. Friends we talked to every day and cousins we hadn’t seen for years. All incoming cards were displayed for all to see hanging from the archway into our living room. Every year we counted them all to see how many we received. When family and friends would visit during the season you could see them looking for their card on display.

Now that I am all grown up with children of my own, I continue the tradition started by my mother. Every year we choose our family holiday card and mail it to family and friends. My kids enjoy reading the cards and displaying them in our living room just as much as I did.

Holiday Wreath Cards at Christmas Time

My Mother and Father could never tell me when it was Christmas, as the thought of all of the fun filled family moments would make me utterly sick with excitement. I would lie awake, which seemed to be all night long, waiting for the noise of his sleigh bells, the sound of glistening snow tapping my bedroom window, the moon shining through our living room window and Santa’s arrival. Mom would decorate a circle of greens with ornaments of shiny red and gold which included sprigs of holly, the tiniest little red berries and a golden bow. The wreath’s fragrance of the forest permeated our home before our family walked through the front door. I knew Christmas was getting closer, and the man who had white hair, and a red suit, would bring special toys to my two sisters and I. I would save my small allowance so I could walk to the Red Letter Gift shop to buy my parents something beautiful. My next clue that my favorite holiday was approaching was the daily arrival of the man in the white truck who delivered our mail…beautiful shiny, shimmering holiday wreath cards. These cards looked just like the wreath my Mom dressed up for our big wooden door. Perhaps she got her idea from those cards. Many other cards were decorated with white sparkling snow covering pointed green trees that led me to even more anticipation. I knew that Dad would soon take all of us to pick out our Christmas tree.

Christmas has always blessed my family with so many extraordinary memories. I have always remembered the excited feeling I got when all of my parent’s very special friends and family took the time to send us their beautiful shiny, shimmering Christmas cards. These friends always wrote a special wish for us. In the time of computers, email and cell phones, some have forgotten about the beauty and the thrilling feelings that Christmas cards deliver to your heart. I learned the thought, time and personal touch a Christmas card brings to my favorite holiday warms the heart for a life time. I continue to encourage my own children that a Christmas card or any type of greeting card will warm, encourage and make a special person smile. And to all a good night!

Personalized Holiday Cards + My Dog = Business Booming

When companies send personalized holiday cards there are always different thoughts behind them. Should it be informal, should it be formal, should I do foil, should I do ink? This paralysis of analysis can sometimes slow you down so much you don’t bother even sending cards out.

It may not seem like a big deal but getting personalized Christmas cards out to your clientele is truly significant. In these trying times it is nice to know someone remembers you spent money there. The card puts you back on the mind of your valued customer.

I found a fool proof way of doing cards each year. I sell heavy equipment parts. So each year I take a picture of my dog Frank and pose him on a new construction vehicle as the driver. So when I make my Christmas cards, I throw in the added bonus of a picture of Frank inside.

You cannot even imagine the reception this gets each year. There isn’t a returning customer who doesn’t ask about Frank when he or she comes through the door. And the key to that statement is, “when he or she comes through the door.” I want my customers to return, I hope if you are a business owner you would want the same. I guess the only exception would be a funeral home. I suppose there is not much return business when it comes to that.

In most businesses you need to go that extra mile for your customers. The moral of the story is take time to put together a personalized Christmas card and have fun with it. It does not have to be something you worry about doing each year, you can make it exciting!