Saving Paper Twice: Using Environmentally Friendly Holiday Cards

Every year around the holidays, we all send out dozens (sometimes even hundreds!) of greeting cards. Usually, we save some, display some on the mantle or the fridge, but most of them end up in a pile to be recycled. I began buying environmentally friendly holiday cards in order to make my efforts to be festive a little more green, but I still ended up recycling so many holiday cards that I received. It seemed so wasteful that I had almost given up on sending holiday cards and decided to send e-cards instead. Then I went to a friend’s house during the holiday season, and she had streamers made of cards strung up throughout her house. At the top of every doorway and even hanging from one window sill, she had ribbons strung which were holding old greeting cards. I was amazed at her ingenuity in re-using old Christmas cards as decorations. Her idea only works for horizontal cards, however, so I began to give some thought to new ideas of re-using greeting cards to decorate. This is the list of ideas I’ve come up with over the past two holiday seasons:

•    Holiday Postcards:  If I receive a holiday card which only has writing on the one panel inside, I cut the front off of the card and use it as a postcard. I draw the lines and boxes on the blank side and leave the design from the front of the card as the front of the postcard. Then I can mail someone a Christmas postcard! It costs less in postage, too. If the card design is a photograph with no writing on it, many times it is suitable for all occasions, not just holidays.

•    Holiday Streamers: My spin off of my friend’s idea was to create streamers from all kinds of cards: vertical, horizontal, even photo cards. I simply punch a hole in the top and bottom of each card and string a ribbon through the holes. The ribbon covers the back of the card so that the front design can be seen when the streamers are hung. In order to avoid the streamers being too heavy, I usually cut the card in half if it is a folded card and use only the designed half. These streamers look beautiful all over the house, and they can be used year after year. The greatest part is that you’ll never run out of materials!

•    Paper Ornaments: For those of you who want to be even more creative, you can cut ornaments out of old greeting cards. Simply make a stencil of a holiday-related object, such as a candy cane, a stocking, a Christmas tree, a dreidel, a snowflake, or any object that relates best to your holiday traditions. Using the stencil, you can cut out many matching and non-matching objects out of received greeting cards. We decorated our tree with these paper ornaments last year and they looked beautiful! This is a great, easy craft to do with children, and then you can let them color on the blank side if they wish. You can even use a little glitter glue on the edges to make it extra special.

Being eco-friendly can be so much fun, and it can be a money-saving adventure in these trying times. Kids love craft projects, especially around the holidays, and even more so when they know you’ll be displaying their beautiful artwork around the house. These ideas are just a starting point. If you think of more great craft ideas to re-use recycled greeting cards, please comment below and let me know. Happy Recycling!

Corporate Christmas Cards: Employee Edition

Corporate Christmas cards help spread holiday cheer to clients and patrons alike. And they can be good for business too, seeing as they are a great way to advertise. But during the holiday season, it’s a good idea to share some of that Christmas cheer with the people who help make your business possible—your dedicated employees!

I’ve been working retail the past three years, and, most of the time; it feels like a thankless job. Let’s be honest, there isn’t much glamour in cleaning out messy fitting rooms. And sometimes, customers can be rather…interesting, to put it nicely. It’s hard not to feel like just another cog in this well-oiled machine, being that I have sales goals to hit, and levels of service to reach. Every day. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. The under-appreciated life of a sales clerk.

But there is hope! I work for a company that sends out company holiday cards. My bosses take the time to show us that they do value the work we do, and sometimes, all it takes is a small token of appreciation to help you make it through the day. And they don’t just stop at holiday cards. I’ve also received cards for my birthday, and one card every year for my job anniversary. It’s nice to know I work for a company that cares about me.

Calendar Cards Say Thank You and Happy Holidays

The holiday season is a great time to thank all of your clients, employees, and peers for supporting your business throughout the year. The problem is how to say thank you. For years, our firm has sent out corporate holiday cards but, a few years ago, we began to look at other tokens of appreciation as well. We looked into ordering flowers, calendars, gift cards, and many other small gift items. Thankfully, we stumbled upon calendar cards, and they have proved to be exactly what we were seeking.

For the past two years we have sent out calendar cards as our holiday cards, and they are quite a hit. We have the cards imprinted with a holiday message and a Thank You from our business. I have had more clients remark on these beautiful cards than ever before. Not only do they look great, but they’re functional, too! I am so glad we switched to calendar cards. I hang one by my desk so that I have a calendar there, but also a reminder to be grateful for all the people in my life who help make my business work.

September 11th – Ten Years On

This year marks a few anniversaries for me. Ten years ago, I moved into my first apartment. Ten years ago, I started working at Prudent Publishing. And, somehow, ten years ago four jets attacked us on our own turf – two of them crashing into buildings not ten miles from the one I sit in today.

I feel as though this past decade has gone by in no time at all. Wasn’t it yesterday that we sat down on a clear September morning to start the workday? The memory seems vivid enough. Though the Prudent Publishing offices are very close to New York City, we felt a bit removed as misinformation spread through our floor. We knew that planes had flown into the World Trade Center, and we had heard about the attack on the Pentagon. I clearly recall being told that planes were headed for all of the major cities in the U.S., and many of the landmarks that define our country. The dismay and shock in the room was palpable.

Then, an email was sent. “One of the Towers has collapsed.” I can hear coworkers on the phone, trying to get through to family in the City. I can see the plume of smoke that rose over the skyline. My new apartment’s beautiful city view would be shadowed in smoke for weeks afterwards.

We were dismissed late that morning and I can still picture the faces in the cars around me, driving to their destinations in silent shock. I can still feel the adrenaline pumping as I would awake in the middle of the night and tune to the cable news channels, wondering what would happen next.

In the ensuing years, it’s been quite an experience to watch Americans come together to volunteer in the days after 9/11, collecting supplies for workers at Ground Zero or putting together care packages for the troops who were sent overseas. There was a sense of patriotism that became more prominent after such a horrific day. As time went by and political lines were drawn, we seemed to lose some of that camaraderie, but on this tenth anniversary, I hope we can remember what we are capable of when we come together instead.

Editable Text Cards are Now Available at The Gallery Collection!

How would it feel to be able to create a holiday card that enables you to provide your company’s name, website URLs, twitter handles or anything else you can think of directly on the front of the card?  Editable Text cards allow you to do just that!

When someone displays cards in their home, workplace or business office the first thing that is noticed is the cover design.  The front of each editable text card allows one to provide any information that is considered to be important.  Website information, email addresses, a short message or any other bit of information you’d like to be seen by all can be added to the front of any editable text holiday card design.

Design 54CJW - Botanical Thank You Christmas Card
Editable Text Cards Design 54CJW
Botanical Thank You Christmas Card

Personalized Christmas cards have been around for quite a few years but the opportunity to customize the front of a card is relatively new.  You might think that the design choices for cards that can be customized on the front must certainly be limited.  Not so.  There are numerous beautiful designs in this new line of cards.  Whether your taste in Christmas cards is traditional, whimsical or anything in between you will be pleased to know that there is a card that will suit your specific needs.

The Many Reasons to Send Business Holiday Cards

In this age of political correctness where we have to decide between Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas, it may be tempting to forget about the practice altogether. I submit to you that no matter what your message there is always a good reason to send corporate Christmas cards. Our customers and clients, or just those people or organizations that are dear to our heart, remember the little ways you say thank you to them. Sending holiday cards is one way to do that with class and elegance.

While everyone is debating over how to say it, just make sure it gets said! The holidays are such a time of thanksgiving and sharing that it is always appropriate to show those who help your business run that you appreciate everything they do for you.

To everyone out there who isn’t sure what holiday greetings to send, do not let the debate over the message prevent you from spreading your cheer. The message that you appreciate your business relationships and that you were thinking of them during the holidays is one that will always be appreciated.

Design 731CS – Snow-Covered Tree Holiday Card

Design 731CS – Snow-Covered Tree Holiday Card, is a photograph of an apricot tree on a Rocky Mountain ranch in Western Colorado.  On the surface of the photograph, which has been embossed to appear three dimensional, is a light sprinkling of silver foil which brings the snow to life. There is something soothing and peaceful in winter scenes holiday cards, like a hush. Winter scenes are also perfect for someone looking for Season’s Greetings cards. This scenic design is printed on kromekote which is an FSC certified paper.

When I found that the photograph on Design 731CS – Snow-Covered Tree Holiday Card, was of an apricot tree I wondered how it survived in what seems to be a blizzard. I think of fruit trees as growing in warm climates not Western Colorado of all places.  Turns out that apricot trees can tolerate the cold weather unless they are just starting to blossom and there is a late frost.  Maybe winter scenes holiday cards should come with a fact sheet so we can admire while we learn!

 

Design 731CS - Snow-Covered Tree Holiday Card
Design 731CS - Snow-Covered Tree
Holiday Card

 

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.

More Customer Reviews of Gallery Collection Greeting Cards – Wow!

Personalized Christmas cards are our business.  We take great pride in providing a quality product to our customers. From the time an order is taken and each step it goes through in between, we take great care to ensure that the product that we ship out is of the highest quality.  Every person that handles an order truly cares about the end result.

We also offer All Occasion Greeting cards. No matter what type of card you are looking to purchase, we will do our best to make sure that our customers get a great quality product in the timeliest manner possible.

Once the order leaves our facility, we don’t always get to hear or see our customers’ reaction. Getting to see reviews such as the ones shown below lets us know that the time and effort that we put forth is well worth it.

Tamikaallen200
5 out of 5 stars
Posted Jul-06-2011

“My experience with the Gallery collection has been exceptional. My order was shipped very quickly and the item itself is of very good quality. There were no errors on my selection and I will be ordering from them again. Thank you so much for providing exceptional service. ”

Gallery Collection – Thank you! We are happy that you had a great experience. We look forward to serving you again!
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krschreiner
5 out of 5 stars
Posted Jul-05-2011

“It was easy to order online. We received the cards in great condition within 4 business days. Just as we ordered. Excellent turn around time even with a holiday weekend inbetween. The cards are of very nice card stock and very good quality. This nice of a quality card can make a wonderful impression.”

Gallery Collection – Thank you for your feedback. We are constantly working on improving our website and are glad to hear that you found it easy to order. We work very hard to ensure that our customers get our high quality product in a timely fashion.
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lgardner
5 out of 5 stars
Posted Jun-28-2011

“This is the sixth year we have purchased our Christmas cards from the Gallery Collection. The cards are beautiful. The paper stock is first class. The service and delivery are excellent. Of all the catalogs we receive, the Gallery Collection offers the best value for our money.”

Gallery Collection – Thank you for being a loyal customer and for putting your trust in us for six years. We appreciate your comments and are glad that we have been able to provide you with the quality and service that you have come to expect. We hope to serve you for many years to come!

Sending Business Christmas Cards Can Be Contagious

While family and friends were visiting with me over the holidays, my cousin Jean noticed the beautiful Christmas card that I had received from The Gallery Collection which, along with the many holiday cards I received, was displayed on my credenza. When I told her the card was from my employer, she commented on what she felt was a very thoughtful gesture, that an employer would take the time to remember employees and associates, and being the owner of a small company herself, she decided she would like to send business Christmas cards to her associates and employees in the future.

Jean was impressed with the quality and design of the card I received and wanted to know how she could view an assortment of company holiday cards for her associates.  I suggested she log on to The Gallery Collection to view the wide assortment of designs and styles available.

After having thoroughly enjoyed browsing through the large selection of Christmas cards offered, Jean chose Design 585CS – City Snowfall. Chain reaction?  Yes, indeed. She now has her colleagues complementing her on the beautiful card and would like to know how they could order similar cards. Season’s Greetings!