Who would ever procrastinate in sending out their Christmas Greeting Cards or Holiday Greeting cards, whichever you really prefer? Each year it seems cards come later and later. Then all of a sudden it’s a blizzard of square envelopes. By that time, it’s hard to remember who sent what.

My husband and I are lucky that we have some hysterical friends who send hilarious letters in their cards, but it is their hilarity that sticks out, usually not the design of their card.  It seems that the tradition of Christmas cards has almost become a duty instead of a pleasure to the sender, and, folks, it is beginning to show.

For instance, a very dear friend of mine, sent her usual Christmas card and letter. The card is very basic and her letter sounds very much the same as it has for decades–everyone is just a year older and continuing on their road to success.  That includes son #1 and wife, son #2 and partner, and daughter #1 and husband. There is a terrific grandbaby in there somewhere. Her husband is doing well, and he gave her a surprise birthday party this year. It took a full single spaced typed page, but here’s what I wanted when I finished reading her letter;

1. I wanted to see pictures of her surprise party with all of her children and friends. Stick a Christmasy border or template around it. What a keepsake for everyone who was there, and especially those of us who weren’t invited.
2. Or, stick a picture of that cute little grandbaby on the front with a thought bubble, saying,
   “Whatever Santa doesn’t bring, gramma and grampa will!” and throw a cute little border around that baby’s photo.
3. Inside I wanted to see pictures of each adult child and their partner/spouse, and get a condensed version of what they are doing and where they are living, maybe in phrases and not necessarily in grammatically correct long, complex sentences.
4. A picture is worth a thousand words. Why don’t we remember that and customize our greeting cards with photos and the names of those we are sending to.

This really isn’t too much to ask. The system that I use for sending out all my greeting cards could do all this in a  matter of minutes. Yes, personalized, customized greeting cards, including photos, designed in a matter of minutes. Upload the Christmas  list from Excel, Access, or address book into the system, in a matter of minutes. Send personalized, customized greeting cards out to 100s or 1000s, in a matter of minutes. Want more info, just ask me about it or click on the banner above or below.

But first My Six Rules for Customized, Personalized Christmas and Holiday Greeting Cards:

1. Never, ever send an email greeting card. First, of all, it will probably never get delivered because of all the spam filters. Second, with all the virus warnings about postcards and e-cards, who in their right mind would open it. Third, unless you are one of those laid-off or suffering financially, you are not putting your best image out there with an e-card. But honestly, if you’re in that spot, please take the time to either write a heart felt email (not an e-card) or pick up the phone and call those you care about and tell them why. That way you’re using Safe-Sending techniques and sending out a heart felt gift of yourself, which I hope will come back to you ten-fold, and very soon.
2. Please don’t use address labels on your cards, unless you are
   physically challenged, and then your friends will understand anyway.
3. Include photos in the card. No, not so they’ll fall out. Instead,
   upload them into the card, tell us about the people in the pictures. That way we won’t have
   photos floating around the house of people we can’t identify.
4. Send cards that reflect your personality and beliefs, your joys
   of the season. Believe me I’m no Bill O’Reilly, but if you want
   Christian Christmas Cards with a very beautiful Biblical passage,
   please send those. But, if you are are more of the Season’s Greetings kind of person, send those. If Santa, Christmas trees, or pictures of presents are your thing, send those.
5. Continuing along the same train of thought, if you enjoy
   the diversity of our humanness want to include all the December events, please
   go for it. Say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy  Kawanzaa, Happy Winter Solstice and Best Wishes for a New Year. I personally don’t like to leave anyone out, but that is my thing.
6. Never ever send a card and just sign it, even if in your own handwriting. It’s disappointing as all get out, if you send a greeting card, which really is a mini-present of sorts, and all the news that is there, is that you can write your name. (We knew that already.) Frankly, just a signature makes me feel cheated. Tell me a little something…anything. Tell me what you’re doing, invite me to your facebook page, tell me just about anything except about your purulent drainage. Somehow let me know why I was important enough to get the card from you in the first place.

If you’d like to try the system I use, please click on the banner at  the top of the page or the one below. It entitles you to send two, customized photo cards on me to anywhere in the world. Either banner will take you to an opt-in page. I’ll send you a FREE CD along with my personal Christmas card, if you enter FREE CD in the coupon space. Please make sure your snail mail info is correct.  If you prefer, please give me a call at (219) 947-5478, I’ll set you up for a tour.

Happy Greeting Card Sending!

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