Holiday Card How-To

Quick Tips for Checking “Sending the Cards” Off Your List

How To

The purpose of sending greeting cards is to greet, so don’t feel you have to send out a long letter to everyone on your list, or come up with some incredibly creative verse. There’s nothing wrong with buying pre-printed cards. However, if you have a pre-printed card, do write a short note wishing your recipient happy holidays. A simple sentence is better than nothing. And, you must personally sign each card. If you have a lot of cards to send, don’t try to do it all at once. Start a week earlier and plan to sign a batch a night until they’re done. And, make it a family affair! Start an assembly line and get everyone involved in addressing and stuffing envelopes and putting on the stamps.

Some pre-printed cards come with holiday designs on the envelope, but holiday stamps help your cards make a good “first impression.” Before you buy your postage, weigh your cards (including any notes and photos that you may insert into the envelope). The post office requires envelopes to be at least 3.5" by 5" and cards larger than 6.125" by 11.5" inches need additional postage. The same goes for cards thicker than 0.25" inches. So you may need to buy additional or special postage if you’re sending non-traditional cards.

If you don’t want to use store-bought Christmas cards, you can try some of these options to add a personal touch to your holiday mailing.

• Turn a photo into a card.Family photos make wonderful greetings and are becoming increasingly popular as holiday cards. Surf the Internet for sites that will help you make your own cards from a downloaded photo or buy cards with a place to secure a photo. The people on your list will love to see how your family is changing and growing. You should include a short note and maybe a holiday verse or greeting on the inside of the card as well for a warm touch.
• Get creative with the family newsletter.Send out an annual holiday newsletter on holiday-themed paper, or use a laser-printer to print it onto a holiday card, maybe even with a family photo. No matter how sophisticated you get, still sign each newsletter, though, and always include a quick handwritten line or two of greeting to make it personal.
• Try a different shape. Gold stars, Christmas trees, candy canes…just about any holiday shape can be cut out of 3 X 5 or 4 X 6 piece of card stock and you can probably find interestingly shaped pre-cut cards in stores too. This is a good opportunity for creative family members to show off their arts and crafts skills.
• Include a recipe.Give everyone on your list a little gift with their greeting by including a special family recipe for Christmas cookies or a favorite menu item to add to their holiday feast.

There’s really no limit on who to include on your holiday card list. Typically, send cards to your family, friends, neighbors and close business associates (also to whoever sends you one). However, seasonal cards are a great way to keep in touch with college pals, former neighbors or co-workers or others whom you don’t regularly communicate with but who you don’t want to lose touch with either. Keep a holiday card list separate from your address book (maybe tucked in the back of the book, or on a different file on the computer). This way you won’t have to go through your addresses each year wondering who you should send cards to. If you’re married, a great way to compile a list is to start with your wedding guest list and add to it each year as you meet new people.

You should have all of your updated addresses together and have ordered any custom cards or have had photos taken by the end of November. Then plan to start mailing after Thanksgiving. This gives you a jump-start on the crush of the holiday season and reduces the chance that your card will get delayed, lost or overlooked. All cards should arrive before Christmas Day.