Christmas cards are big business. Nearly 2 billion holiday cards will be purchased, addressed and mailed this Christmas season alone. From family, friends, and neighbors to work associates, clients and customers, virtually everyone is caught in the holiday card frenzy whether they celebrate the season or not.
But, like any type of correspondence, there are a few etiquette rules that apply when sending out those winter greetings. Here are a few tips from the experts:
For Friends and Family:
Even if you are using preprinted holiday cards for both personal and business use, it's important to always sign your name below the printed version and write a small handwritten note inside to make the recipient feel as if you truly thought of them this holiday season. When signing for the entire family, always begin with the father's name, followed by the mother's and finally he children, or simply write "John, Mary and Family."
When sending a card to a couple or family with two different last names, always address the card to both people: John Smith and Mary Jones, or the entire family as in Mary Jones, John Smith and Family. And, always include the children's name inside every family card.
For Business Associates:
Always mail cards to business associates to the office unless you have met their spouse and met with them socially at some point during the year. Then the cards may be addressed to both and sent to their home.
When sending a card to a married woman who uses her maiden name at work, always address the card to Mr. and Mrs. (using her married name), if she uses her husband's name personally. If, however, she only uses her maiden name, it is acceptable to address the card to both using both recipients full names.
Business cards should always be written in a more formal and secular style. Never sign your spouse's name unless the recipient has met them in a social gathering. And never, under any circumstances send your personal family newsletter to business associates.
Finally, even if you are sending out hundreds of holiday cards to a variety of business associates, never use bulk mail. Always send them first class.
Special Circumstances:
Every time you send out a holiday greeting, you mean well. Unfortunately, sometimes your good intentions may be misunderstood. To avoid any etiquette slips remember these important tips:
-When sending a card to someone with a different ethnic or religious background, choose a more secular card that is free of religious undertones. For those who don't celebrate the holidays at all, opt for a winter scene card with a basic Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays or message of Peace.
-In the event your recipient's are grieving the loss of a loved one this year, take special care to find a card that specifically deals with holiday grief. They'll appreciate your extra thoughtfulness and assure them that their loved one has not been forgotten this holiday season. Also, when sending a card to a recent widow, always address her as "Mrs. So and so to make her feel less alone.
Christmas Card The Movie
Christmas! The Festive Season! Every year it seems to get here quicker and quicker and event though Christmas is always 12 months apart it does seem to come around more and more quickly. A lot of people find that as Christmas approaches they have in their mind to send out their Christmas cards to all their family and friends but often leave this to the last minute. Well there is no reason to do this anymore. There are various ways you can order online now your Christmas cards.
There are business Christmas cards, Charity Christmas cards, personalized Christmas cards, funny Christmas cards and the list goes on! There are Christmas cards to suit all range of budgets and you will be surprised at just how creative you can be when wanting to design a Christmas card to give to your family friends or business associates.
So you need to make a decision of course about the kind of Christmas card you wish to send. Here are two types of cards to consider when making your choice:
Informative Personalized Christmas Cards
When planning your Christmas card design options you need to take into account how much information you will be using in the Christmas card. Do you want to include information in the card that acts as a newsletter? Perhaps information to keep your friends and family up-to-date, this is not restricted to family or friends, you can include business information as well such as what has been going on in your business through the year or what the next steps will be for your valued customers for the next festive season.
For your friends and family you can include details of a recent family holiday, or births of new family members. You don't want to include any upsetting family events so make sure that you keep your news cheerful and adding a little humour can be a good way to do this. You know the people you will be sending the card to and if you can think along the lines of what information you may be interested to know about your friends and family then that is the kind of information you can include in your personalized Christmas card.
Funny Christmas Cards
Every day of the year a little humour goes a long way so why not include some in your Christmas card this year? This of course may not be suitable for everyone, perhaps there are some elderly members of your family that won't appreciate a humorous card but they are your family you should know what they like after all! A humorous Christmas card is a great way to show the personality of you and your family.
As a business Christmas card, if you are planning to send fun Christmas cards then make sure that the humour you include in the card is suitable to all of your customers. Make sure any joke is tasteful and will not offend any of your customers. You don't want them to be opening the card and being upset with the content included. If you are a small business you will no doubt know your customer base well, however if you are a large corporation then you need to be very choosy with the type of spin you put on your cards. There are many ideas out there now that you can research online that can assist you in this task.
There are a variety of other options for cards and I have listed now only two of those choices. There are so many different types of cards, different forms of stationery, different prices and options to suit any kind of budget so you have no excuse for not sending out Christmas cards whether it is personally or for a business use. Do some research online you will find that there are all the details you need about what Christmas cards to send this year.
Both Matthew Hick & Michiel Van Kets are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Michiel Van Kets has sinced written about articles on various topics from Recreation and Sports, Air Purifier Cleaners and Recreation and Sports. Michiel Van Kets provides article services for Gary Trotter who manages Charity Christmas Cards, a company providing personalised Christmas cards for business and Individuals. Order online from an extensive collection ranging. Michiel Van Kets's top article generates over 40500 views. Bookmark Michiel Van Kets to your Favourites.
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