Ah, the holidays! The most wonderful time of the year and also the time when we engage in the age old tradition of sending holiday cheer to family, friends and colleagues in the form of greeting cards. If you’re not sure of the proper etiquette when it comes to sending out holiday cards here are a few helpful tips. Plus check out the 5 favorite holiday cards I’m totally loving below!
Timing
You should aim to have your cards addressed and ready to go immediately following Thanksgiving which allows roughly a month before the Christmas holiday. Prior to thanksgiving is too early and two weeks before Christmas should be your drop deadline. The Postal Service is slower during the holiday season due to the high volume of package shipments and if you have cards going a long distance, it could take up to two weeks so you want to allow as much time as possible for your cards to arrive. If you haven’t started thinking about your holiday greetings yet, now is the time! And if you’re a procrastinator and can’t quite get it together before the holidays, you can always send Happy New Year cards! It’s just as thoughtful and still lets your recipients know you’re thinking about them this holiday season. Plus, you have the entire month of January to get those out!
Plan Ahead
Plan your recipient list as far in advance as possible and give yourself a week to addressing your envelopes and write out your cards. Hopefully you still have a majority of your addresses from last year. Once you reference your previous year’s list, it should be pretty easy to make updates and additions.
Personalize It
Give your cards a personal touch by hand writing your signature and adding a short note inside the card. This will leave more of a lasting impression than the card itself and
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Season’s Greetings?
In general, I recommend staying away from any cards that have holiday specific language or iconography, and instead prefer a more generic “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings” card which is appropriate for everyone no matter what their religious beliefs are. Often times I’ll buy two sets of cards for the holiday season – a generic holiday greeting which goes to most of my recipients including business associates and friends who don’t observe Christmas and then a “Merry Christmas” greeting for close friends and family who I know observe the holiday.
Paper or Electronic? Nothing can replace the thoughtfulness of a greeting card that you took the time to pick out and hand write, but – if time is limited I believe that something is better than nothing and an e-card can be a great way to go. They also take much less time to personalize, are generally less expensive and also eco-friendly. I’m obsessed with Paperless Post and their stylish digital card offerings, many of which are also available in paper form!
1. Sugar Paper | 2. Paperless Post | 3. Sugar Paper | 4. Kate Spade | 5. Rifle Paper Co | Top Photo: Etsy
SHOP MORE HOLIDAY CARDS
3 Comments
Love all the designs. My favorite is No-5. Love the colors!
Those are adorable sets! Great etiquette advice, also. You don’t want people forgetting that!
Such cute choices!! I hate how late Thanksgiving was this year. So behind on the cards!