Xmas cards are a lovely tradition. Every Holiday Season billions of people in the US and UK alone send out Christmas card messages to their family, friends and loved ones. Inspirational Christmas card verses, Christmas quotes and sayings or funny Christmas cards express personal sentiments, support, warm thoughts or just bring a smile on people's faces.
Nowadays, Christmas cards are no longer just sent by regular mail. Printed Christmas cards got the competition of online Christmas cards. Young and old use Christmas e cards as an alternative to traditional greeting cards. A list of the advantages and disadvantages of printed xmas cards versus email Christmas cards may help you decide whether to stick with traditional pen and paper or to explore the virtual possibilities on the internet. Additionally, some of the best greeting card companies are presented for you to choose from.
Printed Christmas Cards - The Pros and Cons
The first printed Christmas card was invented by a British gentleman in 1843. Sir Henry Cole, the founder of London's Victoria and Albert Museum, was a successful businessman who sent out handwritten Christmas letters every year. However, the time consuming nature of this job lead him to design a Christmas card with the saying: "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You!" He took it to the printer and print Christmas cards were born.
Traditional Christmas cards are still very popular, despite the competition of online greetings and despite their downsides. Here's what you could consider before buying your printed Christmas cards this year.
Pros:
- Traditional xmas cards are tangible and charming; children and adults love the anticipation of seeing a beautiful envelope and opening it to find a nice Season's Greetings card inside.
- Printed Christmas cards have a decorative aspect. You put them on the mantlepiece, hang them up and keep them as a souvenir. You can even recycle Christmas cards and make your own xmas cards from using old cards.
- Traditional Christmas cards make better personalized cards because you can add your own touches to them such as handwritten Christmas quotes and sayings. Sites like the Quote Garden and Inspirational Quotes 4U allow you to be more creative than just writing "Wishing you a Merry Christmas" or "Season's Greetings". Furthermore, you can decorate your cards with stickers, ribbons, glitter and so on. Fully handmade Christmas cards obviously are the most personalised Christmas greetings you can send.
Cons:
- Printed Christmas cards cost money; you have to pay for cards and stamps and usually people have many cards to send. On top of this, when you have friends or relatives abroad sending out printed xmas cards can become a quite costly business.
- Sending Xmas cards by regular post also is time consuming since all cards need to be signed or personalized with Christmas card messages, put in an envelope where you have to write the recipient's address on and finally you'll have to make your way to the post office or mailbox to post your cards. Not the easiest option in winter time.
Christmas eCards - The Pros and Cons
The online greeting card companies are numerous on the internet and they offer a lot of choice in electronic Christmas cards: funny, inspirational, religious or corporate cards. Furthermore, you can send animated, flash or photo Christmas cards and even singing and dancing photo Christmas cards . Check out some of the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Online Christmas cards are an economical way of sending your Holiday and Season's Greetings. There's no need to buy any printed cards or stamps and what's more there are many free Christmas e-cards available. Some of the best and most original sites with free online Christmas cards are outlined in this article.
- Sending Christmas cards by email is also time saving. You don't need to hand write every card, often an appropriate message is provided or can be chosen. You don't need to put them in an envelope and you don't need to put stamps on the envelope. Finally, your online greetings are send by the push of a button so it saves you the drive of walk up to a mail box, very convenient in wintery weather.
Cons:
- Undoubtedly the biggest disadvantage of virtual Christmas card messages is thy are not tangible; your Christmas greetings are fleeting and can't be put on display for decorative purposes.
- Even though you can customize your e-card and there are many categories and templates available, you can only choose from pre-made designs, templates and phrases. You can't personalize your card to the same extent as a (handmade) printed card.
Greeting Card Companies - Printed Christmas Cards and Online Christmas Cards
In what follows you'll find an overview of some of the most popular and original greeting card design companies that offer traditional printed Christmas cards or Christmas e-cards. Nowadays, many traditional card printing companies will offer both.
- Hallmark: This one of the most established names in the card printing industry. Hallmark offers a great Christmas collection of personalized cards (with free stamps or free shipping, Christmas offer 2010, US only) and e-cards. Create cool photo newsletters including the highlight's of your year or why not send webcam greetings and displayable greetings this Christmas? See also Hallmark, UK.
- American Greetings: Offers ecards, photocards and a nice and large selection of printables. New is the Holiday Pics & Wishes card. You can bring your stories to life with any combination of video, photo, voice or even a letter. Hallmark Cards and American Greetings are the largest producers of greeting cards in the world.
- BlueMountain: Offers a broad collection of ecards plus you can choose cards from different categories to print and create. The printable cards are rather dull and limited.
- 123greetings: Here you find an extensive collection of Merry Christmas ecards, lots of animated and flash cards, many categories to choose from.
- Moonpig: This is a very popular UK site with electronic greeting cards. Cool is their collection of Spoof cards that allows you to star on the cover of a magazine.
Sending xmas cards is a heartwarming Christmas tradition that nowadays can be done not only by traditional Christmas cards but also by Christmas ecards. Both online Christmas cards and Christmas card messages send by postal mail have their advantages and disadvantages depending on whether what's most important to you: personal, tangible and decorative aspects or time and cost saving factors plus more advanced virtual options. Many greeting card companies, such as Hallmark and American Greetings offer a combination of printed and printable cards, free online greeting cards (ecards), photocards and other electronic novelties. No matter what you go for: cherish your family, friends, loved ones and colleagues and wish them a Merry Christmas!
Carlien van de Kreeke - About me Carlien van de Kreeke has a Masters Degree in Germanic languages (English/ Dutch Literature and Linguistics), obtained at the ...
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