Creative and Personal Ways to Send your Holiday greetings
The holidays are here again. There's so much to do, like buy presents, wrap presents, decorate, go to parties and family functions and send out cards to all the people you won't see in person. Sending cards is nice, but writing every greeting, filling every envelope, and then writing out addresses can get so monotonous. The messages probably aren't very personal because of this monotony. Add to that your card will probably end up in a pile with all the other greeting cards and well wishes, and it seems like it could be time better spent. Instead of cards this year, try something a little different. You will likely have more fun doing it and it will be received with surprise and appreciation for your creativity.
The creative part comes from finding something to fit in a standard sized envelope, so you don't pay extra for postage. A nice idea for distant relatives and close friends is to gather 4-6 nice family photos from the year. Punch two holes in the sides of the photos, making sure they are in the same spot for every one. Stack the photos so the holes line up. Thread a pretty ribbon through one hole and tie in a tight knot, making sure the ribbon is loose enough to flip the photos like a book. Do the same with the other hole. Enclose a little note on coloured paper saying, "Holiday wishes from our family to yours," or something similar. When your friends open this mini-gift they will be thrilled at how thoughtful and different it is.
Another way of sending family pictures is by CD or DVD. You can load the best pictures onto a CD and send them out to friends and family. Write your greeting on the CD itself, with a ballpoint marker. Or if you want to get really into it, record your family singing a holiday song and end with a cheerful "Happy Holidays!" You could also have every family member deliver a personal greeting for the camera. You can burn these onto disks and send them out. Imagine everyone's face when they hear your 4-year old singing Santa Clause is Coming to Town.
A great way to send a personal holiday greeting is to make up a typed family update. Include everything interesting that happened to your family members in the previous year. Keep it to one or two pages, and include things like family vacations, school awards, promotions, loss of a family pet, etc. The point is not to brag but to send a concise update for everyone you don't regularly keep in touch with. Some simple formatting will allow you to add small pictures to your family newsletter. Print it out on soft coloured paper, and send a copy to everyone on your list. Make sure you add your holiday greeting at the end.
Sending cookies by post can get costly, so instead, send some of your favourite recipes to all your loved ones. Print them so they will fit into a 4 by 6-inch space. Cut them out and stack them. Add your holiday note to the front and staple it on as the cover. Even people who will never bake the recipes will appreciate the thought and effort that goes into this.
One of the easiest ways to send holiday greetings is electronically. This is not traditional, but it's become very common lately so it's up to you to decide if it's creative enough. There are several websites that offer e-cards for all occasions, some free and some paid. You can send these through e-mail or social media sites like Facebook. If your goal is to send out your greetings quickly and efficiently, then you might prefer this method.
There are several ways to send holiday greetings to show people you are thinking of them at this time of year. The important things is to let them know you thought of them. If you are tired of sending the same cards out year after year, try one of these ideas. You will probably receive thank you calls or letters after New Year's, for being so creative and thoughtful.
