Friday, December 4, 2009

Love :: Christmas Cards


Christmas cards and holiday greetings are one of my favorite parts of the holidays. It's not an every day occurrence to have your real mailbox fill with warm greetings just for you. Usually only birthdays and weddings garner such in-the-mail attention.

However, the actual cards are always a bit of a challenge, as I am always drawn to high-quality materials and design (preferably custom), but -- especially now -- budgets are definitely an issue, particularly because I tend to err on the "send" side of things if I am on the line of sending a card to someone or not (one has to have an end to her list, right?). Inevitably, my card list is a very long one -- happily so!

Usually, I scour shops for good cards at a reasonable cost. I've never done an actual photograph of myself on a card -- it seems pretty self-indulgent -- but I think it's wonderful for families with children. Everyone wants to see how much they've grown!

This year I decided to try something new. I designed my own card using one of the online quick-print (digital printing, not offset) sources. And, save their website name on the back of my card (ugh!), I think it worked well. The linen paper was a bit of a stretch for me, but it has had a bit of resurgence of late -- in a kind of retro, ironic way -- but I was happy to have an uncoated paper option. And the best part is that I designed the card myself and uploaded it -- so what you see here is no template -- all Esse Quam Videri. Even a special ligature on the "ME" in "Merry".

I do print my name at the bottom, but for close friends, I slash it and sign, as you would a calling card on a gift. And I always write or print the year. Another great perk of designing your own -- your very own sentiment (and monogram, if you choose) --


Time to get those cards out! I hope I can still get my favorite stamp! Off to the P.O.!

6 comments:

Easy and Elegant Life said...

Nicely done! I can live with the logo on the back of the card. I can never find those that I really love, so this is a good option. And, like you, I prefer uncoated stock.

EsseQuamVideri said...

Thanks E&E --

EQV

ceci said...

Very nice! BTW--what's the name of the company?

EsseQuamVideri said...

Ceci, it's vistaprint.

Stu Shea said...

eqv,
Do you have an alternate strategy for clients you suspect may celebrate other winter holidays?

EsseQuamVideri said...

Stu,

Actually, the cards in the post are personal cards. I do like the word "Christmas", and a lot of that comes from the fact that I think it's a beautiful word and is nice to say... and it's not like you can say "Christmas" too much all year round.

That said, business cards simply say "Peace on Earth" or in the past perhaps "Happy Holidays" or "Wishing You Joy and Togetherness This Holiday" -- this was with a slew of identical gingerbread men.

When it comes to personal correspondence, it's wonderful to wish someone "Merry Christmas" -- unless you're being pushy -- then, no good. Stick to "Hey".