After all, as Joe Bohardt of the Mulberry Tree in Oakwood points out, a beautiful holiday card is a gift in itself.
“A handwritten note or a holiday greeting card is a gift because you have taken the time out of your busy day to send a nice message,” he says.
“I think people definitely still want to send holiday cards,” adds Jenna Yee, co-owner and designer at Pink Ink Design Group in Glendale.
Christmas is the largest card-sending holiday in the United States, with approximately 1.5 billion cards sent annually, according to Hallmark Cards Inc.
But card senders are keeping costs down this year by keeping things elegantly simple.
“We have seen a shift from highly embellished cards — with layers of crystal, ribbon and vellum — to more simple designs on good paper,” Yee says.
Another way shoppers are staying within budget this year is by sending postcards, which are not only cheaper to produce, but also to mail.
“Personally, postcards are what I plan to do this year,” Yee says.
“I love the look of an envelope, but I hate the waste of it. Postcards are a totally green approach.”
Photos fashionable
More and more people are opting for digital photo cards this year, according to Bohardt, which carry a wonderful personal touch.
There are several ways to create digital photos cards.
First of all, you can visit stationery shops and choose templates from albums, or, “if those don’t tickle your fancy,” adds Bohardt, you can enlist the help of a graphic designer.
Amanda Walther, design consultant at the Mulberry Tree, says customers can either email her photos or she can scan their images.
And to be sure, folks will be firing up the laptops to create holiday photo cards.
Online retailers are giving good cause to celebrate with coupons and special offers. For instance, snapfish.com is offering a buy-one-get-one free promotion on flat photo cards through Wednesday. Just enter BOGOCARDS at checkout.
Other websites worth checking out if you want to send a photo card include www.simplytoimpress.com (free shipping through Monday), vistaprint.com (which always has some kind of nifty deal) and shutterfly.com (20 percent off cards for a limited time).
Color combos
For Christmas, Yee says clients are less interested in the classic red-and-green combination and are selecting such color pairings as white and silver.
According to Hallmark publicity manager Jaclyn Twidwell, red mixing also will be important, with shades and tones of holiday red combined.
Other card color trends: Combinations of such radiant hues as magenta, copper orange, rose gold, persimmon and holly berry.
Shaping things up
Another trend this year is to send holiday cards that do double-duty as Christmas tree ornaments. “It makes a nice keepsake,” says Walther.
These flat round cards feature a design or photo on one side, she adds, and a greeting on the other — complete with a pretty ribbon for hanging.
At the same time, smaller cards are becoming more important and their tinier shapes mean a more affordable approach to celebrating the season.
Crafty cards
Crafters have elevated card-making to an art form.
If you feel clumsy with a glue gun or pinking shears, then check out the free Make It and Take It classes offered from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at Marco’s Paper in Centerville.
Lucy’s Paper Garden Club meets from 1 to 4 p.m. the second Sunday of each month at Marco’s, according to the club’s website designer Debbie MacPherson. (Annual membership is $55.) Visit the group’s website at lucysclubning.com for stylish card-project ideas.
She also recommends splitcoasters.com, which offers tutorials for paper-crafting projects and techniques. (Registration is required, but there is no cost.)
For the procrastinator
Time is money and money is time. We all can understandably fall behind sometimes, but fortunately there are a couple of ways to send good thoughts last-minute during the yuletide season.
Many retailers, including Kroger stores, are stocking Hallmark’s Postage-Paid Greetings — a line of cards that already includes postage. Add your personal holiday message, then just sign, seal and send. (Postage-Paid Greetings range from $2.69 to $3.99.)
Starting at $2.99 per greeting card, the new Cards app from Apple lets users create and mail beautifully crafted cards personalized with text and photos from their iPhone or iPod touch. Take a quick snapshot and with a few taps and swipes, an elegant letterpress card is on its way to any address in the world.
Design and customize your card with a personal message and photo. Then select an address from your contacts and place your order.
How cool is that?
Share your holiday-shopping ideas by emailing rmcmacken@DaytonDailyNews.com or call (937) 225-0671. Follow her Steals and Deals blog at DaytonDailyNews.com/go/bargains.
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