Personalize your holiday cards with a thoughtful message.
Sending out holiday greetings is a tradition in which many families participate. There's no better time than the cheerful holiday season to send thoughtful greetings to your family and friends. Although recipients will appreciate a store-bought card and printed message, a personalized note will add that extra touch. Consider recapping your family and friends on your year, showing them pictures of your children of sending them a special holiday greeting.
Year in Review
Recap your year in your holiday greeting card. Give your recipients a review of what you and your family members have been up to in the last year. Limit your year-in-review greeting to one or two sentences for each family member. Avoid including a laundry list of each family member's achievements; instead, focus on the most significant event in each family member's year. The shorter you keep this review, the more likely your recipients will be to read it. For example, your year in review could say: "Happy Holidays from the Scotts! We hope your 2010 was as enjoyable as ours was. Kim, 25, got married in May, and Derek, 21, graduated college in August. We are thrilled about our new son-in-law, Robert, and look forward to spending the holidays with our suddenly larger family. Have a joyous holiday season!"
Photo Timeline
You can create many holiday greeting cards on photo-editing websites, and many card designs allow you to include digital photos. Choose a collage holiday greeting card that recaps your family's year. Your holiday message can refer to your images, letting guests know when you took them. For example, if you include a picture of your family on a beach vacation and one of your son at his junior prom, your message can say: "Merry Christmas! Our Hilton Head Island beach trip and Kyle's junior prom marked our 2010. We wish you a happy holiday season!"
Religious Greeting
If all of your holiday greeting card recipients follow the same holiday, you can feature a thoughtful, religious-themed message in your card. For example, if your recipients celebrate Christmas, then you can say, "Merry Christmas! May God bless your family with a blessed holiday season and new year!" If your recipients celebrate Hanukkah, your card can say, "May your home be filled with love during the Festival of Lights. Happy Hanukkah!"
Digital Greeting
Send your guests a digital greeting rather than the standard paper holiday card. Create a Web-based presentation from a site like Prezi, where you can create an interactive presentation that your recipients can view on the web. Here, you can include a digital slide show, allowing your recipients to view your favorite pictures from the past year. Or, choose your favorite holiday song, and let it play as your personalized holiday greeting plays across your recipient's screen. Send your holiday greeting recipients an email pointing them to their interactive holiday message.
Video Message
Maximize the interactivity of your holiday greeting by videotaping a message from your family. You can sing your favorite Christmas carol or simply say "happy holidays" to long-distance family members. Wear holiday-themed attire, and send warm holiday greetings to your family and friends. Your recipients will enjoy seeing your family in this medium. You can embed this video message on your family website or a video-sharing site and send the link out in an email. Or, simply attach the video to the email for your recipients to enjoy.
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