Last Christmas I received an E-card or electronic mail from a high school friend who has been working overseas for about ten years now. The letter was quite nice and entertaining – a Christmas greeting from a choir made up of all possible Christmas characters you can think of: Santa and his reindeers, Frosty the Snowman, the Christmas Elves, a group of angels, the New Year baby – all singing to the tune of “Jingle Bells.”

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I found the gesture surprising as we have not talked or seen each other for quite a while. However, I received another similar email like the one my high school friend sent me. Upon careful review of the card, I noticed a link saying, “If you like this card, send the same one to a friend by just clicking the link below”

 

Greeting cards have been around since people celebrated any occasion and knew how to print on paper. They have been a popular way of sending messages to people long before computers or the internet. It is true that there is no such thing as a one of a kind Hallmark card which we could readily purchase in a bookstore. A single print may run in the thousands but receiving the same card twice is a chance in a million.

 

Simple Facts about Greeting Cards

 

The Greeting Card Association says that people in the US purchase around 7 billion greeting cards, generating around $7 billion in revenue each year. Below are some facts about credit card use in the US (suite101.com)


  • Women purchase 80% of all greeting cards
  • Men spend more on a single card than women
  • Average retail greeting cards range from $2.00 to $4.00 (specialty cards higher)
  • The average person receives 20 cards
  • 90% of American households purchase greeting cards
  • The average household buys 30 cards

 

The world is changing so fast that choosing between greeting cards and electronic cards sometimes boils down to convenience. Sending out messages to friends is sometimes as easy as a click of a mouse button. This experience has got me thinking about how we have made our lives so simple that we sometimes forget the reason why we send out these messages.

 

Nothing beats a greeting the old fashioned way – by handling it personally or by sending it through post. A gift is always welcome but letters and cards contain thoughts and special feelings.

 

Today’s Christmas rush allows many people to prepare letters and cards as early as November. Most of the time Christmas cards are available by the end of October, offering us a wide range of choices and sufficient time to choose.

 

Another great way of sending out greeting cards is by simply making one yourself. A computer, printer and your imagination are the only materials needed for this one of a kind greeting card. It only takes a few dollars to make a printed inkjet greeting card. The cost of these cards includes paper, envelop and ink. There are a lot of software’s available in the market, and the only limit to creating a greeting card is your imagination.