Holiday Mailing the Easy Way
Okay, all together now, "This year, sending out my holiday cards will not stress me out!"
Hmm, I don't think I heard everyone chime in on that one?
If you've been reading along with my recent holiday-related posts, you know by now that I am all about de-stressing the holidays. So, moving on to holiday greeting card issues, here are some ways to get control of this annual holiday tradition:
1. If you send photo cards, order them online.
Either splurge on the added convenience of having the site mail them to your recipients for you, or order them from a site that has a local storefront and coordinate your pick up with your next shopping trip. Shutterfly.com allows you to pick up your prints at Target if you choose, and drugstores such as CVS and Walgreen's let you pick them up at the store, too.
2. Create a separate electronic database for your holiday mailing list.
Outlook is great for this. Add a new folder to your Contacts and copy all the names and information for those on your holiday card list. Than create a mail merge, using a nice font for personality, and use your printer to address your cards in no time. As you receive cards, save the envelopes with the return address and check them against your database, noting any changes and then promptly recycling them, to avoid building up clutter. Use the notes section to indicate the year you received the card. Next year when it is time to send greetings, you can take note of those on your list whom you did not hear from in 2008, and make a decision about whether or not to continue sending to them.
3. Order your holiday stamps online and arrange for free, in home package pick-up from the U.S. Post Office.
Avoid the lines at the post office and make sure you get the stamp design you want by ordering online from the United States Post Office (the website always seems to have a better selection than the brick-and-mortar version). Delivery is usually within a day. You can also schedule free package pick-up by your carrier and download software from their site to help you print out shipping labels and postage from home.
4. Email your holiday party invites.
Some may think this to be impersonal and an entertaining faux pas, but for casual, informal gatherings, it really is the simplest way to go. And your guests will be more likely to respond, and respond on time. You can even decorate the email with colored text and insert graphics to make it more festive. As an added bonus, it is less time consuming than calling your guest, and a much “greener” way to spread the word – send an email, save a tree!
5. Gather the whole family to assemble the cards.
There is no reason why you have to take on sole responsibility for assembling and mailing your greeting cards. Get the whole family involved. Turn on a little Christmas music, gather at the kitchen table, and give everyone an age-appropriate task. You can be responsible for writing a personal greeting, your hubby can make sure the cards get into the right envelopes, and little ones can stick on stamps and sealenvelopes. In fact, you can even start the whole process out by sending the cards around for each family member to personally sign. After all, don't you send the cards from your entire family?
NOW, once again (and this time I should be able to hear EVERYONE loud and clear!):
"This year, sending out my holiday cards will not stress me out!"
Simply yours,
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I love photo cards, they are more special than those ordinary greeting cards that is just full of text.”‘,
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