Holiday Tips: Trendy Christmas Cards

Advice for Sending Out Holiday Greeting Cards That Aren't Lame

Advice Seeker: Dear April,

I'm starting to think about this year's holiday cards and I'm torn about what to send out. Are there any trends in holiday cards that I should know about? Do you have any tips for the kind of holiday cards I should be sending out this year?

Sincerely,

Trendy Greetings

April Masini's advice:

Dear Trendy Greetings,

There are trends in greeting cards and there are good, old-fashioned, tried and true traditions that still hold muster to fads.

Trends in holiday cards:

* Photos. Holiday cards with family photos on them are more popular than ever. The look at me generation has saturated the celebrating the birth of Jesus generation. The holiday is a lot more about the sender than it is about the recipient. That's why you'll see a lot more holiday cards with family photos on them.

* Postcards. Multi-tasking, two income families with sandwich generation elders in their care don't have time for cards that need sealing, addressing, and stamping. Postcard holiday cards that are sent out from a computer or from a third party addressing service allow families to check the holiday card task off their list, and still hit the beat.

* Tried and true family newsletters. The page (and painfully page and a half or more) family newsletters that give a run down on family events over the year, are still popular -- although god knows why!