by Meredith Davises

Created on: December 02, 2010

A personal message written on a Christmas card will be cherished this year and many more years to come. So often Christmas cards are put away with the Christmas decorations and opened again the following year.

Select your Christmas cards. Write your family’s name and Christmas year on the upper left side. Christmas cards and envelopes get separated and the sender’s information is lost without the return address.

If you are a female sending a card to an older relative, you should add your maiden name if you have married. When addressing a card to a previous teacher, add “class of” and the year date so they easily make the connection.

When sending Christmas cards to distant relatives known only through the grapevine, share a thoughtful memory about your family. Never repeat gossip like I heard you were sick and hope you are feeling better.

Giving a Christmas card to a service provider like the mail carrier, paperboy, or home healthcare provider is customary. Praise their good work and attach the card to a small gift of appreciation.

Send your boss a Christmas card wishing him and his family a Merry Christmas. Keep it very professional and polite. Save your appreciation for Thank the Boss Day.

Select a Christmas card for your clergy that best represents your faith and include a brief endearment for the service that they have provided. Follow this same line of thought when sending cards to church members.

It may seem easier to sign off on a card to a hospital patient or a nursing home resident but add a short note praising their life gifts to the family.

Many military families will exchange cards and it is always thoughtful to send pictures with a note about each one. When they are overseas, add something about their favorite places back home.

Send Christmas cards to immediate family members early in the season so they have time to enjoy them. Frequent visiting makes a note in the card the most difficult. Praise the little every days things they do and how they warm the spirit of the season.

Quoting a poem or a song lyric may lead to a personal note that otherwise would have gone unsaid. Whatever is written keep the thoughts on the Christmas season.

It is the small notes in Christmas cards that make the card worth opening and a reason to keep the card for a lifetime.

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