Personalized cards and invitations for the Holiday season

This post reviews two brands, two price ranges and two custom print options. It is all about Christmas tree themes for cards and invites.

The modern style of Haute Note

I am showing you first the cool Holidays cards from Haute Note. This Vancouver card studio is known for its signature low rectangular format.

They newly added the classic card format with the clean modern look and design that you have come to expect from them. As you can guest, Haute Note appeals to the cool urban crowd.

Design-wise, take a look at Starry Starry Night from the classic note catalogue. From the signature card catalogue, explore the latest Festive Foliage series and Ornamental series. Each series comes in 4 illustrations from which you select the one you like.

If you are unsure about card etiquette, you find a quick guide by Haute Note on their Web site. Finding the right message for your Christmas cards is sometimes hard. Some of their samples are:

• Season’s Greetings and Best Wishes for the New Year
• My favorite: From our home to yours, may your hearts be filled with joy this holiday season!
• Glad tidings for a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and peace.

Fine Stationery

If you are looking for a fresh traditional look, you will like the Bubbles n’ bows invitation and the Mainio gift tag I picked. You may use the Mainio gift tags to label your Christmas cookies. The catalogue at Fine Stationery is vast and varied.

For the invitation, Fine Stationery gives you two options for the invitations: print the text message on your own printer or have a professional flat print job. The decision really depends on your budget and time frame. You select the ink colors and the fonts. Fine Stationery publishes a fun to read blog called The Finer Things.

More on etiquette

It shows good manner to take the time to hand write a message on the back. It is inappropriate to send only and all printed card or gift tag. If you have questions about etiquette, you can send your questions directly to Letitia, the America’s etiquette authority. The most frequently asked questions are already published on Fine Stationery’s Web site.

Because a part of your recipients can be of different faiths or agnostic, it is often suggest these days to omit Religious reference in the printed message and image of your cards. A solution is to write down a note to highlight the faith aspect of the Holiday whenever applicable. That is what I do for a matter of taste.

But if you prefer religious cards, you can do the inverse. Your friends know you and even if they do not share your faith I feel that they should not be offended since it is a religious celebration after all. You can very well hand write a non religious wish to the non Christians and agnostics.

Or you can decide to have two sets of cards. As you can see, there is no single option. My advice is to stay true to yourself and to judge on a one to one basis.

Sourcing:
Buy online: Starry Starry Night by Haute Note – price: $24 CAD for 8 cards + 9 envelops
Buy online: Festive Foliage by Haute Note – price: $24 CAD for 8 cards + 9 envelops
Buy online: Ornamental by Haute Note – price: $24 CAD for 8 cards + 9 envelops
Buy online: Bubbles n’ bows # 71199 invitation at Fine Stationery – price: $31 USD for 25 print your own invites, $81 for 25 text printed invites, envelops are included
Buy online: Mainio # 72612 gift tag at Fine Stationery – price: $38 for 25 printed gift tags
Learn more: Blog of Fine Stationery

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