Food & Beverage for Christmas and New Year

Delicious Food for Christmas and New Year

Enjoy these wonderful foods with your friends and family on these special holidays of the year. Let's share these good time and delicious food & drink together.

Dessert & beverage for Christmas and New Year

Early Start Essential For Corporate Christmas Card Success

Early Start Essential For Corporate Christmas Card Success by Tim Christopoulos

The Christmas holiday shopping season seems to start earlier every year. According to the National Retail Federation, some 40 percent of U.S. consumers will begin Christmas shopping before the end of October. While many people may question the appropriateness of planning for Christmas as the fall leaves are still turning, there are many reasons for businesses to think ahead one more season and start picking their corporate Christmas cards.

Choosing corporate Christmas cards is like any other business decision that requires evaluation, approval and implementation. Each step takes time, and the more people who are involved, the greater the chance that there will be delays in the process. Ordering cards is often the responsibility of the office manager, but other key executives are typically involved in making sure the card has the right look, message and image for their company.

Waiting too long limits the time available to choose and send holiday cards. With more organizations reducing hours during the holidays and people taking time off, cards should be mailed in early December so that customers and clients are still at work to receive them.

Sending cards on time is important so the cards don't seem like an afterthought. Too often, companies intend to do the right thing - such as circulating cards for personal signatures and hand addressing - but they fail to allow enough time. Then they find their greetings being delivered to an empty desk in late December, limiting the effectiveness of the cards.

Used properly, high-quality holiday cards form a valuable component of a company's overall customer relationship strategy. There are several ways companies gain value from sending holiday cards:

*Cards reinforce company name recognition in a more personal way than advertising or other communications *Cards can be customized with special messages or hand-written personal notes *Cards show that a business appreciates the relationship with customers, suppliers and other important groups

Although e-cards may be suitable for some occasions, the quality, beauty and permanence of paper Christmas cards help companies make a positive impression during the holidays. The very act of signing and mailing cards indicates that you value your customers by putting time and thought into what you send them, while sending e-cards may often look like a last-minute substitute.

There are several potential delivery issues with e-cards that also make traditional paper cards a better choice. E-cards that are sent with attachments or as part of a mass mailing risk being blocked by corporate firewalls or spam filters. Even if they are received, there is a chance an e-card will be overlooked or not opened given the volume of e-mail most executives receive every day. In fact, printed cards may stand out more than ever as the volume of regular business mail declines.

Holiday cards provide a distinctive personal touch that's often lacking in an increasingly frenetic world. A study by the Greeting Card Association indicated that nine out of 10 Americans look forward to receiving personal letters and greeting cards because cards make them feel they are important to someone else. Don't waste this goodwill by sending cards late.

A Fun Look At Christmas Greeting Card Trivia

A Fun Look At Christmas Greeting Card Trivia by John Oberhauser

As the holidays approach, I felt that looking into the history of greeting cards would be fun. I discovered a delightful mix of history, statistics, and fun trivia. Sit back and relax for a moment. Escape the stress of the season, and take a little time to learn some things about the Christmas Card.

- Sending greeting cards can be associated with the ancient Chinese. They absolutely loved to send celebratory good will messages to mark the coming of the new year. The early Egyptians used papyrus scrolls to express their greetings. As early as 1400, the Germans were printing their New Year's greetings.

- Christmas cards are an English innovation. They were originally penned by boys who were practicing their writing skills. The parents would receive these delightful handmade cards from their sons.

- Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first commercial Christmas cards in London, in 1843. That year, Sir Henry was to busy to write unique letters for everybody. The card contained the words "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You". John Callcott Horsley created the picture on the card, which was of a family hugging and raising their glasses in a toast. The card's design was condemned by critics for promoting drunkenness.

- Commercial Christmas Cards, which first appeared in America, are attributed to Louis Prang. A German immigrant, he opened a small lithographic shop outside of Boston in 1856. Most people agree that he began the US greeting card industry. He was producing more than five million cards a year by 1881. Throughout the 1890's, his cards continued to gain popularity. By this time, Prang was forced to abandon his greeting card production due to the cheap imports, which began storming the market.

- President Eisenhower issued the first official White House Christmas card in 1953. By the year 1961, the White House was sending out 2000 cards. By 2005, that number had risen to over 1.4 million.

- Current holiday cards can be purchased either in box form or individually. Use the boxed cards to satisfy your mailing list for Christmas, and use individual cards for people that are special to you. 9 out of 10 holiday cards are sold in boxes.

- In 2006, cards were exchanged by 2 billion Americans.

- Cards were sent by 85% of Americans in 2006.

- For every 3 holiday cards purchased and sent, one has a religious message.

- 30% of greeting card sales annually, can be attributed to the holiday season.

- Christmas cards are the most popular of all the seasonal cards. They comprise 60% of the total sales. Valentine's Day, at 25%, is a distant second.

- In the United States there is an estimated 3,000 publishers of greeting cards.

- "Merry Christmas" is the greeting preferred by 53% of Americans 21% of people like "Happy Holidays" and only 12% like "Season's Greetings".

- When considering which boxed cards to purchase, 56% of us consider the variety of cards offered while 63% base our decision on price. If you use an online distributor you should be able to satisfy both conditions: variety and price. They can put more kinds of cards on display than the average store can, as they have space management issues.

I hope that this was an enjoyable trip into Christmas Card history. Perhaps it explains our obsession with this particular holiday ritual.

Creating A Homemade Christmas Card - Cards They Will Love

Creating A Homemade Christmas Card - Cards They Will Love by Ron King

Christmas Cards: Unique Ways

The Christmas card is part of the folklore. If you are one of the masses who send and receive them, you know how special it can be to receive a homemade Christmas card from a friend you haven't heard from. You put them up in treasured places in your home to think about those individuals throughout the holiday season.

But we are busy people and it gets difficult and time consuming to find the time to get everything on the cards we send out. Yet there are some things you can do to offer a personalized message to your treasured friends. Here are some views for you.

Family Christmas Cards - Portrait

This is a great way to provide a personal touch for your special ones. Your recipients will relish this photo of you and your family for years to come.

You don't have to dress up and head to the trained photographer, either. You can simply send a candid shot that will show more of you than any professionally positioned one. Not only do photos provide a peek at what you have been up to, but they provide a lasting vision that you are sharing.

You can easily make copies of many of your cherished photos and distribute them to anyone on your list.

Create A Collage

If you have some time, a collage can be a wonderful way to use old cards that you have stashed away. Cut up the cards and reassemble them to create new ones. You can make beautiful patterns and, to finish these cards off, add photographs or even a charm inside.

You can find a fat enough envelope so that you can make them virtually any size or shape that you would like. These cards will stand out when you give them away. Let your imagination go and find a memorable way to use these old cards to bring more meaning to them.

Inside Counts In Addition

You should make sure that the inside of your card is just as personalized. You should tailor your dedication to the individual.

Write what you feel, not necessarily the usual Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Allow your sense of humor and persona to come through.

Have your family work with you to make an even better card. It may take a little longer, but it is well worth it. Maybe you can even get a ritual going when you send them out and next year you receive the same type of card back from your family and friends.

Instead of skipping through the department store this year looking at the large selection of canned Christmas cards that all seem to be the same, create something new and completely exclusive.

You can create and personalize a card without much exertion or you can go all out. This is a great way to personalize an old tradition.

About the Author

For more holliday shopping advice, visit Homemade Christmas Card. Also check out Family Christmas Card.

For Ron's website, visit .Holiday Gifts.