Don't waste your money on Christmas cards.

Don't waste your money on Christmas cards. There. I said it.

I hear it alllll the time. Christmas cards are a waste of money.

I agree. Most of the time they are. But I would like you to hear the story of, well, my Christmas card.

I know, I get it. A blog post about a Christmas Card? Seriously?

Yup.

Is this one of those challenges to post random ish?

Nope.

Because the truth is, there is so much more behind my card – and many others – that you don’t see.

I often get asked about my personal Christmas Cards, and well, here it is! I am a lover of light colors and simple designs to show off the beautiful family photos. My card this year also features the phrase "The best gift around the tree is family”, with “family” written in my own calligraphy. To finish it off, I added an opac white foil stamp to give it a pop of luxury.  If you follow me on Instagram, I said it had a lot of meaning... so here it is:

2017 Smith Christmas Card - Pretty simple right?

The Story

When my dad had quadruple bypass surgery, life was pretty well put on hold as I packed up and made being with him a priority. This is certainly a risky surgery and if successful, was going to require some hospital time. We all know how fun hospitals are, so I went prepared with my tablet. We recently got family pictures back from Rachel, and I knew they would put my dad in the best of spirits. When he slept, I took a small walk and found a tiny, but cute, gift shop.

When I walked in, there was a small wooden square block that stood out to me. You know the ones, the kind that are allllll over Hobby Lobby.  I adjusted the position of that block and saw this quote: “The best gift around the tree is family.” Going on the newly-found inspiration, I headed back to my dads side (who was just about to be taken back for the procedure) and started to sketch out what it meant to me.

 
Family copy.jpg

The procedure was hours long. Hourssssss. But this, what you see here, made that time pass. I started with the lettering of "family", and built upon that. I ended up with two versions; my own, and one to offer to my clients. And every time I look back on that card, Ill probably think “what a year”. But I’ll also be reminded of all that my family overcame through the year.

The bottom line is, everything has a story. Even something that seems so minuscule, like a Christmas card. No one knew the little story behind my card until now. Not my dad, family, or any of the 13 people who purchased this design.

This is the beauty in hiring a designer to work with for Christmas, other holidays and life’s precious moments. Online sites don’t tell your story that is meant to be shared.  Your stationery could.

 

Will they just be thrown away?

Yes, if they are made to be that way. Give people a reason not to and it will always be a treasure.

 

I share this so you see why I do, what I do.

I share this because it give purpose. I want my clients to know that I design stationery and calligraphy because of the stories and heart behind the people purchasing them.

So back to my initial thought: don’t waste money on Christmas Cards.

Invest it in the story.