Festive Friday is the special day for everyone in the card industry (and all lovers of cards) to send their personal Christmas cards, creating a sparkly snowstorm of beautiful cards arriving in the first week of December and getting everyone in the festive card-sending mood! Sharon Little, the Greeting Card Association CEO, shares her top tips on making and sending the perfect Christmas cards.

Sharon Little - Greeting Card Association CEO

“You’re all the experts on this! But I do have one or two suggestions…

First off start early, don’t rush! Beautifully handcrafted cards are special because of the time you have spent making them and it’s meant to be relaxing, not stressful!

When you’re individually handcrafting cards, you have much more opportunity to make the cards really personal, spending time thinking about what this particular person would really like to receive, what would make them feel the most special. Are they a dog, cat or sport lover? Do you have any old photographs of happy times together that could make part of a lovely collage?

Less can sometimes mean more, pare down the designs for a more minimal look that is quicker to make. Use high-quality card for the base and just a few well-placed festive attachments.

Don’t forget the message inside the cards! I’m a great believer in the magic of ink on paper, use your best handwriting! The more you write in your cards the more meaningful they will be to your friends and family.

As the CEO of the Greeting Card Association, I write Christmas cards to all my members - over 450 of them! And they need to be sent on Festive Friday – the last Friday in November, so I have my cards designed by one of my members, delivered in mid-October and start handwriting them in batches from then! Then I start on my own personal ones…

If you only have time to hand make a few cards, then I would make cards just for your nearest and dearest, for the people who will appreciate them the most. There really is no shame in buying cards for your less close friends and family.

Over £50 million is raised for charities through the sale of charity Christmas cards, so you can buy and send cards in the knowledge that you are helping to support deserving causes financially and helping the charity to spread the word through sending their branded cards.

Head to The Greeting Card Association website for more ideas and tips for sending the best greetings to your family and friends!