- Who you should send cards to
- Have you bought enough cards
- Organizing recipients addresses
- When you should send the cards
- Confirming that you haven't sent the same card as last year
A holiday card organizing plan will take the stress out of this holiday season and it will make it that much easier to prepare for future holidays.
Determine the Recipients:
Create a list of all the people you wish to send (either by mail or hand) holiday cards to. It is helpful to list each person under a category: family, friends, co-workers, miscellaneous.
Organizing Contact Information:
A good way to keep track of recipients and their addresses is on a spreadsheet, preferably on the computer. Using a program like Microsoft Excel for example, will help you to easily organize contact information, alphabetize it, and make changes as needed.
Determine the Card Quantity:
A good rule of thumb is to create your card list first to determine the number of cards you need, and purchase 1-2 extra boxes of cards in addition. Having extra cards will come in handy for people you may have forgotten to add on the list.
Mailing or Hand Delivered Cards:
Since this is the busiest time of year at the Post Office, I would suggest mailing holiday cards the first week in December. Hand deliver cards by the second week in December at the latest.
Avoid Sending the Same Card as Last Year:
At the end of the holiday season, I like to keep one card from the stack that I sent, and date the inside. By doing this, it will ensure that I don't purchase the same cards next year.
Helpful Tips:
- Purchase holiday cards by the middle of November, so you will have enough time to get them out on the first week of December.
- Handwritten cards are always more personal and preferred by the recipient than typed. This includes the recipients address too.
- Remember to put your return address on the envelope so the recipient knows who the sender is, and the post office can send it back to you if there are any issues.