Tips To Create Christmas Cards At Home

Tips To Create Christmas Cards At Home

As the festive season of Christmas approaches again, people throughout the world send out dozens of cards to friends and relatives. The cards come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This tradition has developed recently, and is not over 200 years old. The custom of sending Christmas cards first started in England, and slowly spread to America.

The Christmas cards can be too expensive if you try to get them from a card store. With each year, the list of people you need to send the cards to, also increases. So, what can you do to keep it inexpensive and at the same time send out the Christmas cards to all your acquaintances? The best way out would be to make Christmas cards at your own home. They are not only fun to do, but the receiver of the card also feels goods because you took pains to do it yourself. It carries a dash of personal touch.

Making Christmas cards at home is extremely easy. If you know little basics of computer then you can conveniently create a card at home. You can make use of the clip art designs to create interesting cards. If you are creative then you may as well use the paint option to draw lovely images, fill in the colors and add pictures.

To make your Christmas cards more appealing, you can also add some self-written text in the card. You can also get pictures from the Internet and paste them on word to create cards if you can’t draw. However, be sure the picture you use does not have any copyright issue. After your card is ready, get a print of it. You can also create a cover for your card and decorate it with dried flowers and leaves. To protect this from damages, you can use cellophane wrapping or contact paper.

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The History of Christmas Traditions

Christians celebrate Christmas to observe the birth of Jesus Christ, which is an event and not a tradition; but many other activities related to celebrating the Christmas season evolved from certain traditions, many of which are from other countries, particularly from Europe.

Among common items used in Christmas decorations are holly and mistletoe. Both are used primarily in wreaths and garlands. The Druids started the tradition of using mistletoe as a decorative item two hundred years before Christ. To celebrate the winter season, the Druids would gather the plants and use them to decorate their homes. The Druids believed mistletoe would bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. They also believed that mistletoe had a healing quality and could be used for everything from healing wounds to increasing fertility.

In Scandinavia, mistletoe was seen as a plant of peace and harmony and was associated with Frigga, the goddess of love. This association is probably what led to the custom of kissing under the mistletoe. In the Victorian period, the English would also hang mistletoe from ceilings and in doorways during the holidays. The habit developed that if someone was standing under the mistletoe, someone else in the room would kiss that person. Such outright behavior was not generally seen in Victorian society.

The use of mistletoe in Christmas celebrations was once banned by the church because of its associations with pagan traditions and the use of holly was suggested as a substitute.

Poinsettias are another traditional decorative flower used at Christmas. It is native to Mexico and is named after Joel Poinsett, who was the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, and who brought the plants to America in 1828. Mexicans believe the plants were a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem and that's one reason they are associated with Christmas. There's also the story that a young boy was going to see the Nativity Play at a church but realized he didn't have a gift for Baby Jesus. The boy gathered some green branches, which others scoffed at, but as he placed them near the manger, a bright red poinsettia flower started to bloom on each branch, which gave rise to their traditional use at Christmas.

Candy canes became a Christmas tradition not because their red and white stripes matched the colors of the season, but for the most unusual reason of discipline. They were first used as treats that were give to German children to keep them well-behaved for the duration of church sermons. Over time, the legend of candy canes at Christmas came to be associated with some of the strongest symbols and beliefs of Christianity: the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, known as the Trinity: the Blood of the son of God; Jesus, as the embodiment of holiness, purity, and without sin; and the son of God as the shepherd of man. The candy cane represents these symbols respectively with its three stripes, its red and white color, and its shape.

Sending greeting cards during Christmas and the holidays is as prevalent today as the custom of giving gifts. The tradition of sending Christmas cards started in 1840 in Britain with the start of public postal delivery service of the “Penny Post.” Then, from about 1860, large numbers of Christmas greeting cards started being produced. The popularity of the cards increased in Britain when they could be sent by the postal service for one half-penny, which was half the price to post a standard letter at the time, if they were in an unsealed envelope. Religious pictures of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, the angels, shepherds, and Wise Men were traditionally placed on Christmas cards. Some cards today include scenes from the Nativity, but pictures of Santa Claus, winter scenery, Christmas trees, and gift packages are also depicted on contemporary Christmas greeting cards.

Christmas Greetings and Good Cheer

Greetings at Christmas extend beyond a mere wish of “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.” Christmas greetings embody a wish that all will go well in whatever preparations need to be made, and a genuine sentiment that much joy, happiness, and well-being will be experienced during the season.

The season of good cheer and wishes also reflect the jolly “Ho Ho Ho” nature of Santa Claus. To the delight of children, it is very easy for them to run into many jolly fellows dressed as Santa Claus who will quiz them about whether they have been good or naughty. Many times when friends, relatives, and loved ones call each other during the Christmas season, they will speak to the children and wish them Merry Christmas, but not without a warning that they had better be good or else there will be no presents from Santa Claus.

For children, therefore, a greeting of Merry Christmas has the purpose of increasing their anticipation for the arrival of Christmas Eve and Santa's visit to leave toys and Christmas presents under the tree. Because children also take part in many traditions associated with Christmas, holiday greetings for them are also a reminder of the fun they will have in doing such activities as decorating the tree, helping to bake cookies, and wrapping presents. When children have these things to look forward to at Christmas, it creates a lasting memory for them and it helps to make their childhood one on which they will later reflect with much fondness.

The more prevalent greeting of “Happy Holidays” that is used today reflects in part the prevalent nature to be politically correct in speech and communication. The greeting of “Happy Holidays” can be given to anyone, whether or not they celebrate Christmas. It avoids any offense being taken if someone is wished Merry Christmas when it's a celebration in which they don't participate or observe. “Happy Holidays” is also used to extend a greeting of goodwill beyond Christmas to the coming New Year holiday period. For procrastinators and the chronically late greeting card senders, they can still drop a “Happy Holidays” greeting card in the mail to friends and loved ones close to Christmas Day, or even after, and it will still be relevant.

Christmas greeting cards play a big role in communicating Christmas greetings and good cheer for the holiday season. It's a tradition that started in Britain in 1840, with the start of the first public postal deliveries. The production of large numbers of Christmas greeting cards started about twenty years later, in 1860, with the improvement of printing methods.

Today, Christmas greetings and greeting cards have further evolved with massive changes and developments in technology. The computer, which has become a necessary piece of electronic equipment in just about every home, is commonly used to send Christmas greetings through e-mailing online greetings or postcards. Online greeting cards have also brought other changes, such as being interactive or animated, and they can be easily personalized with pictures of individuals or families. Online greeting cards can be sent from web sites that are accessible to everyone, or they can be easily created on a home computer.

Another way in which Christmas greetings are sent is by mailing gifts relatives and friends who live elsewhere. Except for the dreaded tax season, there is no other time when post offices become more crowded than during the Christmas season. Post offices, therefore, play an important role in relaying Christmas greetings by handling thousands of greeting card mailings and gift packages for Christmas.

With just about everyone having a cheerful spirit for the Christmas season, it becomes very easy to pause for even a brief conversation and to extend a greeting of goodwill to friends, acquaintances, colleagues, neighbors, and others.

Making Memories During Christmas and the Holidays

A favorite Christmas song has a line that describes Christmas as “'the most wonderful time of the year.” While giving and receiving gifts is something that is highly anticipated and remembered at Christmas time, there are many more activities that make Christmas memorable and wonderful.

One of these activities is decorating the Christmas Tree. The Christmas Tree occupies a central spot and is the most visible display of Christmas in most homes. Unlike in other countries, most American homes do not have a representation of the Nativity scene, which is more likely to be located at churches.

As soon as the Christmas season begins on the day after Thanksgiving, families will begin their search for the perfect Christmas Tree. This in itself can become a memorable activity as children may accompany family members to places like a Christmas tree farm to select a tree.

Once a real or artificial tree is selected, it's an exciting activity for the entire family to play a part in decorating the tree. Manufactured decorations come in many shapes and forms. A special memory is created when family members make a special ornament for the Christmas Tree, or contribute one or more keepsake items to decorate the Christmas Tree. It then becomes a ritual each year for those particular items to be placed on the Christmas Tree although other decorations may change in coming years.

Another activity that can help to create special memories at Christmas is baking cookies. Along with popular gingerbread cookies, using cookie cutters to make special holiday-shaped cookies is also practiced a lot in households. Based on the ages of children, they can help in the actual baking activity by measuring and mixing some ingredients, or, younger children can sprinkle sugar on the cookies or decorate them with icing when they are finished. Helping in this activity can also be educational as parents can use the activity of measuring and figuring out equivalent measures to teach fractions and other mathematical elements.

An activity that is related to food which also helps to create memories during the Christmas season is making fruit and goody baskets, which are filled with candies, baked items, and other treats for loved ones, special friends, neighbors, teachers, or for charity. Items such as goody baskets make especially wonderful Christmas gifts because they are homemade. That quality often makes them more treasured than a Christmas present that is bought at the store.

Because Christmas is the season of goodwill and good cheer, it is very important to reach out to family, loved ones, and friends during the season. The busy lives that many people lead today often leave them little or no time during the year to be in frequent contact with family and friends who are located far away, or even with others who live within a reasonable distance.

It is, therefore, very common during Christmas to send a Christmas or holiday greeting card to those individuals. Along with the pleasant memory of receiving the card, there may be a short letter included that gives a brief account of any significant event in the individual's life or with members of the family. This makes sending and receiving Christmas greeting cards even more memorable.

Then there's probably the most anticipated activity of Christmas - finding out what Christmas gifts Santa brought on Christmas Eve. While adults also look forward with much anticipation to see what Christmas gifts they will get, it's really the children who get the most delight from receiving presents at Christmas. The carefully planned actions to hide Christmas presents from children, and then to magically place them under the Christmas tree to be found on Christmas morning, is one of the most wonderful ways to create unforgettable memories for children at Christmas.