How to Choose Personalized Stationery
Personalized note cards remain a prominent fixture for many these days and are still perfect for many special purposes. A hand-written note is definitely more special than receiving a text or an email. Receiving a card in the mail creates a much more impressive impression.
Whether you are simply sending a note card to a co-worker, to a family member, or a thank you for a present, a personalized note card will be unique and will create a great presentation for your message.
So, how do you decide what to order? Which are the best note cards for your purposes? From Everyday Stationery to Business Stationery, Stationery for Kids, Business Stationery or Thank You Cards, we discuss what to look for and ideas of how to use the cards below.
These are note cards are used for everyday reasons versus for a special event. Examples of such uses are a note to a relative, a thank you to a friend for a dinner, adding a little note in with some photos or other inserts to send in the mail, a note of appreciation to a teacher, even to use as a gift message with a present or other similar purposes.
For Everyday stationery, simply select a style that shows your style. You can pick something more basic like a full name on a white or ivory card, select a motif or design that you like, or a full color flat-printed foldover note card.
Everyday note cards tend to be more casual in style and can be a flat card or a foldover card. No matter what your budget, you are looking for something you think is great looking and represents your personal style.
Teaching the younger set how to write a note card or a thank you card is an important skill and serves a different purpose than sending a quick text. For younger kids to the older teens, it’s great to teach them that courtesy extends beyond 140 characters. The process of writing a note card by hand, addressing and stamping it, and putting it in a mailbox is a lesson that will serve them their entire lives.
Kids love to see their name on note cards and they simply adore color and special designs. Most younger kids have some favorite themes, such as a firetruck, a princess theme, ice cream cones or dinosaurs. Teens and older kids love fun, preppy, trendy and bold designs. So whether it’s kids stationery or teen stationery, there are designs appropriate that will encourage putting pen to paper.
It’s great to get kids in the habit of showing appreciation and thoughtfulness to friends and relatives who have helped them or provided a gift or done something nice for them. Helping kids send a thank you card for birthday gifts, holiday gifts, and more is a great exercise for them.
There are also other reasons for kids to send thank you cards such as to teachers who go out of their way to help a child. Teaching kids to be gracious and recognize acts of kindness is important. Another great reason to send a thank you note might be when a friend’s mom or dad hosted your child for a sleepover or invited them to dinner or drove them to school early. These are all reasons to help your child send a little note of thanks!
So much of business today is certainly done via email but there are situations where there is no substitution for traditional correspondence. Certainly sending a thank you note to a potential employer must be done with a handwritten note. And there are other everyday reasons where writing a note will be useful.
Stationery in business can be used to write notes to clients, to potential customers, to vendors, to co-workers, to associates, and to those one might meet at seminars. It’s a great tool to put your name in front of another and send your message, while showing your style.
Note of appreciation such as for a thank you for a lunch or dinner, a nice-to-meet you message to cultivate someone as a future contact, or a thank you note to a co-worker who went out of their way to assist, will all be positively remembered.
Stationery for business purposes tends to be more formal. The note card can be a foldover or a flat card, also called a correspondence card. Whether the card stock is plain white or cream or there is a colored border, the style and color is personal preference. We would recommend more subdued or basic colors for business use such as grey, black, navy or brown. Brighter colors are normally more used for social reasons.
For a business use, we generally recommend using a full name, rather than initials or a monogram or a first name. A full name will better serve the purpose of a business contact and you can always tuck in a business card too when you mail the note, depending on the circumstances, so they know how to reach you. Some note cards also provide a second line of text where you we can print your title or company name if desired.
Sending a hand-written thank you card will be appreciated and positively remembered. Written thank you cards should be used for gifts received from weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays, anniversaries, holiday gifts and other special occasions.
For weddings, you will certainly want to send a thank you note to everyone who provided you with a present. It’s also ideal to also send thank you notes to those who helped with the wedding such as your planner, caterer, photographer, hosts and hostesses and others.
Try to get them out as timely as possible. Many say up to 1 year is acceptable, but we say it’s ideal to get them sent within 3-6 months after the wedding if possible, but it’s never too late to send a card.
For occasions other than weddings, try to send thank you cards within several weeks. Within the note, try to reference the gift in a nice way and say what specifically you liked about it and how thoughtful it was.
During the holiday season, it’s very appropriate to send thank you notes for holiday parties you attend, for Christmas presents received and more. You can also use your personalized stationery when you are giving gifts such as to a teacher, a manicurist, hair stylist, friends and family.
During holiday time, your stationery can be holiday-themed with designs like sleighs, Santa, or mistletoe or they can simply be everyday cards that just say thank you with your name(s) or even simply your monogram.
And if you are considering a gift idea, order a box of personalized stationery!
Best wishes,
Renee