Our First Christmas Together 2011 Hallmark Ornament

After I got married in 2007 my husband and I started collecting Hallmark ornaments.  It all started with an adorable “Just Married” ornament I received from my sweet Mother-in-Law.  Since that time my husband and I have started giving each other special ornaments each year.

There was also the “Our First Home” ornament which we purchased in 2008.  It was an adorable Gold Key with the words “Our First Home” etched on it.  So lovely and pretty that I get excited to see it come out of its box every year.

A Christmas Story Leg Ornament

Hallmark also offers lots of ornaments from famous Christmas movies – our favorite being from A Christmas Story.  We have a couple different ones from that movie.  One is the leg lamp that lights up and the other is Ralphie dressed as the big pink bunny.  They’re too cute and we giggle every year as we open up our boxes of Christmas decorations and find them nestled away.

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A few years ago, I stopped mailing Christmas cards and started sending out a Christmas email instead. Sure, it’s not the same–and some may even say my way is impersonal. But I just couldn’t continue to waste trees because of tradition.

Luckily, now that more people are eco-savvy, there are plenty of card options made on recycled paper.

What To Look For
Check labels for a high percentage of post-consumer waste (ideally, 100 percent PCW), which ensures that the product was made from recycled paper that would otherwise have found its way to a landfill.

Buying recycled and tree-free greeting cards helps preserves virgin timber resources along with the energy used to harvest them, as well as removes greeting cards from the solid waste stream, saving landfill space.

In addition, cards made with soy-based inks that are chlorine-free (look for the Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) label), carry a much lighter environmental load.

Tree-free greetings cards
Materials such as kenaf, hemp, jute, and flax, as well as residues from agricultural crops such as sugar cane husk and the straws left over from wheat, rye, oats, rice, and barley, are all being put to good use in the greeting card industry these days.

Hallmark
Hallmark offers 13 holiday boxed card designs that have less impact on the environment. These boxed cards are printed on recycled or alternative papers, use fewer materials in packaging, and are recyclable. In addition, the entire Shoebox holiday boxed card line of 12 designs uses recycled paper.

In 2008, Hallmark also developed a “green” icon with four arrows revolving around the Hallmark crown. The arrows represent the four areas of Hallmark’s environmental efforts – water, waste, paper and energy. In mid-2008, the Hallmark “green” icon started appearing on greeting cards and other product lines. Products made with paper from sustainably managed forests, recycled paper content, or other eco-friendly materials will bear this special icon, along with relevant labeling.

Other new eco-friendly Hallmark holiday options include convenient packs of five cards for $5 and three designs (18 each) of holiday postcards for $7.99 with little or no packaging.

The entire line of Hallmark holiday boxed cards has eliminated packaging components and reduced packaging sizes, which lowers the total amount of raw materials used by nearly 25 percent. Card boxes are printed on environmentally friendly ivory-printed paper stock, which can be recycled. In addition, some cards are sold in cigar-box style boxes, and other designs feature a lidded box with a replica of the actual card design shown on the lid. These packaging styles can be reused as a keepsake for the purchaser or as a gift box.

Hallmark Business Expressions, the business-to-business division of Hallmark Cards, Inc., also offers a collection of environmentally-friendly holiday business greeting cards printed on paper made from 50 percent sugar cane pulp and 50 percent recycled paper.

Looking for a Hallmark near you? Click here to find a store.

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“Not only do cards send warm wishes,” says Jennifer Kinnon of Hallmark Canada. “Your choice of card reveals something about you.”

(NC)—For more than 160 years, Canadians have been sending Christmas cards to connect with family and friends over the holidays. “Not only do cards send warm wishes,” says Jennifer Kinnon of Hallmark Canada. “Your choice of card reveals something about you.”

What’s the real message you’re sending?

Visions of sugarplums dance through your head. You’re a romantic. You put effort into preserving holiday traditions, right down to making Christmas pudding—from scratch.

The way you see it, humour is the best gift. You’re the rare laid-back reveler who wishes folks would stop stressing out and enjoy the season, like you do.

You’ve got tinsel in your blood. You think everything should be as Christmassy as possible and that means sending a card that sings. Keep it up: Your holiday spirit is infectious.

You have great empathy. For you Christmas is an opportunity to do some good in the world, so you give cards that give back, like Hallmark (RED) cards that help support the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Family comes first. Think of them and you burst with pride. You chose a family photo card that lets you record at 10-second holiday message to give your relatives the maximum cuteness effect.

You’re all about saving the planet, but you’re a traditionalist too. These facets of your personality come together in the form of a card made from recycled fibre and sugar cane pulp.

You can find more holiday tips at www.hallmark.ca or toll-free at 1-800-268-3230.

Holiday card etiquette: Mrs. or Ms?

Dreaming of a ‘write’ Christmas? “Sending holiday cards allows us to share news and hear from loved ones,” says Jennifer Kinnon of Hallmark Canada. “It’s a tradition most of us won’t do without.”

Add to your card-writing panache with these tips from the experts at Hallmark:

• Make your cards more personal with a little note and be sure to sign the card.

• Traditionally, family signatures begin with the father’s name, then the mother’s and finally the children. Or simply use “John, Mary and family.”

• For couples with two different last names, address the card to “John Jones and Mary Smith.”

• When addressing cards to family and friends, include their children’s names.

• For a married woman who uses her maiden name only at work, address the cards to “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith.” If she uses her maiden name for all occasions (work and social) address the card to “Mr. John Smith and Ms. Susan Jones.”

- News Canada

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