I am a big fan of cards. Not e-cards. I’m talking about greeting cards – you know, the old fashioned kind made of paper, the kind that Hallmark makes, and those cards you find in bookstores and stationary stores. I love greeting cards. I think they are the best way to let people know how you feel and what you are thinking. Greeting cards are so personal. You can keep them in your memory box or shoebox for years to come. Can you do that with an e-card? I bet you can’t even find those e-cards from years ago.
I think greeting cards are a perfect way to bring back some nostalgia into this world. You don’t have to write much if you don’t want to, you can pick a card that already has something written for you. Or pick a card that speaks to you and your recipient with just an image, then all you do is write your name – they’ll get the message.
I give cards to people all the time for any and all occasions. I give one when I drop off a cutting of a plant; I give one for Mother’s Day, one for birthdays, Christmas, Diwali, Thanksgiving. When I drop off a dish I have made, I include a little card to say here you go, hope you like it. I love greeting cards. I even mail them occasionally if that’s the way it has to get to the person. I tell you, receiving something in the mail that is not a bill or an ad-paper is such a treat.
I’ve given cards to so many people over the years that once in a while someone will tell me, “You know I was going through some papers and came upon a card you gave me last year, and I read the note and it made me so happy – thank you, I love that card.”
When I last visited Kenya, Mom (my mom-in-law) showed me a card that I had sent her from Japan for Mother’s Day, 24 years ago! She still had it and showed it to me with a big smile. She asked me how come I stopped mailing cards to her. Well I stopped mailing cards to her because to mail a card to Kenya I had to go to the post office to figure out the right postage. I told her, “You know Mom, I send you e-cards now.” In response she just shook her head, and told me not to stop doing those things that makes people happy – in this case, mailing a greeting card.
I pick up greeting cards from all sorts of places. From the grocery store, from bookstores, from art fairs, and even from places I travel to. That way the next time I need a card, I can use one of the cards I picked up – wouldn’t you like to receive a card from another city or country?
I know a couple of people who like to make their own cards. Rani likes to make her cards and she is very creative. My friend Georgina likes to make her own cards too. I have a beautiful collection of hand-made cards from both of them.
Rani’s Hand-made Cards:
Georgina’s Hand-made Cards:
Here is a card that just spoke to me from the image itself. My friend Radhika gave me this card and I knew exactly what it meant! We used to go together to this lovely nursery called Half Moon Bay Nursery, it was our special outing, and we would be in heaven just shopping for plants in this nursery. This card conveyed that to me so beautifully, no words were necessary. I don’t know where she found it.
I love giving Thank You cards too. I know it’s easy to just drop a quick email or text to thank your friend or sister for that present she just gave, it’s faster and so much easier. I get it, believe me! You know what I do? After I send that email, I still write that Thank You card. It may not be as long as my email was (my fingers actually hurt when I write long Thank You cards, since even I don’t write as much as I used to). I just make the Thank You card shorter to say, “Hi, I just want to say thank you again. Looking forward to our next get together.”
Young kids get it 🙂 They love giving cards to people. We have even gotten a few cute cards from our little neices over the years too.
Cards from our little nieces:
Everyone appreciates receiving greeting cards, and most of us keep it forever.
Every Mom loves receiving a greeting card They save their kid’s cards from the time their kids could write. So what makes us think that just because we are older and adults now, that our Mom’s don’t want a greeting card – they do.
Mother’s Day Tip 💝
If your Mom likes greeting cards as much as I do, presenting her with a set of blank greeting cards, or a boxed greeting card set makes for a thoughtful Mother’s Day present. I received one year from my daughter Sri a box of Pierre-August Renoir’s paintings note cards from the Barnes Foundation Museum in Philadelphia, from when we visited Philadelphia together. Every time I open that box to use one of the cards, I think of her.
This year for Mother’s Day, instead of sending that e-card, go ahead and mail her a card, or give it to her in person. Or how about giving a card for any occasion, a greeting card that is. I promise you, they will cherish it for many years to come.