3 Holiday Card Essentials
Getting the physical tools to reclaim your voice these holidays
I’m on rampage to help bring back some semblance of humanity to 2020’s holiday cards. But I don’t want to go on a tirade without providing some basics steps and tools to help you in your journey. Let’s keep it simple with stamps, cards, and a good pen.
Getting yourself a few materials that you love and that bring you joy in their use will help to kickstart this process. While I will provide some examples here, in all cases simpler or no-cost options for these materials exist.
Stamps
One of the first things that someone receiving a card will see is the stamp you use to send it. Along with the curve of your writing, a nice stamps sends a simple signal that you took care in creating your holiday messages.
If you live in the U.S., you can buy a full range of stamps online but buy them early as it takes a couple of days for delivery. As I consider what stamps I’ll choose, I try to look for a variety of artistic expressions, often from the holiday line, but not exclusively. Something like a soccer ball or scenic views of the West can be just as inspiring (or more) than a picture of Santa.
This year, I was drawn to the Voices of Harlem and Hiphop series from the postal service. While I haven’t yet received them in the mail, the artwork is beautiful, and the stamps provide some action and focus on people in a time in which many of us are more isolated than ever.
Cards
Holiday cards can be the recycled back of your brown paper grocery bags or a personalized card from a hand-made stationer. For simplicity, I will highlight a few places you can buy cards, with an extra shoutout to some amazing Black-owned stationary stores. But, don’t worry if you’re buying the cheapest box of cards or inserting your own recycled paper. It’s what you put inside that will have the biggest impact!
My cards this year almost all have come from Greer Chicago, one of my favorite stores to browse in person, but luckily for all of us while they are closed in person, they have a wonderful online selection. Choosing some cards that have a heavy sense of place is a great way to root your message and help others in your life to travel to you. For my fellow Chicagoans, Foursided and Paper Source have some good options.
But if I hadn’t already purchased way too many cards, I can say that I’d be going to Oh So Paper, Neighborly, Culture Greetings, Little Lovelie Studios, or Graphic Anthology, all Black-owned businesses! All small businesses need our support right now, but supporting artists and businesses of color is especially important.
Pens
Lastly, as you are preparing to write your holiday cards, I encourage you to buy a good pen (or two or three). And this is not for writing out fancy addresses, but actually writing personal messages in your cards!
A good pen feels like a gift, comfortable and graceful as you write. For many a good Bic or fine-point Sharpie may do the trick, but I have chosen this year the Staedtler fineliner. For me as I choose a pen, I look at weight, speed of ink absorption, fineness of line, and some unexplainable X factor.
Try out what you have around the house or order a couple of pens online. You won’t regret it!
