Creating a card to send by email?
Notice the snow on the words A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and the white outline of all the letters.
Card from Wikimedia Commons.
Oh, dear, I did not post a Christmas card to our gardener in the UK. Such a lovely, reliable man.
Unfortunately he is old school and does not have a computer though I bet his children and grandchildren have.
If you miss Christmas, at least you can send New Year greetings. Do they have to arrive by New Year? If you want to put up a New Year's display of cards, yes. If you want to reciprocate a Xmas card with your news, then a later card or message is as they say, 'Better late than never'.
Sales
You can get cards at reduced prices in shops after Xmas.
Diary Note For Next Year's Xmas Postal Date
When you buy your new year diary, fill in the posting date and address of people you should send cards to in December of 2020.
Out of Copyright Cards
If you are looking for out of copyright cards for New Year, you won't find much on Wikipedia, But you will find more from Simple Wiki which leads you to New Year Cards around the world.
Hanukah
Oops - I missed Hanukah. Boris, PM of England, sent a Hanukah wish to all Jewish friends,f amily and colleagues and Jewish residents in the UK and overseas. Hanukah started Sunday 22nd December 2019 and continues 8 Days until Dec 30th.
The Hanukiah
The Hanukiah has eight candle holders, four each side for the eight days, one in the middle for the candle to light the others. Two more than the the Menorah which has 7 altogether for the 7 days of the week.
Jewish New Year
Hanukah falls around Xmas time. However, Jewish New Year doesn't match up with the Gregorian calendar. It's lunar, in the autumn, like the school and university term.
Jewish New Year
On Wikipedia I found a Jewish New Year card, but as soon as I thought about it, I realised that this isn't a Jewish version of a New Year card for January 1st , but Jewish Near Year is lunar and around September or October. In 2020 it will be Sept 18 evening (dusk, when you can see three stars or use the calendar in a Jewish newspaper, diary or magazine), Friday, until September 20 evening, Sunday (dusk).
Here is a pretty Jewish New Year card, from 1910, from the Jewish Museum in New York, USA.
Shana-Tova-Card Made by Itzuvit
For a DIY card you can cut up a leftover piece of a paper doiley. Copy old out-of-copyright music, sheet music.
Add pictures of happy or awe-struck children. She has a heart shape hair slide, hearts on her dress and hearts on her boots or socks.
Look carefully at the DIY card above and you will see the shadow formed from a raised backing. Or draw one to create an illusion.
For Jewish New Year cards, honey for sweetness, apples, whatever seems appropriate.
Notice the little pink apple shape, twice, top left and at the base of the flowers.
Show the sender's home or workplace or faith.
Chinese New Year
Similarly Chinese New year is lunar and is the end of January or February.
In 2020 it starts Sat 25th January and ends Monday 26th January.
However, a search on Simple Wikipedia put me in touch with Wikipedia Commons which offered several more cards, some from bygone eras or other countries.
Oops - Need Another Card
Visitors arrive. Xmas is over. But they brought presents for New Year. Failing all else, make a New Year Card and enclose a fresh banknote.
Gift Tags Needed
You have a gift but no gift tags. How to remember who gets what? How to tell them who gave what?
Printing A Folded Card
You could create a New Year card on your computer and print it. to make a folding card, check any greetings card to see which side for an one fold card. On the right which becomes the front. Either print on thick paper, or stick the picture on the front of thicker card.
Recycled Cards Sold
In the UK, Charity shops sell recycled cards. They also collect cards after Xmas for recycling. Saves paper and saves the plant as well as saving money.
You could buy a diary from Oxfam and include it with your card.
Recycling Cards At Home
Use last year's cards or this year's to make:
1 Hangings for a tree,
2 Strings of Xmas scenes to hang on walls,
3 Placecards on the table.
Fold once horizontally to create an A shape. Fold twice to make a triangle. After folding write name with black felt tip pen, using a ruler or pencil line drawn with a ruler to keep the writing level.
4 Gift Tags
5 Bookmarks.
Add a printed photo of a grandchild from grannies. Wish them a Happy New Year 2020.
DIY Cards From Magazines
No cards? Find Xmas magazines or leftover flyers for past events and offers in the local supermarket. Cut out a picture and stick it on stiff white paper. Or stick two pictures together. Add a white address label for your message.
Holes
Punch a hole with a hole punch or an awl or large darning needle.
Glitter?
I used to love glitter. It transformed an ordinary bought or home made card into one which looked expensive.
Pop Up Cards
My favourite cards are pop up cards
.
Writing A Greeting
You can use any of these methods:
1 Practise writing in pencil, space letters with a ruler and making dots, copy from any printed item whose font you like, write in black thick nib pen, or write double lines for each letter in a pale colour such as yellow or red, copy one of the parallel lines with a black fine tip pen to create a shadow effect. Do the pale colour first and allow to dry. black with another colour on top could smudge.
2 Cut the words 'Merry Christmas' from the cover of a monthly magazine or supermarket magazine or discarded newspaper. Check the editorial and ads.
3 Print in black in a fancy font. Insert a border.
MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY NEW YEAR
Arial
MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY NEW YEAR
Arial bold
MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY NEW YEAR
Arial bold Italic
MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY NEW YEAR
Courier bold Italic
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Georgia bold Italic underlined
💓Insert emoji💓
🎅
🌈
4 A-Z of XMAS
Make an acronym from a name. For example:
ANGELA - wishing you
a - abundance of friends, fortune, finance
n - no negatives; New Year with friends and family
g - good luck
e - exams passed
l - love, lots of love
a - apples and a fruitful year
Design letters to look like people or objects. If you cannot draw, insert an Emoji.
Use the letters of your name or your family name or the card recipient's name or the words merry or Christmas or New or year
An X is a running figure.
aA Eiffel tower or gothic window forming letter A pointed or arched at top, as part of the A in year; A for Aunty' Love from America (add flag)
b bedhead using the letter B, maybe as a half-tester bed with small canopy over the pillow' b for brother best brother; best biker with picture of a bike in the b
c - a clock inside the word C for Christmas; Christmas candle inside the letter C, Christmas tree inside the letter C; c for car with picture or a car
d - door, 'One year closes; another year opens,' letter box or door handle on the D; D for Dad or daughter or daughter in law
e or double e eyes, e in merry as an eye winking
f f with a balloon hanging from the top as if it is a hook; f for father; fun, funniest (funny face peering around the letter f is you or Mr Bean; wishing you a year of fun, friendship and laughter
g - wishing you all things good in the New Year, you are a gem, with a drawing of a diamond inside the G; G for gorgeous or great Granny or Grandpa
h H for Happy New Year heart with the design of you with your thumb tips together pointing downwards and your first finger tips together pointing downwards; holly on the letter h as above in Holleigh Caps; hugs, hugging the letter H; holding hands, an engaged couple forming the letter H
i - i forming an icicle
j - January first, J with jollity
k - the letter K forming the hands of a clock; k for kisses with lots of mouths or the word kisses inside a mouth or the letter KISSES on the teeth, or somebody blowing a kiss with the thought bubble kisses; K for three kings
l - love for love with tree hugging person or toddler hugging the letter l
m - McDonalds arch as part of Merry Christmas, especially if you include a voucher for mcDonalds or the promise of a trip or a small McDonalds toy; mistletoe hanging from the letter m; best mother in the world with photo of sender's mother inside the V of the capital letter M, or the letter O in MOM or MOTHER as a frame; Marvellous Mother or mother in law; Three Magi
n for New Year, with a newspaper with the headline new; M for the Magi
o O as a frame for a snowflake
P for pudding, with xmas pudding in the circular part of a capital letter P; palm tree leaning creating the letter p, or palm tree inside the top of the letter P; P for parcel or presents with parcels around the base of the letter P; poinsettia in the letter P; Partridge in a pear tree as in the carol On The First Day Of Christmas
q crown on the top of the letter Q; may you be the queen of Christmas
r - part of the rear of a reindeer running towards the right of the page, or the front leg and throat making the letter r; revellers raiing glasses of champagne, or glasses of sparkling wine or wine bottles forming the uprights of the two letters R in merry
s - snake; Santa sitting or snoozing in the letter s; snow dripping off the letter s; sleigh in the letter S; snowflakes patterns in the upper or lower or both parts of the S; so for song with an open mouth emoji inside the s; sunrise an sunset in the two halves of the letter S, a sun inside oen or both halves of the letter s, or a small letter s; s for sister, special sister; S for son; S for Special Sister; Shopping and sales - sale sign in the letter S or on a banner
t = xmas tree made out of the letter t or small photos of yourself or your family repeated; T for teacher, terrific teacher
u - umbrellas over the letter u or inside it or the two uprights of the letter U as the handles of umbrellas or an umbrella upside down closed or open; u for uncle with photo inside the U; love from the USA/UK
v for valuable, victorious, with a trophy; wishing victory in all your contests and conquests, climbing mount Everest, running your marathons
w snow with snow in the W
x - X for Xmas; running figure such as Santa forming an x from arms in the air diagonally and legs in an A position
y Y for year or the end of the word merry with somebody yawning, at midnight, or a calendar with Jan 1st or 2020; y for yule log with a yule log with the words yule log across the log
z - zzz morning after late night new year
DIY The year 2020
Pieces of ribbon. Double circles of oranged, lemons or kiwi fruit for the zeros.
5 Cut the edge straight with scissors or a guillotine. Or use craft scissors with a fancy edge.
Maybe you don't like glitter because it is said to be bad for fish, and eventually ingested by us. In that case, consider using a hole punch to create holes. Use the teeny circles from the holes as a contrast confetti on the card, white for snow, or coloured for a rainbow, whatever appeals
Finding Thread
Thread with ribbon or wool or the rope holders from paper tote bags.
Make A Box
What about leftover cards, too late to send? Make a four sided box in the centre of the table as a holder for a vase, or a container for After Eight chocolates.Two more cards can make a sloping roof. Just use Sellotape (sticky tape) on the reverse. Or overlap and staple. Place on a plate and circle with cotton wool snow and leftover Xmas cake decorations
Second Xmas In January
Remember, if you miss New Year, several countries celebrate Christmas on or from the eve of January 5th or 6th.
Useful Websites
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/last-posting-dates
https://www.cardsforcharity.co.uk/shop-online/cards
https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Greeting-Collection-Envelopes-Holiday
wikihow.com/Make-Christmas-Cards-If-You%27re-Not-Crafty
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Gift-Box-out-of-a-Greeting-Card#/Image:Make-a-Gift-Box-out-of-a-Greeting-Card-Step-22-Version-2.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Hashanah
https://publicholidays.sg/chinese-new-year/
https://lingojam.com/ItalicTextGenerator
https://www.canva.com/learn/christmas-fonts/
https://www.fontspace.com/dani-foster-herring/holleigh-caps
http://www.alphabetphotography.com/alphabet_letters.aspx
About the author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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