Choosing your company Christmas card

The very first lesson you need to learn if you're responsible for choosing your company's Christmas card is that, well, it probably won't be a Christmas card. Or at least, not all of them will be Christmas cards.

Unless your company's niche market is such that every customer, vendor and employee celebrates Christmas, you're going to have to deal with the issue of choosing the right holidays cards for everyone on your list including those who do not observe this Christian holiday.

The good news is that's getting easier. The bad news is it's getting harder. Let me explain.

More and more companies are designing business holiday cards that eschew the traditional Santas, nativity scenes and brightly decorated Christmas tree in favor of snowy landscapes, messages of peace and stylized snowflakes. Finding cards that offer a generic Happy Holidays is easier than ever.

But...with information readily available about the religious holiday schedules of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews and others, can one really justify sending a Happy Holidays card in late December to people who do not in fact have a holiday at that time of year? Ignorance about other faiths and the dates of their holidays is no longer a reasonable claim.

If at all possible, sending the right cards in the right seasons is a much more effective tool for building personal relationships.

But even if you elect to send just one kind of card, claiming that there is some kind of "holiday season" that is universally observed, at least in the US and Canada, you need to be aware of the images....a snow-covered Christmas tree shaped evergreen in front of a house bedecked in garland with a red-ribboned wreath on the door is in fact, a Christmas card. Regardless of the words. Even if it says Happy Holidays, it is a Christmas card. Be sensitive to that message.

If you are unsure about your clients' or employees' religious faiths, take the time to choose a seasonal image free from traditional Christmas imagery. Consider one with a message for the new year...even people who observe separate religious calendars acknowledge the secular New Year. A card like the one here is an excellent choice for a company looking for a way to tap into the power of personal greetings, while respecting religious differences.

For more information on business holiday card etiquette, check out BusinessHolidayCards' article.