Thoughtful Christmas Greeting Messages

Telling someone that they are loved during the Christmas season is easy with Christmas greeting messages. Multiple greeting card companies are always thinking up new ways to make the Christmas season special, improving on the variety and type of messages that can be found inside their Christmas cards.

The Origin of the Christmas Cards Custom

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The custom of sending Christmas cards began in London in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole commissioned a card with an illustration by John Callcott Horsley. A batch of 1000 cards was printed off and sold for a shilling each. At that time the focus was more on the picture than on the Christmas greeting message inside. From around 1860, Christmas cards were produced in larger numbers As printing methods improved.

The Development of Christmas Cards

Traditionally, Christmas cards showed religious pictures illustrating parts of the Christmas story. The religious aspect became less popular in the late 19th century and cards became more lavish. At the turn-of-the century European Christmas postcards were introduced and remained popular for the next 10 years. And from then on designs and fashions in Christmas Cards and their greeting messages have developed through the hand-painted cards were popular during the 1920s and heavily influenced by the Art Deco movement, those making fun of poverty and prohibition during the 1930s, to more humorous cards that were introduced in the 1950s. Humor continues to be popular today, as does religious motifs, winter pictures, Father Christmas, or romantic scenes of life in past times.

Searching for the right words to express to others inside a card can be a lot of fun for many people and makes the holiday season all the merrier. Like the card themselves Christmas greeting messages come in various forms. Many are sentimental with expressions of love for a special person, some are witty and some are of a more religious nature. And then there are the plain "Have a Happy Christmas" type messages. The greetings displayed in the card can mean so much to not only the recipient, but to the sender, as well.

Creating Your Own Christmas Cards

For those that like to create their own Christmas greeting messages, many cards can be customized on computers, as well as through specialty print shops such as Ipads. Many businesses and organizations like to have their own Christmas greeting messages inside of their holiday cards that are sent to their customers as a form of personalized "thank you" for their custom during the year. Customizing Christmas greeting messages is a great way to go that extra step and make card selection a bit more personal and can be easily and cheaply achieved at Costco or Kinkos.

In the end, however, it is typically not the card that makes the season special, but the Christmas greeting messages that are within the card so choose them thoughtfully.

Thoughtful Christmas Greeting Messages

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Hello! Create a Customer-Friendly Voice Mail Greeting

Who answers your business phone when you're not in the office? Most home-based business owners use an answering machine or voice messaging system. But it's not enough to just make sure the phone gets picked up when you're not there; the greeting your callers hear says more about you than just "leave a message."

That announcement may be the first contact someone has with you, and if you don't sound professional, the caller may not leave a message or may not call back.

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It's not necessary to sound like you're a major corporation, but it is important to sound like you're a serious, legitimate operation. Use these tips to create an effective voice mail greeting:

- Write a script. Don't try to record off the top of your head. Write a script that covers all the points you want to make in a concise format. Practice it so you can record without any awkward pauses or stumbles.

- Be friendly, but avoid being cute. Speak in a warm, friendly voice that lets your personality show through, but don't try to be cute or funny-it's not professional, and it could easily backfire.

- Avoid the obvious. It's not necessary to say things like "I'm away from my desk" or "I'm out of the office"-callers know that because you didn't answer the phone. Ditto with statements like "Your call is important to me"-callers know they're hearing a recording that you've made for everyone, so don't waste their time with generic fluff.

- Change your message frequently. People with flexible schedules may even change their announcement daily so the information is always current and accurate.

- Let callers know when you'll be available. If you won't be able to return calls for several hours, or until the next day, say so in your announcement so people aren't left wondering when they'll hear from you.

- Tell callers how to skip the message. If your system has the feature that allows callers to bypass the greeting by pressing * or #, include that in your announcement.

- Include your fax number and website or e-mail address. Some callers may just want to send you a fax or an e-mail; if your greeting tells them how to do it, you won't need to call them back.

- Provide alternate contact information. If you carry a pager or a cell phone and don't mind taking calls while you're out of the office, include that number in your greeting. An alternative is a system that automatically pages you when someone leaves a message, so you can quickly decide how soon to return the call.

- Include seasonal messages. Between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, start your greeting with "Happy holidays." For greetings that indicate you're closed for long weekends such as Memorial Day or Labor Day, end with a wish for a safe and happy holiday.

Here's a sample script:"This is Joe Smith. To bypass this announcement and leave a message, press # and begin speaking at the tone. Please leave your name, telephone number, the best time to reach you, and a brief message, and I will return your call within three hours. If you need to send a fax, that number is 888-123-4567. Or please visit my website at www-dot-websitename-dot-com for more information or to send me an e-mail. Have a great day!"

Hello! Create a Customer-Friendly Voice Mail Greeting

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