Commercial Break: Whatever happened to the personalised touch?

When did you last send a birthday message to a friend without that omnipresent Facebook sidebar having to remind you first?

Or can you recall the last time you sent a nice note to say that you appreciated a random but kind gesture without using an “@” sign to address its recipient?

If you can’t remember, you are not alone. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have become the very lifeline of our communication efforts these days and who can blame us?

They are free, they are everywhere we go, and they are easy to use. But, if you want to take a break from the digital age of point and click, a greeting card is still the best way to do it.
To start, the UK sends more greeting cards than any other nation in the world, with more than 2.5 billion sentimental, humorous, or short and sweet notes created and circulated throughout the nation in just one year. So if you’ve ever wondered if sending a card via the regular post was an outdated practice, you needn’t worry.

Even with constant access to smart phones and laptop computers, opening the mailbox to find a nice note is still popular among Britons.
As one of the most sentimental nations in the world, the UK also has an edge when it comes to personalised cards, which you can find from any company that specialises in gifts and greetings.

Hallmark, for example, has a web site where you can choose from many different templates to create a card with a personalised message and then have it delivered directly to the recipient. And if you just can’t pull yourself away from the computer, you can even use the Hallmark store to send an e-card with music and animation.

Of course, you may have to work a bit harder to make your card stand out with all these other forms of competing media.

One of the best ways to make a greeting card extra special is to send it along with a small gift that perfectly expresses your gratitude or love and that also says something about the person to whom you are sending it.

Birthday cards are always fun to send because you can pair them with the quirkiest of gifts so that they become like an inside joke between you and the recipient. And Valentine’s Day cards are some of the easiest to give because you can always tie them with a ribbon around a box of handmade chocolates or a colourful bouquet of roses.

You can “like” a status on Facebook or “retweet” one of your friends on Twitter, but neither of these sentiments quite comes close to sending a personal message that’s filled with appreciation, affection, or just the simple desire to say “hello”.

In an age of the five-second email, take a little extra time to surprise a friend or loved one with a genuine message to make a lasting impression.

This post is from Hallmark Cards and benefits us both because I was paid to include it and the information is, hopefully, helpful.