How to Write a Letter to Santa

santa claus holiday cardIt’s true that every letter one sends should be written earnestly and with importance. After all, while status updates tend to capture the commonalities of everyday life — a particularly delightful lunch, cheeky cat videos — a letter reports the thoughts, milestones and stories that have accumulated over time.

However, there is one letter every year that is written with especially particular focus and purpose to a very influential older gentleman: Santa Claus.

It is a letter that must recall with influential detail the benevolence, impeccable behavior and overall good nature one has exuded over the past year. At the same time, it requests something (or, in most cases, many things) of the recipient, who is given a very specific deadline to fulfill said requests.

We recognize the gravitas that is the Letter to Santa, and so below are our tips on how to write the perfect letter to everyone’s favorite red-suited shopkeeper.

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The Making Of: Our 2012 Holiday Photo Cards

When we decided to design our first digital holiday photo card collection last season, the idea was to offer options that kept to our high craftsmanship standards. Even though digitally printed, we wanted our Enthusiasts to feel confident that they were still sending Crane & Co. A pleasing-to-the-touch card stock and classic design accomplished that task quite nicely, we thought.

plaid red and green photo card inspiration

This year, we’re holding true to those standards while upping our design game, offering five new collections, each inspired by our classic aesthetic yet possessing its own distinct palette.

“As we sat down to design the 2013 Digital Holiday Collection,” recalls VP of Creative and Product Development Rachel V. Ivey, “we wanted to capture the many ways to express your personality, knowing that the photograph should really steal the show.”

silver holiday photo cards

With that said, our hope is that we’ve created designs that delight as well as compliment every picture worth gracing a photo card.

  • Tartan Tidings

red plaid holiday photo card

Red, green, gold and cranberry, along with a touch of the deep blues and greens of a Black Watch pattern, make this collection a classic holiday.

  • Vintage Cheer

Classic holiday imagery is combined with pinks and bright greens inspired by old time confectionary icons to give an added pop of color to traditional reds and greens.

  • Silver Linings

The primary color is silver with accents of red and green throughout. The silver is reminiscent of the glistening snow and makes a great accent for that great winter photograph.

  • Yule Jewel

Inspired by rich jewel tones, Yule Jewel pulls together a collection of these vibrant gems — emeralds, rubies, sapphires and garnets — to create dazzling holiday designs.

  • New Year’s

new year's eve holiday photo cardWe intended to capture the design elements in silver and gold to mimic the sparkle of a New Year’s Eve celebration. The designs in this grouping echo this glimmering color palette.

But wait, there’s more! Our entire digital photo card collection is available online and through your local retailer.

Need more holiday photo card suggestions or etiquette tips? Email our Crane Concierge at concierge@crane.com.

The Making Of: Our 2012 Personalized Holiday Card Collection

It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. So when our design team finally unveils the new collection of personalized holiday cards, it feels like, well, Christmas.

We must say they’ve quite outdone themselves this year, keeping with a classic, traditional look and color palette that showcases our elegant design and craftsmanship so well.

“This year we dipped into our archives to celebrate our heritage,” said VP of Creative and Product Development Rachel V. Ivey. “It has been great to look back at traditional American Christmas of the past.”

Here’s how our 2012 Personalized Holiday Collection came to be…

  • Colors

personalized holiday card colors

Our design team achieved the classic, traditional look of our distinguished holiday cards by using a core palette of Hunter green, medium gold and red. A hint of shimmering platinum adds an additional metallic to the mix.

  • Inspiration

personalized holiday card inspiration

Home decor and botanicals have provided inspiration for many of our cards throughout the years. It reminds us of our own homes during the holidays. For example, the Holiday Door design — new for this year — was inspired by the home of an employee.

engraved holiday door card

The wreath below is an example of taking vintage art and altering it for a whole new look. For 2012, we enlarged the design and printed in three-color letterpress with foil accents on our Lettra® paper.

engraved wreath holiday card

Many of the designs this year were enhanced by using multi-level model dies. The use of these dies in the engraving process gives added dimension to the card. The Classic Wreath is an excellent example of how a model die can make a beautiful design look even more dramatic.

“Christmas is a great season for Crane to showcase all of our incredible processes,” said Ivey. “We love our classic designs for which consumers come back year after year.”

Life’s richer with friends, so let’s stay in touch! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Christmas in July: Gift Ideas for (Almost) Everyone on Your List

Dear Christmas,

Though we are thoroughly enjoying the beach and afternoon treats of the frozen variety, we simply can’t wait for snowmen and partridges in pear trees. In the meantime, we’ll start preparing for your arrival.

Love & Letters,

Crane & Co.

It goes without saying, but the holidays and gifts are two of our favorite things here at Crane & Co. Luckily, the time to enjoy both will be here before we know it. In celebration of Christmas in July, and because getting an early start on one’s holiday shopping is always a good thing, here are our picks for everyone on your list.

Stocking Stuffers for the Staff
It is said that the best gift is an item one would never buy for his/herself. Personalized stationery is (all too) often one of those items. For the boss, a set of personalized note cards for her dedicated employees is certainly the perfect way to express genuine gratitude.

personalized correspondence cards

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Our Staff’s Favorite Things: Holiday Gifts, Part One

Here at Crane & Co., it isn’t unusual to find a staff member taking great pleasure — the kind usually reserved for dark chocolate and Swedish massages — in running their fingers over a newly printed piece of stationery. The thick, 100% cotton stock. The rich ink. The intricately engraved and letter pressed designs. It never gets old.

That said, what one of our Customer Service representatives adores and what a member of our Product Development team loves are as different as ecruwhite and hibiscus. Just in time for the holidays, here are our staff picks:

Pearl White Multi-Lingual Globe Thank You NotesLinda, Life Organizer Extraordinaire: “I love sending and receiving Thank You cards. Even though this card communicates the message in many diverse languages,  the meaning is universally the same.”
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Holiday Gifts for Everyone On Your List

As much as you love giving the gift of beautifully crafted paper every holiday season, you like to keep them on their tinsel toes. Which is why we’ve curated a very tailored collection of non-paper gifts we thought our Enthusiasts might just love. The hostess, the children’s French instructor, your favorite postal employee — we like to think we’ve thought of everyone. Here are a few ideas to get those gift-giving wheels turning.

jonathan adler blue playing cards

  • For The Player

Bridge club. Poker. Or just Go Fish with the kids. For the loved one who is always up for a game and can shuffle like no one’s business, these vibrant Jonathan Adler playing cards are a trick, an ace and a royal flush all in one.
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