Birthday Card Greeting Etiquette
Just as if you were writing a letter or a thank you card, there are certain etiquette guidelines that you should know before sending out your next birthday card -- when to send it by mail, what to write inside the card and even how to address the envelope.
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More Than a Signature
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Sending a birthday card with only your signature written inside is not enough, even if the card you send is a humorous one. You need to write a personal message inside the card wishing the recipient a happy birthday. For humorous cards, you can expand upon the joke. Avoid jokes about the recipient's age unless you know the person really well and are sure that the joke won't be seen as offensive.
Share Memories
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Share fond memories that you have of time you spent with the birthday card recipient. Let them know how much they mean to you and how they have affected your life. The memories you share can be humorous or more sentimental to match the tone of the card. You can even include tokens of knowledge that you hear the recipient recite often and let them know what they mean to you.
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Admit You Are Late
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If you know the card won't arrive on time, use your inside message to apologize for it being late. Write a message expressing your hope that the card did arrive on time if you feel that it might be late. Ignoring the fact that a birthday card is arriving late doesn't make it on time. It may even make the recipient think that you don't know when their birthday is.
Mail
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A birthday card should ideally be mailed out a week before the recipient's birthday. Send it two weeks early if it's headed to another country. Send a greeting card immediately if you realize that you are late getting it out. Send a belated birthday card if you realize the greeting will be sent less than a week before their birthday.
Extra Effort
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Before you sign and seal the birthday card, make sure that you read over what you wrote to make sure that words are spelled correctly and basic grammar is correct. After you sign and seal the birthday card, hand address the envelope. An address label may be quicker and easier, but it also shows a lack of effort and time. Hand addressing an envelope lets the recipient know that you didn't squeeze them in, so to speak, but rather that you set aside time to write a message and send a card.
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References
- Photo Credit Thais Mor
