You may want to think twice before tossing your Holiday Cards in the trash after the holidays come to an end.  It is quite possible that some of the lovely cards you receive may become collectibles!

It seems a holiday card sent by an indicted former Bear Sterns hedge fund manager made its way to eBay!  Bidding was at $81 before the media took notice and it was taken off the site.  See Reuters Deal Zone for the full story.

The lesson to learn from this is that the holiday cards you receive this year may someday become collector’s items worth bunches of moolah.  You just never know when someone you do business with or even your personal friends may become front page news.  

In this day and age, expect the unexpected and keep the cards you receive in your safe deposit box so you’ll be ready to offer them for auction when opportunity knocks.  But, wait a minute… how safe is a safe deposit box at a bank these days?  Maybe you should take your holiday cards and put them under your mattress too!

The new Christmas cards stamps for the 2008 holiday cards season are being released by the United States Postal Service this month. An illustrated virgin and child and four nutcracker designs are featured this year.

The United States Postal Service has announced their new first class stamp releases for the 2008 holiday season. Available in October, there are designs for those sending religious Christmas cards and four designs for the more generic seasonal greetings.

Four colorful nutcrackers add bold color and playfulness to holiday cards. Photographic images depict a king, a drummer, captain and a fun Santa. In blocks of 4, each nutcracker is bright and bold and adds a humorous touch to holiday greeting cards. At $.42 each, you will enjoy adding these playful stamps to your holiday cards and packages.

The king comes complete with a jeweled crown, the captain stands at attention in his yellow and blue uniform, the drummer is pounding out a matching tune and the Santa or Father Christmas is in red with a white beard and mustache and snowflake topped scepter.

For Christmas cards a painting entitled, “Virgin and Child With the Young John the Baptist” by Italian, Sandro Botticelli was the inspiration for this year’s Christmas stamp. The painting dates to around 1490 and the illustrator’s name and Cleveland Museum of Art, which now houses the painting, is printed on the bottom of the $.42 first class stamp.

In shades of blue and gold the painting depicts the mother and child relationship with John the Baptist seen in a prayerful pose on the side. Gentle and thoughtful, the message for the season is beautifully framed in gold for an elegant stamp that completes any lovely religious Christmas card selection.

Holiday cards remain popular this year as businesses reach out to new customers and work to retain loyalty from existing ones. A custom imprinted and personalized holiday greeting shows that your company is thriving and that customers and business associates are valued.

The sixth entry in our “Design of the Week” series is an especially nice recycled greeting on brown Kraft 100% recycled card stock.  A CardsDirect design exclusive, Season’s Greetings is the message printed below an image of the world sprouting a green plant encouraging all of us to protect our planet by going green.

During the series that runs through the Christmas holiday season, a new exclusive design is added each Monday.  Each card is printed on 100% recycled paper and comes with a matching recycled envelope as CardsDirect encourages environmental awareness.

Type “Design of the Week” in the search box to see which card is wearing the green sash!  Each card also includes your personalization and custom imprinted verse for a greeting that is not only attractive and exclusive, but earth friendly.

Look for future Design of the Week cards in categories including Thinking of You, Sympathy, New Years and more attractive recycled Christmas cards.

The “Design of the Week” for this week is a patriotic seasonal greeting printed on 100% recycled card stock. White stars on a red background form the CardsDirect design exclusive with Season’s Greetings in script on nice white paper.

The fifth card in our Design of the Week series, a new exclusive design will be identified each week through the Christmas holiday season as we continue to promote environmental awareness while doing our part to go green.

Check back each Monday to see which new card is wearing the Design of the Week green sash by typing “Design of the Week” in the search box on the website.

As always, each card will include your custom imprinted verse and personalization and a matching recycled envelope.

We hope you enjoy these weekly exclusive earth friendly designs!

Photo holiday cards are always popular greetings. Everyone loves to receive updated pictures of you and family members or just the children each year. It is great fun to watch everyone grow and change from year to year, especially when you can’t visit in person.

But, it certainly isn’t easy to get everyone all dressed up in their matching holiday attire (before its even cold outside) and grouped together for that annual holiday photo shoot. Getting all family members in the same place at the same time is a chore. Add the difficulty of getting that perfect backdrop and everyone’s hair in place and you have the makings of a family meltdown!

You’ll always find one in the bunch that just will not smile on demand, no matter what incentive you offer. And if you have a teenager involved, forget it! The hair is never perfect enough and no one wants to smile at the same time. Mom wishes she were skinnier and dad just wants it done! The baby won’t stop crying and that pushing the camera button and running to get in the shot can be a real adventure!

So, how do you capture the family moment in style without suffering and still have an end product you’ll enjoy sharing with your family and friends?! How about this…

CardsDirect has a holiday photo card design that allows you to display several photos at once! You can pick the photographs that best suit your fancy and capture the essence of that special someone without mandatory participation. You can even take photos in smaller more manageable groups. Arranged on an attractive holiday designed background, everyone will be pleased with the outcome. No muss, no fuss, just a holiday greeting that is one of a kind and a joy to send. Perfect smiles all around!