The Gallery Collection holiday cards review and giveaway

It seems strange to be blogging about holiday cards while we're still in the midst of all the pumpkins and candy apples, but pretty soon we'll be awash in holiday activities, so now is the time to get started on designing and ordering your holiday cards. We've already had our holiday photos taken because I'm determined to get our cards done early this year! I was thrilled when The Gallery Collection invited me to review their collection of holiday cards -- keep reading to find out what I thought (and enter to win some cards of your own!)

The Basics

About The Gallery Collection
The Gallery Collection is the leading business-to-business publisher of premium quality Business Christmas Cards, Christmas Cards and All Occasion greeting cards in the United States. Established in 1929, and still family owned by Prudent Publishing Company, we are proud to present the finest quality personalized Christmas cards and greeting cards available on the market today.


The Bongga
I ordered a set of Cheerful Greetings Cards, and the ordering process couldn't be easier. Just choose your design, then choose from a list of greetings (if you want to create a custom greeting it will cost extra), personalize your card with 2 custom lines (additional lines cost extra), and choose your envelope style (foil lining is free, self-sealing envelopes and printed return addresses cost extra).



My order arrived on time, and I was really pleased with how they turned out! The cardstock and envelopes are nice and thick, the print quality is excellent, and even though the design I ordered is cartoon-ish, it also had some gold foil accents (the tinsel) which I thought gave it a premium touch. They even included two free greeting cards!


The Blah
Some people might take issue with the lack of photo card designs (there are only a few, and your photo is not actually printed on the card, you have to print out your own photo and slip it into the sleeve of the photo card), but I actually don't. I have friends who prefer not to send or receive photo cards, and photo cards are not always appropriate, especially for business associates. The Gallery Collection's style is definitely more formal. I prefer more modern or whimsical designs (like the ones I ordered), but hey, that's a personal preference. Also, the price for a basic card is comparable with other online stationery sites, but all these extra costs are kind of irritating -- many of the "extras" are free options with most other sites -- and they do add up.


The Bottom Line
The Gallery Collection's premium paper and classic designs make them a great option for traditional holiday cards for business or personal use.



Win a set of greeting cards from The Gallery Collection
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will receive a beautiful set of greeting cards courtesy of The Gallery Collection. The winner gets to choose one of the following boxed sets:

Assorted All-Occasion Boxed Set

Assorted Birthday Card Boxed Set

Assorted Holiday Card Boxed Set

Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post and tell me:

* your favorite design from the The Gallery Collection's personalized Christmas Cards.

AND

* which boxed set you would choose if you win: the All-Occasion, Birthday, or Holiday set.

This entry must be completed before extra entries qualify.


Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1) Grab my blog button and post it up on your blog (1 entry).

2) Subscribe to Bonggamom Finds updates (1 entry).

3) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Networked Blogs (1 entry).

4) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger(1 entry).

5) Follow @gcgreetingcards on Twitter and tweet this, up to once per day (1 entry per day, leave a comment with the tweet link for each tweet):
@bonggafinds & @gcgreetingcards are giving away a boxed set of cards from The Gallery Collection! http://ow.ly/343af #giveaways

7) Write on the The Gallery Collection's Facebook Page and tell them you've joined the giveaway on Bonggamom Finds, and tell them which of their Christmas Card designs you like the best (1 entry).


The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on October 28 , 2011; I will draw a winner at random on October 29 and post the winner's name after the winner confirms acceptance. US addresses only. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

Disclosure: I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. I received a product sample to facilitate my review, but have not been paid to review the product or give my opinions. Product information is provided by the featured company/product and is indicated in italics. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.