Valentine's Day Cards

The practice of sending a Valentine's Day card  is one of the most common ways of celebrating Valentine's Day, the second most anticipated holiday for sending greeting cards  in the United States after Christmas.  Every year consumers spend millions of dollars on cards  that will put into words how much they care for thier loved ones. And while many may simply call Valentine's Day a "Hallmark holiday" created to part people from their money, the legend of St. Valentine makes it more romantic.

According to legend, Emperor Claudius II made a law forbidding soldiers to be wed because it would make them poor soldiers. In spite of this new rule a Roman bishop named St. Valentine took it upon himself to begin wedding lovers in secret. Upon discovery that he was commiting these crimes, he was immediately imprisoned and sentenced to death. During his stay in the jail, the keeper's daughter would frequent Valentine's prison cell until an amorous relationship began to form. Finally, before being sent to the gallows the jailer's daughter received a farewell note signed, "From your Valentine." This tradition of being someone's Valentine has continued ever since, or so the story goes.

Now the question is, what type of card will you send this year?

There are a variety of cards to send for Valentine's Day. You can buy a single card in the drugstore, a pack of several from an online retailer, or you can even make your own. Don't forget that there are eCards too, a fun, fast, and often free way to say how much you care. Below you'll find some basic advice for choosing cards, lots of useful links, and plenty of options for shopping!

Paper

Paper cards are standard, easy to obtain, and fairly inexpensive. You can buy them online in packs or buy the unit at a local retailer. Should this be the only time you plan to a send a Valentine, it's probably best just to hit the store and pick one up. However, should you want to send a card to all your friends, buying them online might be easier. It is an especially good choice for teachers or day care facilities who want to make an activity out of exchanging valentines for the kids.

The top manufacturers that are seen in stores are Hallmark  and American Greetings.  For a full list of manufacturers and links to their Web sites, please see this useful, annotated index at dmoz.org.

Make Them Yourself

Making cards, especially on a holiday such as Valentine's Day, is the most thoughtful and personalized type of card to give. Making cards is easy too. You can make a mini craft project out of it or make a group activity for the whole family to do. Some of the the things you might need include heavy construction paper  or cardstock, scissors,  and glue. 

To decorate the cards, try glitter, lace, doilies, feathers,  or simply color or draw a pretty picture. You might even choose to cut up old magazines to create a collage. Another option is to design a card on a greeting card program  to print from the computer.  Here's a useful article from About.com about making a greeting card on your computer. You can also find layouts on the Internet and print those as well.

For more creative ideas on how to make your own Valentines, check out the following sites:

• The Creative -- Creative ideas to make unique Valentine's Day cards.
• All Crafts -- Valentine's Day craft projects.
• Craft Site Directory -- Project ideas, card making layouts, and more.
• eHow -- How to make greeting cards with paper cutouts.

The only trick with homemade cards is to make sure that you write something great inside. After all, it is more than the look of the card that matters. Here are some useful Web sites with advice on how to write a proper Valentine:

• My Dear Valentine -- How to say, "I love you" in 100 languages.
• LovingYou.com -- How to write a love letter.
• Write Express -- Start to finish, how to write the into, body, and finale to your love letter.

ECards

There are hundreds of Web sites that are dedicated to sending eCards, a perfect way to say Happy Valentine's Day when you have many friends on your list or when you want to send virtual hugs and kisses to friends or family overseas. A slim few of the Web sites stand out as being top of the stack. Here are some of the best of the Web and a brief description of each. Remember, it often pays to send free eCards versus signing up for a pay site unless you are interested in sending several cards to many people throughout the year.

• Free
• Care2 -- Pages and pages of cards to choose from with flash or animation. Standard cards also available.
• eCards.com -- Easily customizable and mostly free cards with nature scenes and photos. Limited selection.
• Funny-eCards.com -- Perfect for people who want to avoid the sappy cards, this site offers a selection of cute cards.
• Hallmark -- One of the best sites around with a wide variety of cards to choose from that are free to send after signing up. Highly recommended.
• Regards.com -- Lots and lots of animation but the cards have a bit of playful humor to them.
• Super Laugh -- Funny and perfect for sharing with friends.
• WebShots -- There's something here for everyone.
• Yahooligan's! Ecards -- A decent collection of ecards to choose from absolutely free.
• Membership Required
• American Greetings -- A variety of cartoon cards, animations, photo cards, and more, but all for a fee.
• Blue Mountain -- The selection consists of mostly cartoon animations. Once you join you can creat and print or email cards or select from all those available on the site.