The Dogwood Hill team has pulled together a list of answers to frequently asked questions and some advice as a guide for our customers to reference when they create their Holiday cards.  Here are our suggestions for addressing and creating holiday cards…

Proper Plural – Use the plural form of your last name and not the possessive form.
Correct:  The Collier Family or The Colliers
Incorrect:  The Colliers’ or The Collier’s
The only proper use of the possessive form is when the invitation reads:  “Please join us at The Colliers’ Home.”
We see this mistake a lot and we don’t want it to happen to you!

Proper Way to List Names – When not using the family’s last name, we prefer to list the husband first, then the wife, followed by children oldest to youngest. When using the last name, do not separate the husband’s first and last name.
Correct: Helen and Christopher Walters
Incorrect: Christopher and Helen Walters

That Pesky Comma – The Oxford comma is common practice for everyday use, but it can sometimes be unnecessary and even distracting on a holiday card. We like the way this name list looks without the Oxford comma on a holiday card:

Merry Christmas!
The Holland Family
Henry, Anna Beth and George

Monograms – We recommend using a single letter monogram of the family last name. If you are a newly married couple, you might want to use your married three letter monogram. If you’re an engaged couple sending a holiday card or a party invitation that includes a monogram, the bride’s initials should be used or the couple’s first name initials and not the married monogram.

Addressing Families on the Envelope – We think either “Mr. and Mrs. John Smith” or “The Smith Family” could work! Using “The Smith Family” includes everyone if the couple has children.

The Best Photo – Make sure your photo is high resolution and good quality so it will print well. Remember the photo you see on your computer screen or on your phone is backlit and will appear brighter than it will print. So please ensure you do not use a dark photo when customizing your card.

Order Extra Cards – We think it is nice to have extras to send out to those who send you a card and you did not have them on your original list.

For Holiday Invitations:

No Zip Needed – No need to include the zip code on an invitation, only include it on the envelope return address.

RSVP – When requesting a reply on an invitation, include “Please Reply” or “RSVP” and not “Please RSVP” as that is asking the recipient to “Please Respond Please!”