8 Interesting Facts about Christmas Cards

Whilst planning my Christmas card writing service, I came across some interesting facts about Christmas cards and thought I would share them with you.

Who invented the Christmas Card?

Well, back in the Victorian period the tradition was to send a letter to family and friends at Christmas.  Sir Henry Cole a founding director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, was also a great supporter of the introduction of the Penny Post on 1840.  In 1843 he received large quantities of letters and was concerned that he would not be able to reply to them all, which would have been considered rude.

He wanted to find a quicker way of replying to his letters, and decided to use a card to write a short message.  He commissioned John Callott Horsley to paint a picture for the front of his card, which was in the style of a postcard and the size was 5 1/8 by 3 3/4 inches.

He commissioned one thousand cards, and the surplus cards were sold for one shilling, making them the first commercial Christmas Cards.

When did the format change to a book format?

People found that they wanted to write longer messages and didn’t have room on the postcard style.  In 1915 a Kansas Card Company, the Hall Brothers Company which later became Hallmark, designed the book style format we have today.  They were 4 by 6 inches and folded to fit in an envelope.

Why are robins featured on cards?

In the Victorian period postmen wore red waistcoats and were nicknamed “Robins” and this is why cards often show a robin delivering the post.

How many cards were sold in the UK?

In 1880 following the introduction of the Half Penny postage approximately 11.5 million cards were sent.

In 2017 one billion cards were sold in the UK, including 100 million single Christmas cards, and 900 million in boxes.

Charities estimate that £50 million is raised for good causes.

Thank you for reading.

Anne

 

Strawberry Office provides flexible, virtual, administrative support to small businesses, and support with lifestyle management.

If you are struggling to find the time to write your cards, Strawberry Office has a Christmas Card Writing Service, and more details can be found on the Strawberry Office website.

 

I’ve heard the term VA, but what is a Virtual Assistant?

Whilst attending networking events, I have noticed that not many people are familiar with the term Virtual Assistant.  Indeed, I think some may think is it some form of robot or virtual online help, perhaps built into a car.  So I thought I would write a few lines to explain.

Where did the term come from?

It is believed that the term Virtual Assistant was first used by Thomas Leonard, a coach and speaker, who founded Coach U.  He travelled throughout the US living in a Winnebago and had an assistant who helped arrange his travel.  With no physical office, and constantly travelling, he never met his assistant, Anastacia Brice, and once referred to her as his “Virtual Assistant”. He continued to use the term and encouraged other coaches to have a VA to assist with their businesses.

Who was the first VA?

Having done some research, there doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer, but two of the pioneering VAs were Anastacia Brice and Christine Durst.  Secretaries were working from home back in the 1980s, but with advances in computer technology in the 1990s it became possible to provide administrative support further afield, even to other countries, hence the term ‘Virtual’ Assistant.

Stacey Bryce went on from being a VA for Thomas Leonard to establishing the VA training business, AssistU, and Christine Durst wrote “The 2-Second Commute” book.

What does a VA do?

A Virtual Assistant is someone who is self-employed, works from their own office, providing administrative support to business owners, or busy people, in any location.
They may provide traditional PA support or specialise in a particular skill such as social media management, book keeping, or an IT system like Mailchimp or WordPress.

Support is usually provided on an hourly basis, by the project, or on an hourly retainer package, which provides great flexibility, especially for small businesses.

Thank you for reading.

Anne

 

References:
The 2-second commute by Christine Durst & Michael Haaren
Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA by Diana Ennen & Kelly Poelker