Introduction

Throughout the fifteen years that I was in the card and gift shop business, my customers often asked me to help them find the right words to say what they felt, whether they were wishes for a happy birthday, congratulations on the birth of a child, or condolences on the death of a loved one.

No matter how beautiful a greeting card and its verse, nothing means more than the handwritten note added inside the card. It is the most important and meaningful part of the card.

But from time to time, we all have difficulty coming up with the appropriate phrase. How many times have we struggled to find the right words, especially for a sympathy or get-well card? Sometimes our mind draws a blank.

Finding the Right Words is the answer to this problem: it's a quick and easy-to-use reference guide designed to jump-start you in the writing process by providing lists of phrases, words, and sentiments for most occasions.

You will also find useful information for card mailing."Helpful Hints" gives you tips on how to be more organized and efficient in your card giving, so you never have to send a belated card again. There are also monthly lists for birthdays and anniversaries, state abbreviations, and pages for your holiday card lists.

There are so many uses for Finding the Right Words! Besides helping you with preprinted cards and blank notes, some of the phrases also make perfect "toasts" for special occasions such as weddings, retirements, etc. This book itself makes an excellent gift to include in a gift basket, or a great stocking stuffer at Christmastime.

And don't feel locked into using the phrases as they are: change them around to suit the occasion or the person to whom you are writing; feel free to be creative with them! And if you don't find what you need in one section, check the other sections, as some phrases are interchangeable. Or combine phrases to fit the occasion.

Greeting cards are a permanent and meaningful method of communication. Emails and phone calls are wonderful, but they're gone as soon as you hit the send button, or hang up the receiver. After an occasion has passed, we often hang onto the memories, the photos, and the greeting cards. This book is my gift to you, to help you create personal messages on cards that loved ones will hold onto as keepsakes forever.

Copyright © 2003 by J. Beverly Daniel