Have you ever forgotten someone’s birthday? Ever had to run out at the last minute to pick up a card? What about picking up a sympathy note, bridal shower card, baby shower card, or a retirement or graduation card? We all have times when we need a note card for one occasion or another. I think it’s safe to say we’ve all hurried into Walgreens or the super market on our way home from work, or on our way to an event to ‘pick up a quick card.’ Having cards on hand can save both your sanity and your wallet. That’s why I want to show you how to create a simple care basket that is suitable for any occasion!
This, friends, is my life-saving basket! To the untrained eye, it may look like a standard wicker basket full of cards, envelopes, pens and streamers. But I assure you it has been a life-saver on more than a dozen occasions. Let me show you what it contains, and I’ll explain how I’ve compiled this little gem and how I use it every single month!
Birthday Card Sets
First, this basket contains birthday cards. Now, I have a very special need for birthday cards because my husband and I own a business. We send hand-written birthday cards to every employee, and currently that amounts to about 50 birthday cards in a year.
Now, you may not have that many cards to send because you own a business. However, if you have a child who is often invited to birthday parties. If you’re a member of a ladies’ group at church or a member of a book club, maybe you volunteer and would like to give a card now and then, or maybe you just want to keep cards on hand for last minute family members, neighbors, co-workers, or friends. These cards have been amazing to have.
I purchased this set from Amazon (I’ll try to link it if I can find them). The set came with 25 different designs all suited for men or women. They are blank inside so you are free to write whatever inscription you like. This set included envelopes as well. They are sturdy and the printing on them is really beautiful! I highly recommend having a good set of blank birthday cards on hand at all times.
Special cards for special occasions
While this care basket holds mostly birthday cards, we all know there are more occasions than just birthdays that come our way. That’s why I am always on the look out for beautiful (and inexpensive) blank cards, as well. Recently, I have come across some outstanding hand made cards at TJMaxx. Because each store is different, I can’t link these cards for you. But I highly recommend looking through the gift wrap section at your local TJMaxx the next time you’re browsing.
These are some of the cards I’ve recently picked up while I was shopping. Some of them are also birthday cards, but a lot of them are blank. They have been used as sympathy cards, retirement cards, and for general congratulations. Here’s the best part: None of these cards cost more than $3.00. In fact, they were priced at $2.99. If you were to pick one of these up at a card shop, a drug store, or grocery store, you would pay anywhere between $6.00 and $9.00 per card.
Having these special cards in my care basket has saved me many rushed trips to the store, and has saved me uncountable amounts of money!
Thank you cards
I am a big believer in thank you cards. I think any hand written note is a special thing and studies show that receiving one in the mail has the same emotional effect as receiving a gift! Isn’t that amazing? I wrote about it during Christmas if you’re interested. You can read it here.
Thank you notes have a very special way of touching the lives of others, making them feel both special and appreciated. They aren’t simply for gifts received or acts of kindness. You can write a thank you note to a friend who recently lent a helping hand, a neighbor who picked up your mail, or a pastor who listened intently.
I have two kinds of thank you notes in my care basket: One set is gold and white, the other set is pink floral. I use them for different things, but I do use them frequently!
Extra special care basket touches
I think it’s very special to seal your cards in a special way. That’s why I added faux wax envelope seals to my basket. Actually, I don’t keep them in this basket. I keep them in a little wooden box on a shelf. To the naked eye it looks like decor, but this box holds all of our stamps and our envelope seals. Let me show you.
See that wooden box on the tray? The one under the woven box? That woven box is my sewing basket, and the wooden box underneath holds our postage stamps and envelope seals. We have stamps with muscle cars, Christmas stamps, floral stamps, flag stamps and stamps with stars. There’s always an occasion to send a card, and having stamps on hand is absolutely a necessity!
Faux wax envelope seals
Now to the fun part! After addressing the envelopes and writing sweet sentiments inside a beautiful card, it’s always fun to add that little extra special detail to your mail. I purchased two sets of faux was envelope seals: one gold and one light pink. Once the card is sealed, I simply remove the sticker backing and place the seal over the envelope flap. I’ll try to link these if I can find them.
Care basket necessities
I believe a care basket should contain everything you may need to send out cards and letters. Our care basket contains blank envelopes, ink pens, streamers and a whole punch (in case we want to include confetti), and our return address stamp.
Having these items in the care basket insure sending out cards and letters is as easy and efficient as possible. Everything you need is at hand, and you can whip out a hand-written note in no time at all.
Keeping note of the date
Finally, I have one last tip that will insure every card reached its recipient in the perfect time. Because I send so many cards each month, I have to keep track of when each one goes into the post. My rule of thumb is that cards should be mailed out seven days prior to the time I want it received. For example, if the card should arrive on May 14, I need to mail the card on May 7. That allows for rain, snow, sleet and hail, but also for weekends when mail may or may not be delivered.
Here’s the genius of the process. I jot down in the upper right corner the date I need the envelope to go into post. Then, when that day arrives, I simply place the postage stamp directly over the date. No one is the wiser….well, no one except for you.
Create your own care basket
I know this seems like a simple thing, but let me tell you, I don’t know how I lived without this care basket in my life until now. In the past month I have mailed out six birthday cards, two sympathy cards, and one congratulations card. You never know when an occasion is going to arise, and having this system in place allows you to care for others at a moment’s notice. While the term ‘care basket’ may not be what you had in mind when you opened this post, I can promise you that receiving a hand-written note in the mail is both the simplest form of caring for someone, and it’s also one of the most special ways you can.
Additional Resources: We may receive a small commission from items purchased from Amazon links, as always at no additional cost to you.
Pink eucalyptus Wax Seal Stickers: https://amzn.to/4iG5Y4H
Gold eucalyptus Wax Seal Stickers: https://amzn.to/3DxylmO
Birthday Card Set: https://amzn.to/3Fl02Qm // Similar set: https://amzn.to/3FjX6nf
Floral Thank You Cards: https://amzn.to/3DzKpUH
Formal Thank You Cards: https://amzn.to/3FgybB3
Custom Self-Inking Return Address Stamp: https://amzn.to/4bKzvYP
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