Stumped for a gift for a retiree on your Christmas list? How about business cards?
Over the years I gave my dad (Doug White) a variety of birthday and Christmas presents—house slippers, fishing gear, long underwear (bright red with a trap door!) But the gift he got the biggest kick out of was a collection of business cards I created for him.
You may wonder why an octogenarian, retired for many years, would need business cards. So did I! During a phone conversation, he mentioned that his friends at the Lewisville (Texas) Senior Center all had cards with their names, phone numbers, and other pertinent information printed on them. Evidently they exchanged their cards with the same alacrity as Japanese businessmen at a sales meeting! When Dad mentioned that he was thinking of having a supply printed for himself, I knew what I had to do.
As most of you probably know, business card forms are available at Office Depot, Staples, and most other office supply stores. The templates for creating messages for your own cards are included in Microsoft Word’s menu, or they can be downloaded from the Microsoft website. I don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet templates for cards are available for Apple products as well.
After finding business card forms that I liked, my next dilemma was what to put on them. I took a moment to think of all the things I knew about my dad and put my imagination in gear. What I ended up with was a variety of designs, each one highlighting one of his areas of interest or expertise. I found illustrations to include too–some from Clip Art, others from here and there to go along with each message. Here are examples:
Doug White:
… Retired
… Fishing Expert
… Home Repair Consultant
… Country Western Dancer
… Philosopher
… Octogenarian Extraordinaire
I added his name and phone number, and then printed out multiples of each design and mailed them to his home.
The next time I came to visit, Dad had the cards spread out on the kitchen table, organized by category. He told me how he’d given them away to friends and acquaintances and how much fun he’d had distributing them. He gave me a hug and thanked me again.
So if you’re looking for an unusual gift for a retiree on your Christmas list, you might consider making business cards for him or her. The recipient will appreciate your thoughtfulness, and you’ll have fun creating the customized one-of-a-kind gift yourself.
Lee Sinclair
Dee Ernst
Sharon Tillotson
Lynn Schneider
Sandra Nachlinger
It is a great idea, only add email address if he has one! My husband and I just returned from a three week cruise and the last few days all the people we befriended exchanged cards with information on how we can be reached, Every one of us is retired!
I love this idea! What a kick, so personal and useful, too!
This is a great idea. It modernizes the whole personalized gift idea and updates the “World’s Greatest Dad” coffee cup.
What a brilliant idea, Sandy. I can think of a dozen or so people who would enjoy such a gift. In fact I have just made a note to design a batch or two for my golfer brother, who is always searching his pockets or the dark recesses of his car for the corner of a napkin upon which he wrote the contact information for a new prospective golfing partner. Half the time he never does find it, thus losing the chance to make a new friend of a fellow retiree.
And the post could not have been more timely, as I just purchased a shiny new wireless colour laser printer. Play time!