So Who’s Sending Holiday Cards In 2022?

Vector illustration in flat simple style with hand lettering happy holidays - Christmas greeting ... [+] card.

There are a variety of creative ways to send holiday greetings, from e-cards to personalized cookie (the edible kind) cards to video cards, and more. But one of the hottest trends for 2022 is a return to traditions, so perhaps it’s time to take a more customary approach to staying in touch.

“All the uncertainties of the last two years, not to mention worries for the future, will drive more of us than ever to cocoon ourselves in happy memories of simpler times,” according to the “year-round Christmas corner” jollyfestive.com. “Those classic Christmas icons [like greeting cards], traditional colors and heirloom ornaments all help create a familiar comforting scene.”

And what could be more classic than a handwritten greeting, using traditional colors of ink?

A handwritten card, say many of my friends—admittedly a self-selected group of pen lovers—is like no other. Here’s a sampling of their plans for the holidays.

Australian visual artist Timothy John says, “Yes, I will be writing cards and using my Montegrappa Fortuna Heartwood fountain pen with a medium nib.” John adds that he will be using J. Herbin Encre Rouge Parfum Rose to pen “my wishes of peace, love and joy.”

Pen collector Jeffrey Bourque from Wayne, Michigan, shares, “I believe that taking the time to handwrite a card, letter or note shows that you’ve taken the time to think and care about what you are writing and to whom.”

Bourque will “probably use a Sailor Profit with a fine nib for addressing the envelopes [with red ink],” he says. “For the cards, I always use my green Sheaffer Connaisseur with a stub nib. The ink will be either Sheaffer green or Pelikan green.”

“Sending handwritten notes and wishes is essential to maintain contact and love with friends and family,” affirms Alexis Sarkissian, CEO of Totally Worth It. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t use one of my many Parker 51 vintage pens or [one of my] modern pens, says the New Jersey-based Sarkissian. “I used a Parker 51 through undergrad and grad school to fill thousands of pages of notes. In 1993, on my first trip to India, I found a rare ivory Parker 51 made for a maharaja. Today, my kids have an easy time for birthdays and Christmas, knowing just what to get me...”

CEO of Shaw Pens, Alan Shaw, explains, “Yes, I will be writing cards again this year, using Shaw Pens’ Chairman’s fountain pen. Receiving a handwritten card or note means the other person is taking their time to connect with you…” Ink color? He will be using blue, which is a favored holiday color for 2022.

Canadian journalist Rhonda Riche says, “I value receiving handwritten notes because you have to be deliberate and organized with your thoughts. You can’t just cut and paste. I will be using my [platinum-coated] Montblanc Meisterstück. It’s a gift to myself to use it,” she explains. “I currently like Kyo-iro ink from Japan. It’s got a lovely flow. And it’s an indulgence, but I like Cartier notecards because the paper has a nice tooth, holds the ink well, and while I have no scientific evidence to back me up, I swear that I don’t smudge my writing when I use this trio.”

A fan of the Anne of Green Gables books as a child, Riche quotes Anne in Anne of Windy Poplars: “This won’t be a love-letter. I have a scratchy pen and I can’t write love-letters with a scratchy pen…or a sharp pen…or a stub pen. So you’ll only get that kind of letter from me when I have exactly the right pen.”

So, too, holiday greetings.