It’s too late for Christmas cards but not too late for a simple Xmas Email.
We’re the first to admit that sending a Christmas email isn’t the most traditional method but it can be done with good cheer and grace. Here’s just one example from a friend and some tips from the writer and designer of our festive ebook Christmas Cheer with Office, Premium Edition.
The beauty of this message is simplicity. The wording and design of an email need not be complicated and is much better if it’s kept simple.
Design
There are many, many email programs and webmail systems with each of them will display your email a little differently.
For starters the width of the display window will be different and the font you choose might not be installed on the receiving computers.
All that means it’s better to keep the design simple to reduce the risk of strange results on receiving computers.
A left margin (as in the example above) is done just using a paragraph indent. Avoid tables and multiple columns.
The font size is 12pt – a little larger than the usual 10pt or 11pt.
The original font was Maiandra GD a free font that most people won’t have on their computer. Outlook and Windows has substituted a similar font in the example above.
The image is embedded into the message (using Insert | Picture) so it will immediately appear. A link to an image on a web site will often be blocked by modern email programs.
Sending
In Microsoft Office you have three choices for sending a Christmas email, the fast, a little slower or the more personal.
Using BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) is fast. All you have to do is put all the email addresses or Outlook Contacts into the BCC line of the New Message window. Make sure you use BCC and not CC – the latter will reveal all the email addresses to all receivers.
The slower but more personal option is using Word mail merge feature to send individual emails. This means a message will go to each person with only their email address in the TO: field.
An even slower, but more personal option is to send individual emails. Compose your basic Christmas message then copy it into a new message for each person, editing or adding some text to suit each recipient.
Our Christmas Cheer with Office, Premium Edition ebook has over 150 pages of tips including dedicated sections on sending festive emails and using Word mail merge. It includes a range of professionally designed Xmas emails ready for you to use as well as festive gift tags, letters and cards to open in Word and print out today.
Christmas Cheer with Office, Premium Edition is available now for immediate delivery for only $19.95 with Office Watch, Office for Mere Mortals and Access Watch subscribers saving $5.00 and paying only $14.95 – just click on the subscribers ‘Buy Now’ button from here.
Thanks to Kate and Peter McDonell for permission to share their Christmas email with a wider audience.
