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I didn’t have much appreciation for card shops until I became an adult. As a kid greeting cards barely got read and then I’d toss them. I found myself tucking away cards as I got older though, the first Valentine’s Day card my husband sent me when we were dating, the first Anniversary card, my first Mother’s Day card; and then it was just any card I received from anyone. Somewhere along the way I realized life is short and fleeting and when someone takes the time to find the ‘perfect’ card to send me, I want to have that card to look back on in years to come.
We haven’t lived near family in close to 15 years. Our friends in South Dakota became family, and when we moved to Texas this past summer, it was just as hard to leave them as it had been to move from Canada all those years ago.
This year was the first time in 6 years that I was able to spend Mother’s Day with my mom, and the last time was on a bittersweet note as we had gone up to Canada over Mother’s Day weekend with the unfortunate reason of saying good-bye to my husband’s mom as she had just passed away.
May is a month where the past, the present and future tend to collide for me. May always brings around the great memories of the past as we remember all the special moms in our lives, show them we love them and appreciate them in the present, and pray that we have many more years in the future to make memories with them.
This May not only did I get to spend Mother’s Day with my mom, but my daughter’s “other mother,” who happens to be my best friend is flying in this week to be here for Amber’s high school graduation commencement. So I wanted to put together some small packages for my Mom and my bestie to show them how much I appreciate them.
The thing is, because of graduation, all the festivities and some unexpected expenses related to our house, money is a little tight right now. But you don’t have to spend a lot to show someone that you care, and Walmart is a great place to pick up a few things to do so.
#CollectiveBias turned me on to using the “Mother” theme of May and the popular #TBT (Throw Back Thursday) Meme, and so I headed to Walmart to print off some pictures, find some Hallmark cards and a few other little goodies.
Never having done this before, I scanned a few pictures in for my Mom. A 4 generation picture of my grandma, my mom, myself and Amber when Amber was just a couple of weeks old, an old picture of me (I believe I actually have the only copy) and a photo of my parents and Amber when she was 8. <– Completely fitting my #TBT theme. I was so pleased with the way they turned out and how inexpensive it was, I went back and printed some more off later.
While I was waiting for them to print, I headed over to the card section to find a couple of greeting cards.
Yes, you see that right. 47₵ and 97₵. That’s so affordable that I didn’t only end up buying the card for my mom and my friend, but I also picked up a sympathy card for some friends whose mother had just passed away, a birthday card for my sister, a graduation card for our daughter’s friend and another card just to have on hand.
All of those cards for under $5.00!
Since the photos and cards didn’t cost me much at all I was able to buy some other fun things to gift with the cards. I actually didn’t even purchase a “Mother’s Day” card for my mom, it was more of a generic card, but completely appropriate for Mother’s Day (that’s what I love about Hallmark, you’ll ALWAYS find a card to fit any occasion). Then I added some creams that I knew she would like.
For my friend I bought some fun “Mom” tissue packages and some dark chocolate treats. Since she’s coming for my daughter’s graduation, my #TBT theme for that package are photos of our daughters from HER daughter’s graduation last year.
(And since she reads my blog….Surprise Tammie!!)
Do you know about the Hallmark Rewards Program? Enrolling in it is free and it’s so easy to be rewarded. For every five Hallmark cards you buy, you will get one free card, and it doesn’t matter where you buy them either. It’s as easy as entering the UPC card on their website, or scanning the code with their smart phone app. So with my purchases the other day, I ended up getting a free card yet too!
Hallmark Value Cards at Walmart really helps with #ConnectingFriends. Now that I know I can get them for such a great price and earn a free card with every five I buy – well I have no excuse to not send cards to family and friends.
Make sure you check out http://www.connectionsfromhallmark.com to sign up for Hallmark Rewards, and to see great content from other bloggers. Join in the #ConnectingFriends conversation on Twitter!
How are you staying connected with your friends and family… near or far away?
Hallmark always has the best cards!
Those are great gifts you put together for your Mom and friend. The pictures are great.
I use to always write letters until we got the internet in 2000. Now I call my mom more often because she doesn't have the internet and we don't do international cell phone calls or text. I haven't bought a card in a while. The last time was a couple of years ago when I bought a box of cards at Costco.
I don't buy a lot of cards but usually we purchase them at Walmart and they are Hallmark LOL
There are 47 cent cards?? This was the first year I got a Mother's Day gift from my son, and it was a card, and I love it 🙂
I had no idea cards went as low as 47cents there. I knew there were the 90-something cent ones but gosh, that's awesome!
Oh wow who knew they had $0.47 cards!!! I love your gift bag and goodies, that looks like a fun gift bag to give, lots of fun items in it!!!
I adore Hallmark! I love giving and receiving cards and hate that people don't send them as much anymore. I am teaching my son how important a card is and to give them for any occasion you can. 🙂
I think a simple greeting card can really express so much and it is certainly a small touch that I do not want to see fade away with growing technology. I like that there are affordable card options for all occasions!
I love how easy it is to find quality cards at Walmart!
These are some really nice cards. I like the affordable prices at Walmart. They're too expensive at gift shops.
Hallmark always has the best cards and they always have a great selection at Walmart.
Hallmark has the best cards!
I love shopping at Hallmark. Love their cards and gift items!
I haven't purchased a card in ages but I love how they're becoming more pleasing to the eye.
Love these, there have been so my times that I just want to send a little note to friends. These are perfect.
I'm one of those people who buys cards but hates it because I know that they very rarely get read!
Wow, these cards are so cute! Hallmark makes the best.
Those are NOT the types of cards I'd expect in the 47 and 97 cents section. There's nothing like hand-written, snail mail cards to really express how much you care!
Those are NOT the types of cards I'd expect in the 47 and 97 cents section. There's nothing like hand-written, snail mail cards to really express how much you care!
Those are NOT the types of cards I'd expect in the 47 and 97 cents section. There's nothing like hand-written, snail mail cards to really express how much you care!
I really need to revisit my Hallmark rewards program! I haven't used it in so long that I'm out of practice. I'm so excited for Amber that she's done!
I love Hallmark cards and I love that Walmart has discount Hallmark cards!
These are some great ideas! I love the Hallmark cards at Walmart and how affordable they are. Thanks for sharing. #client
Are you Canadian? I am too! Awesome story. Thank you for your heartfelt words and a great idea to connect using Walmart photo. I am going to try it and send pictures to my girlfriends back home.
#client.