Image by wenzday01 via Flickr
Many students graduate in May or early June. Weeks before graduation, graduation announcements, tickets, and invitations fill the mailboxes of many of the graduate’s friends and family.
Although e-mails and social networking sites are easy ways to create events and notify friends and family about big events, many graduates still send out the old-fashioned paper graduation announcement. These cards symbolize accomplishment and many end up as memorabilia in scrapbooks.
One can only imagine how many graduation cards are sent and received. According to Hallmark’s corporate website, 75 million graduation cards are given annually. However, this staggering figure does not include the tons of graduation announcements or thank you cards that are sent.
Hallmark didn’t begin producing graduation cards until the 1920s. You can probably guess what the most popular type of graduation card is. Since money is the most popular graduation gift, money/gift card holder cards are the obvious choice.
Not only do graduates send cards, many graduates’ mailboxes fill up before or after graduation. However, for me personally, the card box at my graduation party trumped what I received in the mail.
For many students, these cards usually mean one thing: money or gift cards. Nothing is more satisfactory than ripping open the paper envelope to discover a check or cash acknowledging all of your hard work and accomplishments. I had a ball opening all of the cards after my graduation party. However, during my senior year of high school, I got the most memorable and unexpected surprise in the mail from a complete stranger. I’ll share this story with you in an upcoming blog.
