Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. Payday for greeting card companies. But, my husband and I have them fooled. We walk through the card aisle at Walmart together and read Valentine’s day cards. The funnier the better. If not for his grey hair and reading glasses, we would look like a couple of kids.
While security cameras capture our image we read the cards. We open the musical ones and dance to popular tunes. We press the buttons on dancing stuffed animals. They wouldn’t put a sticker that says, “Press here”, if they didn’t want the animals to dance. We haven’t shown up on “people of Walmart” yet. . . not that I know of anyway.
In the end, we say to each other, “If I were going to buy you a card, I would have gotten you that one.” We laugh and put it back on the shelf, before returning home.
I love greeting cards. Such a unique art form. A single picture and a few words to convey emotion. Usually a good emotion. I’ve never seen greeting cards that say things like, “Stay away from my daughter” or “I would have been there for you, if you hadn’t shown up three hours late.”
Funny cards are best of all. I tell my kids not to bother with boring flower cards for me. Sometimes I receive flower cards and appreciate their sentiment, but I love a good laugh. One year, my husband decided to get me cards with two talking dogs that had the most annoying voices ever. He enjoyed my cringing so much that he bought similar cards for several other holidays. I haven’t seen those cards on the store shelves lately. Hmmm.
I don’t remember so many holidays that required greeting cards when I was growing up. Christmas and birthdays. Mother’s Day. Father’s Day. That was it. But, the card companies discovered the big business of cards for every holiday. Sometimes I feel guilty when my sisters send Halloween and Easter cards. Or Saint Patrick’s Day cards and Fourth of July cards. Just kidding about Fourth of July cards. I haven’t actually seen those.
Blank cards are great. They can be used for any sentiment or holiday. How many times have I selected the perfect funny card for my son, only to open it and read, “Happy Birthday, Grandma”? I have been known to cross out the words and write in my own. I put a happy face next to it and consider it part of the fun.
As I wrote this blog, I considered other occasions that card companies could capitalize on.
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Next time you are in Walmart, or the book store, or the post office (yes, the post office has gotten in on the action), and you see a couple of oldsters dancing to the musical cards, remember, we found free entertainment.