Who wants to be in the card aisle reading through a plethora of mushy-gushy, flowery sentiments about feelings? For those not wired that way, standing in the card aisle stressing over finding something to make someone else feel good isn’t ideal. Yet when someone isn’t good with sentiment, an inherently easy task becomes awkwardly chaotic. But achieving meaningful card giving does not require overly sentimental feelings.
Humor
For example, people who aren’t good with sentiment are good with humor. If you can get someone a card that makes them laugh, then you understand them and took the time to find something that would be funny for them, so much so that it was worth it to ensure they’d get a kick out of it.
This is how funny cards for any occasion work well, since they’re personalized but not mushy-gushy. They’re to the point enough that acknowledges the day and purpose without diving deeply into emotional considerations. As long as you know what someone finds funny, it’s an appropriate card for any occasion.
Even better than acknowledging your traits as a giver, if you know what someone finds funny, then you know them, which is what cards are supposed to do in any respect. If someone has dark humor? Then go for it. Someone who loves puns? Give them a card that plays with words. Someone who appreciates self-deprecating humor? Find something where you both relate. As long as the humor piece is right, then you’re golden.
Mutual References
On the same note, cards can play on mutual references that only the person sending it or the person receiving it would catch. For example, something that references an inside joke is personalized without being sentimental.
If you make each other laugh – or you’ve been through something together – then it makes sense to reference it in a card without making it awkwardly emotional.
This could mean something like referencing a shared show or even something as mundane as humor from your running joke that just the two of you have. It doesn’t say, “I have deep feelings about you.” It says, “I know you.” That’s even more powerful than someone who is not good with initial sentiment once crafted.
Practical Sentiment Over Poetic
Some cards are straightforward enough that they acknowledge the day without fluff. ‘Happy birthday – I hope this year doesn’t suck’ gets straight to the point.
For people who find traditional sentiment inside cards cringeworthy, cards that are straightforward get the job done without a lot of prerequisites.
There are less sappy cards and more mundane cards that go straight to the point rather than adding how special someone is to their life. It’s okay to prefer communicating straight without a lot of fluff. Sometimes it’s even necessary.
The Card Isn’t Doing All The Heavy Lifting
Sometimes people need to realize who have problems with cards that the card isn’t doing all the heavy lifting in showing someone that you care.
It’s about a gift, it’s about time together, it’s about showing up that is appreciates more than any card attempt ever could.
So getting a card doesn’t seem so scary when it’s merely a small gesture that goes along with another gesture that does all the heavy lifting of showing appreciation. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it doesn’t have to be complicated – merely seeking a card without generic qualities ensure it wasn’t a waste of time.
Avoid Generic Nature
Nothing gets people who aren’t good with sentiment angrier than picking any old card because they have bigger fish to fry in their adult world and don’t want to waste time doing it in a card aisle.
Generic cards that could go for literally anyone else and the world are worse than not getting any card at all.
Even if you’re someone who’s not super sentimental, it’s still possible to find greeting cards that find something resonant enough for recipients – their personality (which includes their humor), their interests, your relationship with them. The more specific these alliterative attributes can get, the more valuable taking credit for it becomes over some message that trumps your attention.
Less is More
If you’re going to add something personal – keep it less rather than more.
Nothing looks better than someone who’s not good with feelings suddenly trying to self-creation out of their comfort zone and writing a long extended letter card about things they don’t believe about themselves.
Better to go short and sweet and honest than pad things out that either sound fake or make them sound disingenuous over time.
Blank Cards
Blank cards give no pressure when it comes to finding pre-written word prompts that do justice for any occasion.
For people who aren’t good at sentimentality, blank cards come off tougher but they aren’t – they’re empowered because they give full control for what’s acknowledged and how.
A blank card only signed with your name plus some specific comment (i.e., “Thanks for always being down for tacos” or “Congrats on your new job…I hope this one isn’t as annoying as last one”) becomes more personalized than anything already written down.
Recognize Different Meanings of Caring
People aren’t one-size-fits-all and not everyone needs to hear how much they mean on certain days whenever it’s their birthday, anniversaries or graduations.
Sometimes it’s presented through humor or what they put in front of you consistently in action relates back – or maybe they’ve done nothing but consistently showed up every day for years.
That’s how much better than any forced articulation anyone could give them.
Cards don’t need to make up for anything with which you’re uncomfortable if it acknowledges an occasion in a way that’s most authentic to them celebrating it.
If recipients know you long enough they know you’re not a “feelings” person. They don’t expect you to become someone new in card form. Therefore any card sounds like you – even if it’s humorous or straightforward instead of emotional – is better than awkwardly trying to force sentiments into something that’s supposed to be easy.
Authenticity
Cards make others feel valued; authenticity does – not checking some box on what greeting cards are supposed to say or how they’re supposed to present these gestures means whatever works best for you works best for others.
If someone reads a greeting card chuckling because of its silly nature rather than beautifully put together and sentiments you don’t even believe – that’s what greeting cards are made for.
For people who aren’t good with sentimentality, there’s still ways to find meaningful cards by putting value into things that truly make sense – even if its humorous or shared experiences instead of highly emotional reflections or plain blunt acknowledgment of opinion over forced sentiment.
Whatever makes sense for you makes sense for anyone else as well as long as it’s in its authentic form.
