Plantable card from bloomin.com

I admit it’s been a while since I sent out holiday cards. I like receiving them when they are beautifully designed, include a sincere handwritten personal note, or have been purchased through a worthy charity.  And although I always thought my own kids were pretty great, I’ve always hated receiving and would never send one of those family letters wherein the parents pontificate about how talented and gifted their children are accompanied by a laundry list of their precious offspring’s accomplishments and remarkable feats. Ok, I’m done venting. Now here are some holiday greetings that go beyond your typical boxed cards:

Cards Made from Plantable Seed Paper
Several companies produce cards made of handmade paper embedded with wildflower seeds. When the paper is planted in a pot of soil, wildflowers will grow from the paper in 6-8 weeks.

One of my favorite companies, Bloomin’, offers a particularly well-designed line.

Send a Card, Plant a Tree
A tree is planted for every card purchased from One Tree per Card. They specialize in sustainably designed greeting cards that raise awareness and funds to help reduce the impacts of global warming. A portion of revenues is donated to those causes by forming partnerships with key environmental organizations.

One of the Arbor Day Foundation’s cards.

Other tree planting options with more traditional designs are available through The Arbor Day Foundation’s Give-a-Tree Cards and the National Wildlife Federation’s Plant a Tree card and ornament combos.

For each purchase of the National Wildlife Federation’s Plant a Tree card and ornament set, one tree will be planted on your recipient’s behalf in an effort to restore habitat for animals, prevent soil erosion and stop global warming.

For cards that contribute a portion of their sales to charities, visit Cards that Give to select the cause of your choice. Shutterfly’s “Support-A-Cause” card line features dozens of new styles with themes inspired by the missions of several charitable organizations including The World Wildlife Fund and Heifer International.