It’s a tradition that goes back some 200 years. But the actual history of sending season’s greetings began in ancient Chinese and Egyptian societies who wished to exchange good will in the New Year. At different times throughout history, these greetings were written on papyrus and even woodcuts. Cards did not become popular until the 1850s dues to advances in printing and the introduction of the postage stamp that made it possible to send them economically. And for more than 30 years, Americans had to import greeting cards from England. So take some time to appreciate the evolution of the holiday greeting card and see if you can spark some creativity in making handmade ones.
- Set a day or two aside to invite students into your school’s art studio. Have a selection of papers, colored pencils, paints and other craft items on hand. (You can try to get these donated by local art supply stores.)
- Inspire students with the history of card making and let them create designs and messages based on locations you may be choosing from for your Explorica tour. For example, they can practice their Spanish or French by translating common holiday greetings. Or borrow cultural imagery to reflect the destination.
- Order a custom stamp that says, “Handmade by [Name of Your School] Students” and use it to mark the back of each card.
- Send an email home to parents to promote the holiday cards, and network through your and your students Facebook friends to sell orders.
- You can even snap a photo of your favorite design and have it recreated by an online print shop to produce in greater quantities.
- Make sure you include information about the educational trip your aiming to fund with every sale.
This is some really good information about fundraising. It is good to know that it would be smart to think about getting doing some art stuff for the fundraiser. It seems like a good thing to be aware of if you want to be unique.