June 11, 2024 — With Father’s Day this weekend, it feels sad to say that not enough people bought our cards celebrating dads to keep them in inventory (cards, that is, not dads!) So we thought we’d use this opportunity to show you great year-round guy cards.
It was back in the spring of 2021 that Cardie Gerrie Kretschmar called our 800# to say, “I would love to see more cards for men. Something that acknowledges how much they do, and thanks them for taking care of their families.”
Gerrie had no way of knowing that our Creative Team had that very day been fine-tuning the message to go with the man offering the ice cream cone image you see above. We sent Gerrie the photo and proposed message and asked if it was anywhere near what she had in mind.
“YES!!!” she wrote back right away. “It’s great. When I suggested such a card, I was thinking of my son Jeff. He’s 44, is always looking out for me, and he’s just great! I think men in general don’t get enough credit or thanks for handling their responsibilities,” Gerrie explained, “or for their kindnesses. I love this potential card because it’s just up-front, simple, and to the point! It’s like a hug in a card!” And just like that, the card was born and, as a surprise for Gerrie, dedicated to Jeff.
Contributing Cardie Paige Baker once sang these praises to us. “Daddy was always a quiet gentleman, and he could be funny from time to time with a cute little chuckle to follow. Most of all, though, he was a protector.
“I will never forget the day a wildfire was spreading ever closer to my boarding school in the hills above the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. We could hear the warning alarms all day long, and everyone at the school was on edge about if and when we should evacuate. Finally, classes were dismissed so all the students could go to the main building to call our parents to come get us.
“I remember running down the stairs and across the bridge to get to the phones as fast as I could and — just as I was about to open the big doors to run to what I thought of as safety — I heard my name being called. It was Daddy. He was there to take me home.
“When we were on the road and I had calmed down, I asked my father how he knew to come to the school for me when he had — they’d only dismissed us minutes before I saw him standing there. He said, ‘I have been waiting outside the whole day … just in case.’ That was my dad.”
Cardie Candy Smith shared her own best dad memory by saying, “Many years ago, my husband and I were supposed to go on a cruise but, as Habitat for Humanity volunteers, we were also working on a house that was not expected to finish before the ship sailed. Being construction manager, my husband couldn’t leave but — knowing how much I was looking forward to going — he suggested I invite my dad to go in his place. (My mom did not like water or cruises, so we knew she wouldn’t mind!)
“My dad and I had the best time on that cruise!” Candy clearly remembered and described. “The man who usually fell asleep in his recliner by 8 p.m. even stayed up for the midnight buffets! But the most enjoyable part of our 11 days together was just sharing ourselves with each other — talking and listening and having quiet times when nothing needed to be said.
“Dad’s no longer here,” Candy told us. “He was 84 when he passed in 2005. But that cruise was so very, very special! I’ll never forget it because — it’s just as one of your beautiful cards says — some memories are ‘inscribed in our hearts.’”
If you care to share, we’d love to read your best dad memory. Or, as Gerrie might say, give a great man “credit or thanks for handling their responsibilities or for their kindnesses!”
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
June 11, 2024 — With Father’s Day this weekend, it feels sad to say that not enough people bought our cards celebrating dads to keep them in inventory (cards, that is, not dads!) So we thought we’d use this opportunity to show you great year-round guy cards.
It was back in the spring of 2021 that Cardie Gerrie Kretschmar called our 800# to say, “I would love to see more cards for men. Something that acknowledges how much they do, and thanks them for taking care of their families.”
Gerrie had no way of knowing that our Creative Team had that very day been fine-tuning the message to go with the man offering the ice cream cone image you see above. We sent Gerrie the photo and proposed message and asked if it was anywhere near what she had in mind.
“YES!!!” she wrote back right away. “It’s great. When I suggested such a card, I was thinking of my son Jeff. He’s 44, is always looking out for me, and he’s just great! I think men in general don’t get enough credit or thanks for handling their responsibilities,” Gerrie explained, “or for their kindnesses. I love this potential card because it’s just up-front, simple, and to the point! It’s like a hug in a card!” And just like that, the card was born and, as a surprise for Gerrie, dedicated to Jeff.
Contributing Cardie Paige Baker once sang these praises to us. “Daddy was always a quiet gentleman, and he could be funny from time to time with a cute little chuckle to follow. Most of all, though, he was a protector.
“I will never forget the day a wildfire was spreading ever closer to my boarding school in the hills above the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. We could hear the warning alarms all day long, and everyone at the school was on edge about if and when we should evacuate. Finally, classes were dismissed so all the students could go to the main building to call our parents to come get us.
“I remember running down the stairs and across the bridge to get to the phones as fast as I could and — just as I was about to open the big doors to run to what I thought of as safety — I heard my name being called. It was Daddy. He was there to take me home.
“When we were on the road and I had calmed down, I asked my father how he knew to come to the school for me when he had — they’d only dismissed us minutes before I saw him standing there. He said, ‘I have been waiting outside the whole day … just in case.’ That was my dad.”
Cardie Candy Smith shared her own best dad memory by saying, “Many years ago, my husband and I were supposed to go on a cruise but, as Habitat for Humanity volunteers, we were also working on a house that was not expected to finish before the ship sailed. Being construction manager, my husband couldn’t leave but — knowing how much I was looking forward to going — he suggested I invite my dad to go in his place. (My mom did not like water or cruises, so we knew she wouldn’t mind!)
“My dad and I had the best time on that cruise!” Candy clearly remembered and described. “The man who usually fell asleep in his recliner by 8 p.m. even stayed up for the midnight buffets! But the most enjoyable part of our 11 days together was just sharing ourselves with each other — talking and listening and having quiet times when nothing needed to be said.
“Dad’s no longer here,” Candy told us. “He was 84 when he passed in 2005. But that cruise was so very, very special! I’ll never forget it because — it’s just as one of your beautiful cards says — some memories are ‘inscribed in our hearts.’”
If you care to share, we’d love to read your best dad memory. Or, as Gerrie might say, give a great man “credit or thanks for handling their responsibilities or for their kindnesses!”
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
I have learned first hand that sometimes a Dad has no blood in common with you.
You are lucky that when you needed it most he entered your life and from then on was there to love, protect & provide for you.
Happy Father’s Day in heaven, Uncle Gibbs.