Companies that Offer Fitting, Spanish-Language Mother's Day Cards

As Mother's Day is approaching, perhaps you are looking for places to find Spanish-language greeting cards. Here in Houston, one can find these greeting cards in a number of different locations from local drugs stores to specialty greeting stores such as Hallmark.

Traditionally because of the dynamics of Hispanic families, greeting cards have not sold in the same numbers as they do in the non-Hispanic marketplace. However because of the increased buying power of the Hispanic community, greeting card companies are starting to recognize the profitability of offering cards that focus on this segment of the population. From a smattering of cards available in only a select few stores, the availability and diversity of the cards have increased exponentially.

However, if you are a non-Spanish speaker then there are some precautions to take when deciding on which cards to purchase. According to Susana Schultz, senior managing director for Strictly Spanish, a Spanish-language communications company, cards must avoid colloquial Spanish because a phrase in one Spanish dialect may not mean the same thing in another and in some cases, this difference may cause offense. For example in Uruguay to express, in slang, not having any money one might say "Estoy pato o pata". However, in Puerto Rican, this phrase is slang for saying "I am gay." In addition to language differences, Schulz points out that some cards, even by high end card makers, can have errors in translation. Please double check that the translation is correct.

Where to Find Spanish Language Mother's Day Cards

Drug Stores

Drug Stores such as Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid have consistently provided a broad array of greeting cards and they were some of the first stores, in the Houston area, to stock Spanish language greeting cards. One might think that this makes sense because I live in Texas where there is quite a large Hispanic community. However, when I lived in Maryland, the drug stores there also carried a respectable array of cards devoted to a variety of ethnicities.

Discount Stores

Wal-Mart and Target have a large selection of Spanish language greeting cards available for a variety of holidays, including Mother's day.

99 cent stores

While they don't offer a wide selection of cards and styles, for someone who is really strapped for cash, they always tend to have a variety of Spanish language greeting cards.

Handmade

Crafty types with some time on their hands can create beautiful handmade cards. Stores like Michael's and AC Moore carry an array of greeting cards templates, for Mother's Day, as well as a host of other holidays These templatekits include card stock, calligraphy pins, ribbons and other decoration. They also offer an array of beautiful handmade papers that can be turned into one of kind cards that are sure to capture any mother's heart. Making your cards at home, give you the option of making the message unique and special.

Greeting Card Companies

Hallmark and American Greetings are the two largest greeting card manufacturers in America. HallMark launched its Sinceramente greeting card line in 2003. Hallmark's line is available nationwide in Hallmark stores and it is also carried by other retailers of greeting cards. American Greetings began marketing Spanish language greeting cards for Mother's Day for over 40 years. They have recently introduced a number of lines specifically targeting the Hispanic market. They are Spanish Soft Touch™ Momentos de Inspiracion™ intuiciones™ Karlitos Koala™ and Design Studio ... En Espanol™. In addition, they offer Spanish greeting cards for every holiday. However, traditionally Mother's Day has been the bestsellers, closely followed by Quinceanera, which is a girl's 15^th birthday celebration.

In addition to the Big 2, a number of other smaller companies have come on the scene to fill the niche. Among them are Lantiqua Designs, and Horizontes Unidos along with NosVemos Greetings which offer bilingual greeting cards.

Online Cards

Perhaps the best thing about getting cards online is the ability to customize the card to your target audience. Again, if you are not a Spanish language speaker, it pays to insure that the translation is correct for the person you are buying the card for. Online resources include Zazzle.com, aol.com, and bluemountain.com.

Desktop Publishing

With sites like HP Print Studio and Microsoft offering free desktop publishing services from their sites and a plethora of stencil choices available from local office supply stores, it is possible to create beautiful custom cards right from your computer desktop. However, the quality of the printer you use will determine if your card is top quality.

There are numerous selections available to find Spanish language greeting cards whether you are computer savvy, a do-it-yourselfer or you prefer to shop the old fashioned way. Smaller and larger companies are recognizing the incredible buying power in the Hispanic marketplace and creating newer and more appealing options.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincea%C3%B1era

http://corporate.americangreetings.com

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-818908_ITM

http://www.strictlyspanish.com/greeting1.htm