Specialty Birthday Greeting Cards

For those of us who purchase greeting cards, there is a plethora of cards to choose from. There are cards for almost any occasion. There are cards for almost any relative you can think of.

I buy a lot of greeting cards throughout the year, but there is one type that I sorely miss. I have managed to find it a few times, in past years, but it hasn't been in stores consistantly from year to year .

The forgotten greeting cards I am talking about are the birthday cards for people that have birthdays on holidays, or other memorable dates of the year.

Since everyday is a birthday for all of mankind, why in the world aren't there birthday cards for people whose birthdays fall on Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas? Apparently, there must not be a big demand for cards of this type, but the truth is, people have birthdays on these days, and I guess in a sense it would kill two birds with one stone....wishing someone to have a "Happy Halloween Birthday."

My dad's birthday falls on St. Valentine's Day. He was a twin, and I would always go in search of purchasing two birthday cards for my dad, and my uncle. Yes, there were a few times that I found the combination birthday/Valentine's Day card, but finding them was few and far between. Honestly, I think that the last time I bought them was in the late 1980's.

I realise that stores can't stock everything, but it seems like a greeting card company could tap into this. I know there is a market for them, and they would sell.

One year, I did find two different cards that were the "Happy Valentine's Day Birthday" card, and I bought two of each. I sent out two cards, and I saved two of the cards to use the following year. I was in luck for two years in a row!

After I had sent all of those, the next year I was back out searching for some more. I was in luck again, this time I did find one card on display, but it happened to be one of the same card that I had bought two years earlier, when I had bought four of them to stock up on.

I felt kind of silly, sending out the same card, as it happened to be the exact one I had sent the year before. But, I was glad to have found it. I thought that maybe the card had probably been in inventory for a long time. After finding this last card, I haven't seen anymore.

Personally, I don't know of anybody else who has a birthday on a holiday, or other days that we celebrate in some fashion-but I know there are people who have to have birthdays fall on these days. What do their families do?

I can't be the only one who has wondered about this, or went to the store to look out of curiosity to see if these types of cards do in fact exist.

Maybe it's just a waste of money to the greeting card companies to maufacture them, but they would sell.

These cards make more sense to me, than some cards that I have seen in stores. I know they can't cover every situation in life where someone wants to buy a card to express their opinions, or feelings. But, a special occasion card like this still makes more sense than some.

For now, I send my dad a Valentine's Day card, and I write "Happy Birthday" somewhere on the card. He understands the situation, but somehow I feel like I just haven't looked hard enough for that special card.

One time when I was in a store, still looking for that special birthday card for my dad...there was a greeting card representative that was standing not far from me, stocking the cards. I asked her about the type of card I was looking for, and she told me that they don't have room to stock everything. I let it go at that, but I thought that they just simply aren't here. I didn't say anything more to the representative about it.

In looking around at greeting cards, I wondered about some of them on the racks. How many of the rest of them sell that well? I have seen some that I thought were just plain ridiculous. Not only the content of the card, but to whom the card was addressed to. I have remarked to my family about this many times. I mean, how many people buy, "To my Godmother. Congratulations on your new hampster." I know, that's an exaggeration, but to me some of them are so silly. There can't possibly be that big of a demand for them.

I always thought it was neat, to have a birthday fall on a holiday, or even Valentine's Day. Now that I've seen the other side of this situation in trying to buy a birthday card, it just ends up being a waste of time going to different stores to look for one.

There used to be a part of me that was envious of people who had their birthdays fall on holidays, but now I just feel sorry for them. It's sad that there aren't any cards like this. To me, it's more special to find this type of card. It might save people from having to buy two cards, one being a regular birthday card, and the other one directed to whatever holiday it is. I have done that in the past, buying two cards for my dad, but most of the time I just buy one.

Does anyone else out there have a birthday on a holiday..or perhaps on St. Valentine's Day? Happy birthday, and Happy Valentine's Day to you, if this is the case. Your fate is in the cards!