About Thinking Of You Week
‘Send a card,
deliver a smile’
16th to 22nd September 2024
Sending handwritten cards generates positive feelings and wellbeing, creating an emotional response; take a look at our post on the psychology of card sending.
The fact that you have spent the time to make or choose a card, write it, and send it makes the person receiving it feel far more special and cared for than receiving instant texts, emails or other social media messages.
Cards are displayed in the home and many are kept for years, providing a reminder of the person that has sent it and of your relationship with them. Greeting cards are also great social history as design and messaging changes with each generation.
Everyone is welcome to get involved in Thinking of You Week, writing and sending cards whether handcrafted or bought, and helping to promote sending cards as the best way to show how much we care about others.
There will be Thinking of You Events up and down the country, in schools, communities and local shops. Why not organise a card-writing event in your local area? We have a free toolkit to help you get involved.
Thinking Of You Week is brought to you by the Greeting Card Association
The Greeting Card Association, GCA, is the trade body for the British greeting card community. An independent not-for-profit organisation, it provides help, advice, support and specialist resources.
The GCA has over 500 members, comprising of publishers, retailers, specialist suppliers and individuals working in the greeting card space. It has been the voice of the greeting card industry since 1919.
Thinking of You Week was inspired by photographer and GCA member Leonard Smith, who told the GCA about the fabulous response inspired by his project to send a card-a-day to friends and family during Lent. “What I hadn’t expected was the response; I started getting the most heartfelt replies by text phone or email from people who just wanted to tell me how much receiving card out of the blue like that had meant to them, and it totally made their day. To be honest it was quite overwhelming such a surge of goodwill and as most of them are blokes it was even more amazing!” said Leonard.
“Leonard’s experience was a reminder of the connection and lovely feeling created by sending and receiving cards. The GCA decided to encourage everyone to join in and send a card just to say ‘thinking of you’, share a joke, say ‘hello’ – and Thinking of You Week was born!” says Amanda Fergusson, GCA CEO.
Thinking of You Week has continued to grow in popularity each year with more and more people and organisations getting involved, it has also spread across the world to the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
The British Greeting Card Industry
We are a community of artists, publishers, writers, printers, and others, all with one thing in common – we love cards. We also have a number of comedians within our community –humour is an important way of showing emotion too.
Yes it’s our livelihoods but we also all send cards ourselves, because sending a card is a lovely way to stay in touch and show you care. And we all love receiving cards too!
The cards we design are created with the thought of the person who will receive it in mind, because we all want to send a card with the right image and message for the person we are choosing it for; the card we send our grandma will be different from the one we’d choose for a friend.
A card says something about our relationship with that person, which is why receiving a card brings such a powerful connection. Visit our Members’ Directory and sort by genre to find new greeting cards. Or look at our Gallery to find lovely cards to send for Thinking of You Week.
To find out what our members are doing for Thinking of You Week visit our News feed.
History
The British have a long relationship with cards, the first card was sent in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum; and we’ve been sending them ever since. We continue to send more cards per person than any other nation. Also the UK leads the world in greeting card innovation and design – greeting cards created by UK designers are exported across the world.
Cards sending really took off in Britain after the two World Wars, during which they had played a key part in keeping loved ones in touch. See the GCA’s series of History Blogs for more on the history of our wonderful industry and the occasions we celebrate.
The GCA launched Thinking of You Week in 2014. It now takes place at the end of September every year. This event is designed to harness the emotional power of cards, to create a wave of love, caring and happiness around the world, by encouraging everyone to send cards to different people during the week.
This British GCA initiative has now spread to the US and Australia and has encouraged more and more people to use the power of a greeting card to connect with loved ones just to say thinking of you, share an image or a joke, cheer someone up, or just say ‘hello’.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Thinking Of You Week?
When is Thinking of You Week?
Thinking of You Week is an annual event, taking place 3rd week in September. Scroll to the top of this website to see the dates for the current year.
Who can get involved?
Everyone! It’s really special thing to take the time to think of other people and write your feelings in a card. This will mean so much the lucky recipients of the cards.
Can I make the cards myself?
Yes! You can make or buy the cards.
We're a charity. Can we get involved?
We also have sections on this website for schools, publishers and retailers – but this event isn’t limited to these groups!
How do I take part?
The Thinking of You Week toolkit has lots of ideas and inspiration for taking part. If you’re organising an event, remember to let us know what you’re up to and take photos so we can publicise for you!