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Elephant Cards: Classic Linen Line, $30

The handsome set above is an example of one of their products,  Elephant Cards in Classic Linen, and includes:

• * 12 cards and envelopes (3 Thank You, 3 Happy Birthday, 2 Thinking of You, 2 Blank, 1 Congratulations and 1 I Love You)
• * Access to an online, customizable reminder system – so they won’t forget to send out that card!
• * 4 envelopes with postage included, which eliminates one of the hurdles to actually getting the card in the mail.
• * “A Guide to Being an Articulate Gentleman” – making this a very complete set!

There are other items in their shop like their Little Blue Book ($12), Elephant Cards: Letterpress Line ($75), Personalized Letterpress Correspondence Cards (starting at $100) and Refill Sets ($15-$35).

As you can see, these cards are refined and the sets they provide are complete to make your recipient’s life richer for being able to communicate his thoughts and easier for having all he needs to do so at his fingertips.

And these gents have heart.  If you give one (or more!) of the men in your life a gift from their product line, your purchase will help support the efforts of Career Gear, a non-profit that assists disadvantaged men who are actively seeking employment actually get, retain and advance their careers with things like providing them with appropriate attire, peer support and other valuable resources on order to help them achieve and maintain self-sufficiency in the working world. Yes, these are gifts that give more!

These cards nurture a relationship with someone you care about as well as the environment – the paper is 100% cotton, made from recovered fibers and the ink is soy based.  Read more about their social, environmental and local commitments.

I can see these products being wonderful for many men – the recent graduate, a bar mitzvah gift, a gift from parents to their son – either as a coming of age present to help them be the gentleman you know they can and will be, or as a present to commend them for being an extraordinary gentleman. These are classy cards with a purpose! 

If you are the woman in his life and you are giving him this present for Valentine’s Day, birthday, congratulations or other occasion – my one tip:  don’t make this a “hint” of any sort.  Give this to him because it will be useful, not to remind him of his faults (because that isn’t really in the spirit of gift giving, is it?).  In my experience men tend to love useful things, and these really will come in handy when he wants to stand out from the crowd by sending written correspondence.

This would also make a great gift from one gentlemen to another! If you are a man and this is something that you would love, why not give this to someone in your life? Friend, son, partner, father…sharing something so tasteful will be a much appreciated gift for the right man.

Want to make this gift even more personalized? Consider getting your recipient a fine writing instrument or an embosser to accompany this gift.

All photos courtesy of Forgetful Gentleman, by James Exley.

What gentleman do you think of when you see this gift idea?  Let me know by leaving a comment on this post!

Happy gifting!