Marine Corps Christmas Cards

Buying Marine Corps Christmas Cards

Even in the most patriotic of times, Marine Corps Christmas cards are a specialty item, difficult, if not impossible, to find at traditional card shops. Luckily, there are several Marine-focused online stores offering cards with United States Marine Corps imagery and messages.

Marine Corps Association

The Marine Corps Association is a professional organization for Marines, and it also serves as a useful source for gifts and memorabilia. The site's bookstore offers a fairly large selection of Christmas cards, including the following:

• Antique Locket features a classic illustration of a locket engraved with the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, the Marine Corps emblem.
• Coming Home shows a Marine looking across a snowy yard at the house he's returning to, as it glows brightly.
• Holiday Wreath looks like a standard greeting card at first glance. However, closer inspection shows the Marine Corps emblem in the center of the wreath.
• Iwo Jima commemorates one of the Corps' finest moments, showing the Washington, D.C. memorial covered with a dusting of snow.
• Leatherneck includes four different retro cover images from Leatherneck, the Marine Corps magazine.
• Toy Soldier replaces the traditional image of a toy soldier with a Marine in a tableau under the Christmas tree.

Inside the cards, the greetings are traditional and simple, letting the images show your pride. Most cards are sold in packages of 20. Members of the Marine Corps Association receive a discount on all products.

Sgt. Grit Marine Specialties

Sgt. Grit Marine Specialties offers a unique take on Santa. What if the jolly old elf were a Marine? He'd probably be packing heat along with his bag of gifts, and he'd forego the reindeer and sleigh for a Humvee and his trusty bulldog. Cards are available individually or in packs of 10.

Yellow Ribbon Greetings

Yellow Ribbon Greetings, a company created by the mother of a Marine, offers a selection of six different Marine Corps Christmas cards:

• Coming Home depicts a Marine in full dress uniform walking down a snow-covered path, framed by white trees. The card's message describes a longing to be home at Christmas.
• Sleep in Heavenly Peace shows a sleeping bulldog in a Santa hat. As the Corps' mascot, a bulldog is a great way to mix a traditional and cute holiday photograph with Marine pride.
• Support Our Marines drapes a glowing Christmas tree with a yellow ribbon, a standard symbol of supporting the troops. Instead of a star or angel, the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor top the tree. The inner message includes the common saying, "The few, the proud, the Marines."
• Freedom to Celebrate focuses on an arm hanging an ornament on a Christmas tree. However, instead of the usual holiday sweater you might see in most photos of this type, the arm is covered in military fatigues. The card's message entreats the recipient to remember the sacrifices of those fighting.
• Blue Christmas is another card featuring a Marine in dress uniform walking through a snowy landscape. It's a hopeful sight of a potential homecoming.
• Home from the War shows a Marine returning home hoisting the Marine Corps flag high as he walks by a fence covered with yellow ribbons. This is another card about the joys of returning home.

Most card designs include the Marine Corps motto, "Semper Fidelis", along with the traditional holiday greetings, and are sold in packages of 10.