Send a Holiday cheer card to a Veteran or Canadian Armed Forces member!

Whenever the holidays roll around, people wonder how they can give to others. What better way to do this than have youth send handmade Holiday cheer cards to Veterans or currently serving military personnel? Some Veterans living in long term care homes or Canadian Armed Forces members may not see their families this holiday season. Sending them a holiday cheer card could really brighten their day! It is a great gift to send these real-life heroes a personal message of gratitude to tell them you remember and thank them for their service.

How to make a card?

Handmade cards are very special. Each student can make their card as creatively as they wish! Their artwork could be drawings or construction paper with designs glued on, such as:

• trees, snowmen or winter sports
• birds, wreaths or flowers
• angels, presents and more!

What to write?

Explain to your students that they could start with a greeting like, “Dear brave Veteran,” “Dear Veteran,” or “Dear Hero.” They can then write about how thankful they are for what the Veteran did for our country and how they will remember their sacrifices and achievements. Some messages could be:

• Thank you for keeping Canada safe.
• Thank you for your sacrifices for peace.
• I will remember by wearing a poppy on my heart on Remembrance Day.

After that, youth should feel free to wish the Veteran a happy holiday!

Where and how to send Holiday cheer cards?

Collect the cards and ensure that they contain appropriate messaging before giving them to recipients.

If possible, we encourage hand-delivering the students’ Holiday cheer cards to Veterans or military members in your own community.

You could contact your local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and try to arrange distribution to Veterans in your area.

If you don’t know where to find possible local recipients, you could also check our list of or long-term care facilities with Veteran residents, or the Military Family Resource Centres website.

If you will be mailing them, group cards destined for the same location in a single package. Please keep in mind that postage for Holiday cheer cards is at the sender’s expense.

You may also send an electronic Holiday cheer message to currently serving Canadian Armed Forces members. This program is supervised by the Department of National Defence. Messages from your class might be a morale booster that makes it a little easier for those reading them to be away from home for the holidays.

Another variation of this letter writing activity is to send an electronic card to a recipient, if you know their email address.

Extension activities

You could create a "Holiday peace tree" in your school or classroom and have your students write messages of peace and remembrance. Tie the card messages to a fake or real tree to hang for the holiday season.

You may also wish to learn more about some Canadian military history Christmas Stories

Thanks for your participation, and Happy Holidays!