SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Christmas cards have come a long way since the days of Hallmark greetings with a quick note penned inside.

Maureen Miller, owner of Jan's Card and Gift in Centre Square Mall, said there are a variety of ways for people to send a Christmas card with their own personal touch.

Jan's Card and Gift has creative card options such as this musical Santa card, left, or candy cane cards which come with actual candy for Christmas. - Cara Loverock/NNSL photo

The store, which sells the most well-known name in greeting cards - Hallmark - offers Christmas cards that come with songs, candy and even 3-D.

"It really is such a personal preference." said Miller. "A lot of people shop nostalgically."

She said people often want cards that remind them of Christmas when they were kids.

"This year they came out with a new card that had candy in it," she said. "We have a few left but not many."

There are also cards that offer buyers the option to record their own personal voice message.

Miller said many shoppers were picking up Christmas cards earlier than usual. If sales are any indication women were more on the card-buying ball than men this year.

"We still have a lot of wife cards left ... but we don't have any husband cards left," she said.

Miller also said Santa and snowmen are still tops as far as preferences for card characters. For those wanting a more homemade or traditional route, Yellowknifer Edith Mair has been putting out her own Christmas letter since 1974.

"It's so worthwhile," said Mair of the work that goes into her yearly Christmas card. She writes up a letter about all the things that have happened to her and her family over the year and includes various pictures.

"My mother was a very good letter writer so I probably got it from her," said Mair. She said others she writes to have started to put together their own Christmas letter.

"It's just a great communication to have at Christmas time," she said.

Anyone who may have forgot to send a card, or got one last minute from someone who may be expecting one in return, can always turn to the Internet. Email cards can be found on various online sites and are often free. Check out www.123greetings.com to find everything from snowmen playing musical instruments to a surfing Santa or dancing, drinking reindeer.