Theme Cards

• Try unique themes for greeting cards, like caricatures of yourself.Zedcor Wholly Owned/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  Clown cards, candle cards and family photo cards are just a few of the unique greeting cards available on the market. These types of cards can also be made by hand or on your computer. Thanks to software technology, if you can't afford or don't want a personal artist, some family-style unique theme cards make greeting cards of cherished photos turned into caricatures.
  
  

Design Your Own

• Make a hand made card, or purchase one from a charity.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Handmade cards can be made with your own hands or someone else's. Just like an artist cannot make two paintings exactly the same, a greeting card made by hand will always be unique because once it's done, it can't be repeated exactly the same way. Handmade cards are "fingerprints," always one of a kind.
  
  

Electronic Cards

• E-mail a card, save a tree.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Electronic greeting cards, though not as unusual as they once were, are still a fast and least-expensive way of remembering an event or celebration without harming trees, using inks or even paying for postage. Many greeting card companies, such as JibJab, Blue Mountain, e-Motion, Hollah, 123greetings and even big retail brands like Hallmark will help you design and send an electronic card by e-mail or a clickable online card. These cards are always animated and very often are interactive.
  
  

Recycled Material Cards

• Send a specialty card, plant a tree.Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  Many charitable organizations, such as St Jude's Ranch, Fair Trade and the Arbor Day Foundation, use and re-sell old greeting cards, or make them from natural, recyclable environmentally friendly materials. With the Arbor Day Foundation, every box of cards purchased is reciprocated with a new tree planted.
  
  

Digital Cards

• A few companies, such as Just Wink and MocoSpace, offer a mobile phone app with downloadable e-cards that can be sent from one mobile phone to another. The apps are usually free to download into your cell phone, and the recipient can pick up the greeting card via mobile phone or online.
  
  

Freebie Cards

• Organizations like SOS Children's Villages will let you send free greeting cards from the charity's website. These electronic giveaways help to spread the word about their work on behalf of orphaned and abandoned children around the world.