French email greeting cards are a great way to communicate with your friends from French class, your teacher (or your students) as well as a wonderful resource for keeping in contact with native French speakers you have met.
English Sources for French Cards
If your French isn't advanced enough yet to be able to navigate a French speaking site, rest assured there are a few Anglophone sites that offer e-cards in French. The selection is more limited, and the phrases and wording more simple than what you might find on a Francophone site, but nonetheless, you can find a simple e-card from one of the following places.
123 Greetings
123 Greetings offers a small selection of cards in French. Occasions include anniversaries, birthdays, love, thanks, Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day and more.
Cards are animated and do not use commonly accepted abbreviations and phrasing. For example, all of their cards for Valentine's Day refer to the day as Saint-Valentin, whereas you'll commonly see it as St Valentin on a French card. However, if you're wanting to send some love to someone in French, the message will get across.
Care2
Care2 has a very small selection of Bastille Day cards in French. Bastille Day could be considered the French equivalent of the United States' Independence Day. So it's fitting that you may send your French friend a Bastille Day card.
The cards are entirely in French and feature animated fireworks, or famous monuments or places in France. What's more, sending a Care2 card generates charitable donations for great charities.
Doozy Cards
Doozy Cards offers a handful of talking French e-cards. You write your message in French, send it via email to your friend, and your talking animated character uses your words to speak your message.
Choose from things like a talking fish, a talking Mona Lisa, or even a talking 'mignonne souriante' (smiley face).
Where to Get E-cards in French
While using a French site might be challenging if your French is limited, your selection increases substantially, allowing you to send just the right card with just the right wording.
Dromodaire
Dromadaire offers a substantially large collection of professionally-done, animated e-cards. The site has cards for a variety of occasions including holidays, congratulatory cards, or things like friendship or sympathy.
To start, choose the type of card you want to send, (i.e. friendship, sympathy, etc.) and then you'll get a choice between sending a real card or sending a 'carte virtuelle.' The site also offers ideas for what to write in your card to make it more original, as well as the option of sending a real gift or card through postal mail.
Cybercartes
Cybercartes boasts some 10,000 e-cards to choose from - all free. From serious to funny, this site has it all. You can connect the site to your Facebook account, so that when a friend's birthday is happening, you'll remember to send an e-card.
The site is fun because you can add your voice to some cards to make the animated characters speak or add your photo to a card to see your face animated in a silly dance or action.
Jolie Carte
Are you looking for an e-card that is heartfelt and serious? Jolie Carte has you covered. Artfully illustrated designs featuring mostly flowers, cute and cuddly animals, landscape and other realistic scenes depict heartfelt messages to that special someone in your life.
They have several holidays to choose from, making Jolie Carte a good option if you want a longer message but aren't sure how to write it.
L'internaute
L'internaute is actually a French current events and lifestyle website. However, they do offer some greeting cards, mostly centered around the current holiday. They also offer a couple cards that you can personalize with your videos or photos, and are the only French greeting card option with an app. You could finish your entire greeting card list simply by using their app.
Carterie
Another site for the more serious type of card, Carterie has a huge selection of cards for just about every holiday and even holidays you hadn't thought of. Cards feature realistic prints or photos, and the messages are all small sections of prose.
The site allows you to customize certain aspects of the card such as the music, the font, and various colors.
e-Cartes Musicales
e-Cartes Musicales may seem a bit cluttered, however, it offers you a lot of customization options. Cards span all the holidays, and themes include everything from cute puppies, to cartoon drawings, to realistic artwork.
Once you select a card, you can choose the music, write a personalized message, and even choose a date on which to send the card. You can also design your own card, adding your artwork to the face of the card.
Send Something in French
Emailing a card in French is a great way to practice your French skills, bond with a French-speaking friend, or have fun among classmates. Whether you're a novice and need to send a card that has everything written down for you, or nearly fluent in French, an e-card is a great way to connect with your fellow Francophiles.
