I can still remember the first time I sent an e-card. I was a university student, and still quite clueless about the relatively new internet. I woke up one morning and realized it was my father's birthday -- and I couldn't possibly get a card from Texas to L.A. by nightfall. I mentioned this to my roommate, who actually had a computer (they weren't as common as air back then!) and suggested I send him an e-Card. Naturally, I thought this was a bizarre idea, until I saw how cute they were. And the part about them being free didn't hurt, either! My dad got his card on his birthday and was well chuffed by the cuteness of it, and I've been hooked ever since.

Back when I sent that first eCard, they were free. I suspect this was due to their new-ness; few people had even heard of them at the time, which would make it rather difficult to get people to buy them. But we've come a long way since then, and lots of people are willing to buy them now -- which kind of makes it hard to find good ones on the cheap. But! It's still possible, if you know where to look.  

Hallmark.com

Hallmark: When you care enough to send the very best. If you're my age or older, that will have been drummed into your brain via years of pre-internet advertising. You know.. back when people still watched TV on the actual television, and before they started watching it on their computer? Anyway, Hallmark now has loads of eCards that you can send for any occasion. You'll have to look through all of the cards to find the free ones, but it's pretty easy to do. Hoops and YoYo, Maxine and Screaming Banshee (my fave!) have loads of free cards for you. Registration is free -- and if you do want to send a paid-for card, they're only a buck or two.

AmericanGreetings.Com

American Greetings works in pretty much the same way; you'll need to look through them all to find the free ones, but it's pretty easy to spot them. I tend to go with Hallmark because I love the Screaming Banshee, but there are lots of great cards here, too. Have a look!

Egreetings.com

Egreetings is a division of American Greetings, and their system is pretty similar for obvious reasons. This site has a Free section, and you only need to click around a bit to find a card that will suit your needs. Lots of flash stuff, which I've always loved.

BlueMountain.com

This is the company I referred to at the start -- the one I used to send a free card to my Dad. They're not free anymore, but you can still find some free ones if you know where to look. Simply type "Free" in the eCard search box, and they'll return a big list o'free stuff for you to choose from.

DaySpring.com

This is an eCard site meant for Christians. If you prefer religious themed holiday and birthday greetings, these people make pretty nifty flash and other types of greeting cards. You don't need to register to send them, either.