I love greeting cards, especially if they're witty and it looks like the person spent time to find the "perfect" one for me (so not just a cute dog on the front). My husband didn't understand it at first but he did notice I always found the "best" cards for him. They always related to jokes we'd make, etc.

We now compete to find the best cards for each other (our birthdays are close enough that we celebrate together). It was important and meaningful for me and easy for him to do. We now both have a collection of cards that we go through periodically since they contain good memories.

OP, the thing about the love languages is that it's supposed to help each party recognize what each party deems as meaningful/valuable to them. It's not supposed to be "suck it up". A true partner will meet you halfway. They'll see what's important to you (i.e. love notes) and take the extra effort to write one periodically to make you happy.