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                                                                Exhibit 10(xxxi)

                         AMERICAN GREETINGS CORPORATION
                             STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT
                   1997 EQUITY AND PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PLAN

Cleveland, Ohio

              WHEREAS, the individual identified on the attached form, (the
"Optionee") is a director of American Greetings Corporation (the "Company"); and

              WHEREAS, the Company is authorized under the attached 1997 Equity
and Performance Incentive Plan ("Plan") to grant stock options to directors
including the Optionee;

              NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of their mutual promises herein,
the Company and the Optionee agree as follows:

              Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Plan:

     (1) The Company hereby grants to the Optionee options ("Options") to
purchase the Class of Common Shares, par value $1 per share ("Shares"), of the
Company in the amount and at the price indicated on the attached form, the
option price being the market price of the Company's Class A Common Shares
quoted by the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") on the day on which these Options
are granted, and agrees to cause certificates for any Shares purchased hereunder
(or other evidence of share ownership selected by the Company) to be delivered
to the Optionee upon receipt of the purchase price either (i) in cash or check;
(ii) in whole or in part, Class A and/or Class B Common Shares of the Company
valued (in the case of both Class A and/or Class B Common Shares) at the time of
exercise at least equal to the option price; (iii) by surrender of any other
award or grant under the Plan valued at the time of exercise at least equal to
the option price; or (iv) a combination of such payment methods.

     (2) The Options shall become exercisable, from time to time, in whole or in
part, according to the attached schedule, as long as the Optionee remains a
director of the Company. Once the Options have become exercisable, all or any
part of the Options shall be exercisable during the balance of the option
period; provided, however, if the Optionee shall die, become permanently
disabled or incompetent, or has ten (10) or more years of continuous service
with the Company and shall terminate as a director at age 65 (and on such other
grounds as the Compensation Committee of the Board may hereafter determine in
its sole discretion), all Options represented by this Stock Option Agreement
that have not vested shall become immediately exercisable in full.

     (3) The Options shall terminate on the earliest of the following dates:

         (a)  Ten years from the date on which they were granted; or
         (b)  One year from the date of death or permanent disability or
              incompetence of the Optionee if the same was the cause of, or
              occurred within three months after, termination of the Optionee's
              service as a director of the Company; or
         (c)  Six months and one day from the date of termination of service as
              a director in all other cases.

     In the event the Compensation Committee determines that the Optionee has
intentionally committed an act materially inimical to the interests of the
Company, this Stock Option Agreement shall terminate at the date of such act,
notwithstanding any other provision hereof. Nothing in this Section (3) shall be
construed to modify or enlarge the rights of the Optionee as set forth in
Section (2) hereof. Nothing contained in this Stock Option Agreement shall limit
whatever right the Company might otherwise have to terminate the service of the
Optionee and the terms hereof shall not be affected in any manner by any
agreement between the Optionee and the Company.

     (4) Persons receiving Options by will or by the laws of descent and
distribution may exercise the Options upon the terms provided for in the Plan
and this Stock Option Agreement.

     (5) The Options shall not be exercisable if at the time of exercise such
exercise would require registration of the Class A or Class B Common Shares or
other securities to be purchased hereunder under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, or under any similar federal securities law then in effect and such
registration shall not then be effective. The Company shall register the Class A
or Class B Common Shares or other securities covered by this Stock Option
Agreement under any such law if such registration shall be necessary to the
exercise of the Options and the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion
determines that such registration would not result in undue expense or hardship
to the Company and that such registration is desirable to effect the purposes
for which the Options are granted.

     (6) The Options may be exercised by the Optionee by (a) delivering to the
Company (Attention of the Director - Retirement & Payroll or successor to such
job title) written notice of the number and class of Shares with respect to
which the Options are being exercised, and (b) in those cases where the Optionee
does not intend to immediately sell the Shares covered by the Options, paying
the purchase price of the Shares being acquired plus any required withholdings.
The Optionee shall have no rights as a shareholder with respect to any Shares
covered by the Options evidenced by this Stock Option Agreement until such time
that the Option is exercised and the Optionee pays the full purchase price for
the underlying Shares. In those cases where the Optionee intends to immediately
sell Shares covered by the Options, after notifying the Company of his or her
intention to sell, the Optionee will receive the amount by which the sale price
exceeds the grant price for such Shares, after deducting applicable taxes and
brokerage fees, but not interest that might otherwise be paid on an advance of
moneys to the Optionee between the exercise and settlement dates. The sale price
for both Class A and Class B Common Shares shall be the price of Class A Common
Shares as quoted by NYSE as of the close of business on the date of exercise.

     (7) Upon the exercise of Options or Reload Options (as defined below)
through the delivery of any class of the Company's Common Shares or other grants
or awards under paragraph 4.(d) of the Plan held by an Optionee for at least six
months, an Optionee who is an active director of the Company shall receive
replacement Options equal in number to the number of Common Shares and/or other
grants or awards surrendered in order to exercise the Options and on the same
terms as the Options or Reload Options surrendered, except that Reload Options
shall not be exercisable more than ten (10) years from the date of grant of the
initial Options ("Reload Options"). The Reload Options themselves may not be
reloaded, and may not be exercised after the date on which the Options in
respect of which such Reload Options were granted, expire, are canceled or
terminate.

     (8) If any provision of this Stock Option Agreement conflicts with any
provision in the 1997 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan, the provisions of
the 1997 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan shall govern.

                                       AMERICAN GREETINGS CORPORATION

                                                 [Non-Employee Director Form]<PAGE>

                                                              Exhibit 10 (xxxii)

                         AMERICAN GREETINGS CORPORATION
                        RESTRICTED SHARES GRANT AGREEMENT

      American Greetings Corporation, an Ohio corporation (the "Company"),
pursuant to the terms and conditions hereof, hereby grants to __________________
(the "Grantee") ________________ Class ____ Common Shares, $1 par value, of the
Company (the "Restricted Shares").

      1.    The Restricted Shares are in all respects subject to the terms,
conditions and provisions of this Agreement and the Company's 1997 Equity and
Performance Incentive Plan (the "Plan").

      2.    Until vested the Restricted Shares may not be sold, transferred,
pledged, assigned or otherwise encumbered, whether voluntarily, involuntarily or
by operation of law, and will be forfeited to the Company if the Grantee
voluntarily terminates his employment with the Company unless such termination
is deemed to be a termination by the Company "without cause"; provided, however,
notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, that the Grantee's
rights with respect to Restricted Shares may be transferred by will or pursuant
to the laws of descent and distribution. The certificate or certificates
representing the Restricted Shares will bear a legend evidencing the
restrictions contained herein. The substantial risk of forfeiture and
restrictions on transfer imposed on the Restricted Shares shall lapse, and the
Restricted Shares shall vest, on the third anniversary of the date hereof.

      3.    The Restricted Shares will be issued in the name of the Grantee. The
Company's transfer agent and/or share transfer records will show the Grantee as
the owner of record of the Restricted Shares. Except as otherwise provided in
this Agreement, the Grantee will have all the rights of a shareholder of the
Company, including the right to vote and receive dividends.

      4.    The Company or the Company's agent will hold the Restricted Shares
for the period of time that the Restricted Shares are subject to forfeiture
(until vested) and the certificate or certificates representing the Restricted
Shares will be delivered to the Grantee after the Restricted Shares are no
longer subject to forfeiture. The Grantee shall execute and deliver to the
Company one or more blank stock powers so that the Restricted Shares that may be
forfeited can be canceled or transferred to the Company.

      5.    Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the
Restricted Shares awarded to the Grantee hereunder shall immediately vest (no
longer be subject to the substantial risk of forfeiture and no longer be subject
to restriction on transfer) in the Grantee and a certificate or certificates
representing the Restricted Shares shall be delivered to the Grantee or the
Grantee's estate, as the case may be, upon (i) the Grantee's death or
disability, (ii) a Change in Control of the Company (as defined in the Plan), or
(iii) the termination "without cause" of the Grantee's employment by the
Company. Termination shall be deemed to be "without cause" unless the Board of
Directors of the Company, or its designee, in good faith determines that
termination is because of any one or more of the following:

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      The Grantee's:

      (a)   fraud;

      (b)   misappropriation of funds;

      (c)   commission of a felony or of an act or series of acts which result
            in material injury to the business reputation of the Company;

      (d)   commission of a crime or act or series of acts involving moral
            turpitude;

      (e)   commission of an act or series of repeated acts of dishonesty that
            are materially inimical to the best interests of the Company;

      (f)   willful and repeated failure to perform his duties, which failure
            has not been cured in all substantial respects within fifteen (15)
            days after the Company gives written notice thereof to the Grantee;
            or

      (g)   material breach of any material provision of any employment
            agreement with the Company, which breach has not been cured in all
            substantial respects within ten (10) days after the Company gives
            written notice thereof to the Grantee.

      In addition, the Grantee may terminate his employment with the Company,
and such termination shall be deemed a termination by the Company "without
cause" if:

      (a)   the Company reduces the Grantee's title, responsibilities, power or
            authority in comparison with his title, responsibilities, power or
            authority on the date hereof;

      (b)   the Company assigns the Grantee duties which are inconsistent with
            the duties assigned to the Grantee on the date hereof and which
            duties the Company persists in assigning to the Grantee despite the
            prior written objection of the Grantee; or

      (c)   the Company reduces the Grantee's annual base compensation (unless
            such decrease is proportionate with a decrease in the base
            compensation of the executive officers of the Company as a group),
            or materially reduces his group health, life, disability or other
            insurance programs (including any such benefits provided to the
            Grantee's family), his pension, retirement or profit-sharing
            benefits or any benefits provided by the Company, or excludes him
            from any plan, program or arrangement, including but not limited to
            bonus or incentive plans, in which the other executive officers of
            the Company are included.

      6.    For purposes of this Agreement the Grantee shall be considered
"disabled" if the Grantee is unable to engage in any substantial gainful
activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment,
which can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a
continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months. All determinations of
whether the Grantee is disabled shall be made in accordance with Internal
Revenue Code Section 409A.

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      7.    On any change in the number or kind of outstanding common shares of
the Company by reason of a recapitalization, merger, consolidation,
reorganization, separation, liquidation, share split, share dividend,
combination of shares or any other change in the corporate structure or common
shares of the Company, the Company, by action of the Compensation and Management
Development Committee (the "Committee"), is empowered to make such adjustment,
if any, in the number and kind of Restricted Shares subject to this agreement as
it considers appropriate for the protection of the Company and of the Grantee.

      8.    No later than the date as of which an amount first becomes
includable in the gross income of the Grantee for federal income tax purposes
with respect to the Restricted Shares granted hereunder, the Grantee shall pay
to the Company, or make arrangements satisfactory to the Committee regarding the
payment of, any federal, state or local taxes of any kind required by law to be
withheld with respect to that amount. Unless otherwise determined by the
Committee, withholding obligations may be settled with previously owned common
shares or Restricted Shares that have vested. The making of that payment or
those arrangements is a condition to the obligations of the Company under the
Plan, and the Company may, to the extent permitted by law, deduct any taxes from
any payment of any kind otherwise payable to the Grantee or the Company may
retain such number of the Restricted Shares covered by the grant evidenced by
this Agreement as shall be equal in value to the amount of the remaining
withholding obligation.

      9.    Nothing in this Agreement shall affect in any manner any conflicting
or other provision of any other agreement between the Grantee and the Company.
Nothing contained in this Agreement shall limit whatever right the Company might
otherwise have to terminate the employment of the Grantee.

      10.   The laws of the State of Ohio govern this Agreement, the Plan and
the Restricted Shares granted hereunder. If any provision of this Agreement
conflicts with any provision in the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall
govern.

      IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused its corporate name to be
subscribed by its duly authorized officer as of the __ day of ____, 20__.

                                                  AMERICAN GREETINGS CORPORATION

                                                  By ___________________________

The foregoing is hereby accepted.

_________________________________
(Signature)

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