My Thoughts on Christmas Cards

In my November 1st post, Halloween's over; time to tackle Christmas., I told you about my portable Christmas card station (PCCS).  I get a box or a box lid and fill it with everything I need to send Christmas cards - cards, envelopes, stamps, address book, list of recipients, pens, lap desk.  Then each day, usually after dinner but anytime I find a few minutes in my day, I'll work on the cards.  I thought you might want to see a picture of it.  :o)  I know there are a lot of cards in my PCCS, but I don't use up all the cards in a box in one year.  So I have lots of leftovers that I'll use again a few years later.

Anywho, I want to talk about what has happened to the custom of mailing Christmas cards over the last several years.  In my world, I saw a huge shift occur during the holiday seasons of 2007 and 2008 and I believe part of that had to do with the downturn the US economy was taking.  Most of the people I know either didn't send cards for the 1st time or really cut back on the number of cards they sent.  I get it.  It's an expense and time consuming!  I can't tell you how many times I heard, "I'm only going to send a Christmas card to someone who sends me a Christmas card first."  Very few cards were received because everyone was sitting around waiting for everyone else to send the 1st card!  LOL

I used to send out almost 200 cards due to my large family.  Doing cards then was a chore and not enjoyable at all.  I cut that amount down because I wasn't receiving a card back from most of those people.  Doing my 50-60 cards makes me happy now.  I still don't receive as many as I send and I am receiving less and less cards as each year passes.

It makes me sad, however, that Christmas cards appear less personal these days.  And in some instances, aren't even cards.  I say "appear" because there is a lot of effort and time spent on the creation of a Christmas mailing, but then it may arrive with no personalization - the address on the envelope is typed out and nothing has been handwritten on the mailing/picture/collage.

When B was younger, I even created those beautiful Christmas mailings online with a picture or a collage of pictures on it.  I loved that they came with envelopes but the stress of finding the perfect picture/pictures on my unorganized computer was too much for me.  But I always wrote a personal message on the back before sending them.

I noticed something, though, when I was sending my prefab mailings - I was receiving mostly prefab mailings.  I like to receive cards!  I get a thrill when I open the flap of an envelope and see that it contains a card.  Before pulling it out, I get a glimpse of the front and try to guess what the rest is going to be.  "I see snow!"  "I bet that's the robe a wise man." "Is that the side of a snowman?"  Then I slide out the card and drink in the front picture.  Religious?  Season's greetings?  I love them all!  After I've had my fill of the picture and wording on the front, there comes the anticipation of the inside.  "What will it say?"  "What's the rest of the saying that was started on the front?"  "Will it be signed by a person, with a real pen?"  "Will we be able to read the handwriting?"  I've never met someone who liked their own handwriting.  We always think our writing looks terrible and people tell me they don't write in cards because of that.  But it's never as bad as you think it is and we love to sit around in the evening and decipher handwriting.  It's a family activity!

I hang every card and mailing we receive on the back of our front door so that we, and everyone who enters this house, can enjoy them.  The hubs likes to come home form work and see what new ones arrived that day.

Please don't misunderstand me.  I am not judging anyone who creates a mailing with pictures and pre-prints one holiday message and the family name for every card.  I am not judging anyone for using a mail merge to print out the envelopes.  I know the amount of time and energy it takes to create those things and I myself can't handle all that.  If we're going to spend time and money creating something, it needs to be something we like and in a way we like to do it.  I just grieve that the technology allowing us to do new things faster, neater, prettier means that some old ways will be discontinued.  

Remember Frank Navasky from You've Got Mail?  His unwillingness to trade in typewriters for a computer and his love for not only the sound of a typewriter's key but also the uneven, "personalized" typeface created by different typewriters is how I feel about Christmas cards that can open and have a handwritten message inside just for me.

I love the better quality of movies on my DVD player and am glad it was invented.  However, I'm still sad that the family Betamax had to go recently because no electronics shop could repair it.  I had movies in Beta form that were either so old or unpopular, they weren't remade in DVD format so I will never enjoy them again.

I know that if I get a thrill out of opening a Christmas card with a handwritten message inside, others must too, so I like to provide that.  I do enjoy receiving your collages that show me the highlights in your family's lives over the past year.  I read everyone of y'all's Christmas letters and laugh, applaud and cry with you.  And I don't need to get anything at all to know you care, so don't stress if Christmas cards/mailing are one more thing you don't need on your plate this time of year.  

If you've missed the Christmas cards of yore, let me know, and I'd be happy to add you to my Christmas card list!

Halloween's over; time to tackle Christmas.

I can see the eye rolling and hear the sighs and groans already.  "But what about Thanksgiving?!" y'all cry. I don't ignore Thanksgiving.  In fact, it's my favorite holiday of the year!  Food, family, giving thanks, counting blessings - that's what I'm all about!

But seriously, does Thanksgiving preparation take up the entire month of November?  No.  And if it does for you, I'd suggest reevaluating your Thanksgiving plans!  We host my parents and brother for the Thanksgiving meal.  We all know what we're having every year - turkey, stuffing, rolls, potatoes, veggies, gravy, desserts; we all know on what day it occurs; there are no presents to buy or wrap.  Not a whole lot to do.

This year we are actually going to New England to spend Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family.  My Nana is 96 years old and as much of the family that can is getting together to celebrate since we haven't done that since before B was born.  But still, a little clothes packing and hotel reservation making is all that has been added to my Thanksgiving planning this year.

But Christmas?!  That's a whole different ballgame!  Decorating, buying presents, wrapping presents, baking goodies to share with friends and neighbors, sending Christmas cards.  Then there's the fun stuff to do - make sure all the traditional Christmas specials on TV are watched, go caroling, drive around and look at Christmas lights, visit Santa, attend our 1st office Christmas party in well over a decade!  And only 24 days in which to do it?  Not for me!

I want to make sure I can not only do all that fun stuff but also enjoy it without watching the clock, my mind racing over a long list of things to do.  That is why I start tackling Christmas on November 1st.  Actually, the hubs has been buying Christmas presents since the beginning of the Summer, not only spreading out the cost of Christmas, but also eliminating things off our "to do" list already.

I got the idea years ago from The Fly Lady.  She "Cruises Through The Holidays" every year.  She said to pretend that you are departing on December 1st for a 3-week cruise and you need to make sure everything is done for Christmas before you leave.  That year that I followed her cruising to a "T" we started around October 15th.  Each day there was a "mission" to do - planning, making lists, shopping, wrapping, writing cards, etc. - all spread out over 6.5 weeks.

By the time December 1st rolled around, I was finished!  Everything that needed to be done was and I got to relax during December!  Invitation to a holiday party?  I was there because I didn't have to go shopping in the evenings after the hubs came home to watch B.  You want me to sit and watch the Grinch show with you, again, or you want to help me with my holiday baking?  Sure!  I had time to watch that show and plenty of time to have a baking helper, no need to stay up all night frantically baking and getting a half-assed result.

Now, I haven't gotten everything done by December 1st since then, but it opened up my eyes that enjoying the month of December is a heck of a lot better than working through it for everyone else's enjoyment.  Therefore, I start November 1st, I make a plan and I get as much done as I can.

First of all, the hubs and I sit down to make the gift list - who's getting a gift and what ideas do we have for those gifts.  The more ideas the better because things tend to run out this time of year.

Secondly, I decide what I'm going to bake and/or make, who's going to get something homemade and what supplies I need.  Each year that B gets older, he can help more and more with these items.

Thirdly, I set up my portable Christmas card station.  I get a box or a box lid and fill it with everything I need to send Christmas cards - cards, envelopes, stamps, address book, list of recipients, pens, lap desk.  Then each day, usually after dinner but anytime I find a few minutes in my day, I'll work on the cards.  

Some years I've done a few cards a day, from start to finish; some years I'll do them in stages.  For example, I may go through the cards, pick out the appropriate card for each recipient (some are happy to receive a religious card, others prefer to receive a seasonal one), put it in an envelope and just write their name on the front of the envelope.  I may do some of them or I may do all of them in one sitting, depends on how much time I have or if I get interrupted.

Next time I sit down to work on the cards, I'll decide what personal message I'm going to write inside.  I'll come up with 1 - 3 appropriate messages and write them down so I don't forget.

Each day I'll do a little more.  Write my message and sign the inside of some cards or address some envelopes or do some cards all the way to sealing the envelope or some days all I have the energy to do is stick on return address labels.  I used to handwrite our return address on each envelope, but last year and this year, we're receiving those free self-adhesive labels from a magazine to which the hubs subscribes.

By doing this, I usually have all of my Christmas cards signed, sealed and stamped by Thanksgiving and I mail them between December 10 - 15.

After getting the turkey in the oven on Thanksgiving morning, the hubs gets the tree out of the basement and sets it up in the living room.  While I open up all the branches, he brings up the Christmas decorations.  After our meal, my parents, brother, the hubs, B and I go for a walk.  The fresh air and smells of all the meals are wonderful!  When we get back to our house we decorate the tree and house for Christmas.  Many hands make light work!  Once we've decorated, then we have dessert.

The weather gets colder and the days get shorter, so November is a perfect month for B and I to get our craft on and create our homemade presents.  Then our house stays festive in December with the aroma of baking.  This year, I intend to sign up for the 1 month free trial of Amazon Prime from Thanksgiving to Christmas and do as much shopping on there as possible.  The full, 1 year membership is on my Christmas list.  :o)

OK, I've gone on long enough!  I hope you give it a try this year and get whatever you can done early so you can enjoy December as much as possible.  Let me know how it goes!