Yes, it's January 11 and I'm stretching out the holiday topics a little bit longer. This past Christmas season, I didn't send Christmas cards. It was probably the first time in many years that has happened. I can blame a lot of it on the busy season, but it's that way every year. I think my non-motivation for sending cards has many aspects. I do enjoy receiving cards, which should be motivation enough to send mine out. It's exciting to go to the mailbox and retrieve something other than bills.
The rising cost of postage makes sending out the large number of cards I'd like to send unappealing. I know that's petty, but sending out a pre-messaged card with a "Love, Rose" on the inside seems pretty vanilla for .41 a pop. I have a couple of friends that send Christmas letters either via e-mail or included in their Christmas card. I like that idea. I've often thought of doing that because I try to send cards to a various assortment of my life's acquaintances, many of whom have no idea what I'm up to these days. But, given that I update a blog regularly, am an avid user of Facebook, and connected on LinkedIn, most everyone I know or have known finds me there, and creating another media all about me seems a bit overkill.
I absolutely love the picture cards. You know the ones. The fun family portraits you can have created on Shutterfly or at Walgreens with festive backgrounds and personal messages. I look forward to those the most at holiday time. Those are especially nice from the folks that don't live near me so I can keep up with the families and how they are growing. I could do that picture card option...but I'm a single gal and doing a solo portrait seems a bit odd to me. Maybe if I had a fun portrait....posing on top of Mount Everest...standing aside Zachary Quinto on the Red Carpet...cheesing it up in Rockefeller Center with Matt Lauer...you know, something inventive. In 2008, I'll try to make something monumental occur to make for a great Christmas card portrait.
What about you? What did you do this Christmas in way of Merry Communication? And, what types of cards do you look forward to receiving?
I gave up on Christmas cards a few years ago, I'm ashamed to admit. Only in my case, it's not postage that prevents me--it's the paralyzing fear of forgetting someone and the list that never stops growing. (You know: "If I send one to her, then I can't leave out him and her and him..." etc.) I like the email idea--I get some pretty cute cards that way from friends!
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ReplyDeleteI love addressing the cards and thinking of good times shared in the past with each recipient. This may be my last year for Christmas cards. Really sad. {Of course, I said LAST year would be the end of my Christmas card efforts.)
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