The holiday season has officially begun; I know this because our family received our first Christmas card yesterday. As I ponder getting our own Christmas cards out, I feel extremely overwhelmed.
A girlfriend recently commented to me that she is disappointed that many of the cards she now receives from old friends do not include a personal note. I laughed and said “Well who has time for THAT?” She replied, “I do!” It made me stop and think. I have not included a personal note in a holiday card in I-don’t-know-how long. Frankly, I have our entire card pre-printed with a photo and our names at the bottom; I stuff those into envelopes and mail. Sometimes I put the kids into an assembly line; one stuffs, one licks, one stamps, and one whines that he/she has nothing to do.That effort alone takes hours and sort of exhausts me.
If I were to include a personal note in each of the 200 or so cards we mail each year, I would have to get started around Labor Day. Seriously, there are not enough hours in the day! And yet, now I feel like I am disappointing my far off friends by not personalizing their card with a handwritten expression of my holiday wishes.
I certainly do not want any of my friends or family to feel slighted by my lack of effort. I want everyone to know that NO ONE gets a personal note! The thing is, I have 4 kids and a full-time job! And usually, I have better things to do than to write 200 notes!
You tell me–do you write handwritten notes on your holiday cards? If so, where do you find the time?
We don’t write notes in our cards – it’s not really the done thing over here in Blighty, it’s kind of looked on as a chore. Or maybe that’s just me…
I think you are doing good. Last year I managed to sign the cards and address them and never got them to the post office! Usually I don’t even get that far. I think that you do what you can do and thats that. My friends and family that are close know why we are busy at this time of year and they love us whether we send the cards or not. (and more often it is not!)
Blessings,
I think the updated picture of my three kids showing they are still alive and relatively cleans shows what I’ve been up to for the past year–I consider the picture I choose very carefully and am just glad to get the same from my friends. I find the “holiday letter” of accomplishments and such to be a bit braggy–
I like adding a note in the card, even if it’s something like “From our family to yours, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year”.
I don’t actually like the pre-printed photo cards. We get our family photo done at the end of November or beginning of December, and get a bunch of wallet-sized ones of all of us or just the three kids to include with the card. And we always write something in the card. That way it seems more personal than mass-produced.
Since we have three young children, we do all the work once they’re in bed. One day we’ll get them to sign their name in a few (like to grandparents, uncles & aunts, etc.).
Cheers,
Cindy
I love handwritten cards that say more than the standard. I actually keep the cards that have a special message. So, for those that just send to send … They probably end up in the (as my 2 year old puts it) “CASH CAN” (Trash Can). Have a wonderful holiday season and I hope more people put lovely notes in their cards with beautiful photos of Family.
T’is the season, Cheers…
Gabby, owner of Kiddo Tags
I like having the best of both worlds (personalization & convenience) – I use an online service to create our Christmas card with a family picture on the front and pictures inside, I type my message using my handwriting font & signature, specify who I want it sent to in my contact manager and click “send”. The service I use prints them, stuffs them, seals them, stamps them and takes them to the post office. Hassle free card sending at last!