Friday, November 19, 2010

The Christmas Card Question

I think with the invention of FACEBOOK the entire Christmas card sending ritual is becoming questionable. Throughout the year, we post on FACEBOOK a few of our favorite moments and a couple of great pictures. As this holiday season rolls around, the question is - do we need to send out photo/xmas cards?


I think the answer is yes. I still have friends who are not on FACEBOOK (although that number is shrinking). I also don't have business associates on my FACEBOOK page. I try to keep my worlds somewhat separate. Many of my older family members still don't have a computer. Additionally, how do I know if people are actually checking their social network sites?

Here is the real reason to send out Christmas cards: they make people happy. I love going to the mailbox each day during the season and seeing how much the children of my friends and family have grown. Reading the holiday letters entertains me. We keep all of our cards from the year before so we know who to send cards to the next year and it is fun to compare cards from year to year.

Finally, I write on my xmas cards. I try to write a small personal note on the back of each card. It only takes a few minutes, but for those few minutes I am talking to an old friend, a dear family member, or some other person who means something to me.

I will send out cards this year. I will treasure the ritual of sitting on the couch with a black sharpie, an address book, last year's cards, stamps, and write to each of my people and sharing a memory of them - if only for a few moments.

Now - how to choose which card -- which picture -- what saying. Religious? Non-Religious? Oh, the decisions. I will be using shutterfly. I have made about three Shutterfly books and loved them. Additionally, a few years ago we had shutterfly xmas cards and adored them. We tried other places with "cheaper" price and ended up with cheaper cards. I couldn't stand last year's card.

I really like this card for this year.

And, I will continue to use SHUTTERFLY for my books. They are so fun and easy to make!