I don’t send greeting cards, haven’t in years. There are several reasons why I don’t, but maybe the main reason is because it seems so wasteful to throw away a card you look at, read, prop up on the bookcase for a week or two, and then, with great angst toss it in the recycle bin. I detest the waste and the impersonal nature of the canned greeting. Oh, occasionally I find an inexpensive card at Trader Joes that I think will be perfect for Barb’s birthday and I impulsively buy it. Her birthday comes and goes, the card long forgotten in my desk, so I vow to send it next year. Same thing happens for the next five years, by which time I’ve accumulated another half a dozen cards perfect for someone, but again, never sent.
My thing, and I know this comes as a complete surprise, is the dreaded Christmas letter. To my credit, I do keep it to one page, and that includes pictures of my girls (otherwise known as dogs). I doubt that anybody finds them as amusing as I do, the letters, not the dogs, but I’ve been known to read them year after year and laugh at the same parts every year. A glass of wine enhances the experience.
That is not to say that I don’t appreciate receiving cards. But, being a card snob, I’m hard to impress. My old friend Vickie, who is blessed with a generational sense of humor heads the list of people who are gifted card creators. Her kids and grandkids are co-conspirators in in her wacky Hallmark crew. Here is a sampling from Christmas past:
And this is so appropriate for Christmas 2020.
And here is one from my talented friend, Alice, that will never, in my lifetime, be tossed.
An old friend from Xanga, Cassie, has a artistic friend who creates her Christmas cards every year. They show Cassie with her dog, Lola Pawlana in an appropriate Christmas scene. I have saved every one of them and filed them in a safe place…which I can’t find at the moment.
judyrutrider 
In France we do not use to send Christmas cards, Judy. But we send cards for the New year,and sometimes it was not a card but a letter with history of the last year in the sender’s family.
Love ❤
Micchel
ps ; I hope you got a great Thanksgiving
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What a good idea! That way you can combine your thank-you note for the Christmas gift with a newsletter and save a postage stamp. I’m thinking maybe we should post our holiday newsletters in our blogs. I would certainly love to read yours.
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At first sight a newsletter for Christmas and New Year may be a good idea , Judy
Love ❤
Michel
ps: Cassi also is a friend of mine
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Brilliant, you made us laugh first thing in the morning, a good start to the day.
I enjoy writing, sending and receiving Christmas cards. An opportunity to update old friends on what happened in the last 12 months. Not much to say about 2020!
My solution to the guilt of destroying cards is to turn them into gift tags for next year, thereby saving a few pennies in the future.
I keep a list of sent and received so I can be sure not to forget those who sent last year, and drop those who didn’t, thereby reducing my Christmas card list from about 50 to just the essential 20 or so.
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Oh dear! You are ruthless. Though I suppose if the slackards are culled one year, they can get back on the list by sending one next year. I’ve used that tactic on kids who fail to send thank-you notes for gifts I’ve sent. I am going to take to heart your idea of mailing a hard copy instead of taking the email easy route. It is so gratifying to find a personalized piece of mail among all the junk mail in one’s mail box.
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I do a letter, too. If I print it on a slightly heavier paper stock, I can add a picture and greeting on the back and tri-fold it into a sort of “card.” Sure, I amuse myself with them, but after 20 years of writing the Harris Christmas Chronicle, my “fans” want and expect it. I keep copies in a binder. Strung end to end, they tell the story of my life (or at least the highlights). The best cards I receive end up in my card Hall of Fame, but most are the “canned greeting” type that get recycled into gift tags or holiday art projects. I tried to do an email letter one year but it just did not satisfy the way paper does. Folks like to physically hold the words in their hands, savor them, keep them for later. So no more guilt! Write your letter, two pages if you want. I’m sure your peeps love it, and would miss it if you didn’t do it. 🙂
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Here’s my surprised look. I knew without confirmation that you were a Christmas letter writer. What I want to know is, how do I get on your mailing list? I’ll bet it’s hilarious.
I’m not sure if I have the wine capacity to write a humorous chronicle of 2020 but I’m going to give it a whirl. Who knows, ten years from now we may be able to laugh.
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Christmas letters have been disparaged by everyone, even Dear Abby, but my family of weirdos loves them. Mine letter is usually straightforward, with tidbits of poignancy and/or humor. 2020 hasn’t given me much to work with in the way of news or exciting things we did, so I’m scouring through my journal trying to bring to mind a few of the funnier moments. If you are serious about wanting to get on the mailing list, go to my WP site: https://justjoan42.wordpress.com/ Hit the “contact me” button on the top bar and put your address in the comment box. (We wouldn’t want it floating around out there for the whole world to see, would we?) When the letter goes out, you’ll get your very own copy. 🙂
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I’ve only done 2 Christmas letters – the last one being about 8 years ago. We do however do a photo card. We see them on all the refrigerators of family and friends. We started the photo card tradition BC (before children) by taking photos of the cats under the tree. The boys posed for the photos (eventually with the dog) until they were on their own and out of the house. Then we just had the dog. Now it is just the 2 of us. But the tradition lives on. We used to tell a story with the photos but now we are lucky to be able to get one where we are in focus and not looking too haggard!
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Yes, family photos were much easier when we were youthful. I’m a big fan of the soft focus these days. Masks are a good look for me too.
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And now you have a dog again to grace the photo. Yay!
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I’d probably frame that “Got Corn” greeting. It’s epic.
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I know, right?! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with this year.
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