Monday, December 28, 2009

I'm Making a List. Checking it Twice.

Christmas cards. I love Christmas cards. We move a lot, about every 3 to 5 years and sometimes the only contact we have with the friends and family we've moved away from is their annual Christmas card.  I love seeing how all our friends' children have grown and changed. I love displaying the cards. [However, I'm not very fond of the highly obnoxious "Christmas letter".]

You can tell a lot about people from their Christmas cards. Early or late. Hand addressed or labeled. Script message or [ugh] Christmas letter. Photo card, card with photo, or card stock with printed photo. Professional photos, pictures with Santa, beach pictures, silly pictures or my favorite the crying children photo.

My husband and I hold an contest every year and decide which family had the best Christmas card. There's a first, second and third place.  We usually agree on the finalists, but rarely agree on the winner.

This year, I had quite a bit of difficulty selecting my Christmas cards. I captured what I thought was the perfect family photo at a San Francisco Christmas tree lighting at the end of November. [You decide.]



Husband vetoed this photo. He didn't like the fact he hadn't shaved and since quite a few of our cards go to his professional acquaintances, I allowed him to exercise his one lifetime veto.

I had hoped to come up with a good family picture in Disneyland, however that didn't happen. Either the kids were making funny faces, my husband was squinting, or my hair looked ridiculous [ugh].  After returning home from Disneyland, I realized that I had to come up with a Christmas card and quick.  I decided to use Costco because they had a very quick turnaround time and it was also very cost effective.  This is what we ended up with this year for our Christmas card.



It's not an award winner, but it got the job done.  I am resolving to order my Christmas cards in October next year. Nothing says birth of a savior like Halloween costumes.

My other resolution regarding Christmas cards is to cull through our list before next year.  We [and by we, I really mean "I"] mail out 120 - 130 Christmas cards. I send a lot of cards out of obligation, but honestly it's a reciprocal relationship. Next year I'm resolving to cut my number by one third.  I'm only mailing out 60 cards. So if you don't get a card from us next year know this: it's not personal, it's just business.

I hope you had a very, Merry Christmas and received many cards from those whom you love.

3 comments:

LeAnne said...

We will be very bummed if we get cut from the list. :)

Peaches said...

That will never happen, my friend! Only extraneous persons will be cut. Hope you are enjoying your Christmas holidays! Come visit us!!

Anonymous said...

Love the card! I think it turned out nice.