The Do's and Don'ts of Christmas Cards!

As mentioned in earlier posts I briefly considered not sending out Christmas cards this year or cutting down as so many former recipients are Facebook friends and I have bombarded them with the events of my life this year. However, as I looked at the list I realized that to cut out my FB friends would rob me of Christmas correspondence I have treasured for years, even though I now know what they did yesterday. Alas, all my cards were sent. Three hundred dollars worth (cards and stamps) plus the time and energy to produce them seem to be my lot in life.

Yes, I am a Christmas card snob. I rush to the Hallmark store on December 26th to get the best cards at half off even before I consider going to another sale. Yes, there may cards superior to the Hallmark, just not my taste. I don't care if when you open my card glitter falls out on you as I don't care if it falls out on me.

I would never send a card without a Christmas stamp. That's why the Post Office makes them. My goodness in this day and age December is the highlight of the postal year. Think of all the bills received and paid on line, the junk mail we receive on line and the personal correspondence which was once a card or letter. It scares me that in my life time the Postal Service will become a dinosaur.

Because of my dedication to the Christmas card effort, we get so many. I am thrilled that there are still those who honor this tradition. Love the pictures, letters, and, again a snob, about what the card you picked says about you. Got one this year tied up with a bow, handmade by a master of creating cards, which says "I am so creative". The elaborate ones with the names of the senders embossed in the greeting, which say "You are on my list". Again, the pictures and letters so painstakingly created that tell me that you are happy and so proud of your life. The ones that were purchased at a bargain with a personal note from the sender. They tell me that you love me. I try to include a little of each aspect in my Christmas correspondence.

I applaud those who never fail to send out Christmas cards each year even though it is the busiest of times. I will never again question whether or not I should send out a card.

Gift Wrap

A few years ago I decided that I wanted my Christmas gifts to be unique by their wrappings. As everyone knows the paper, bows and gift cards associated with wrapping a gift can result in a major dent in your holiday budget.

Over thirty years ago when I married, I got a Mother-In-Law who worked for one of the biggest makers of gift wrap around and from that day on me, my own family and so many friends never had to worry about the purchase of all the necessities in wrapping a gift. She has been gone for over two years now and it still rolls in. Can't begin to calculate all the money saved by this.

Of course there were the years when there wasn't an extra minute to meticulously wrap a gift. Santa was visiting our home, full speed ahead, there were Teacher's gifts and in those simpler economic days your extended family were showered as well as every close friend or co-worker. Miraclously for me, this is the time inexpensive gift bags began to show up. You bought the gift, put it in a pretty bag with some tissue and you were done. And, unlike wrap, they were so easy to recycle. No tape involved, no scissors and the to/from card was attached. The wrapping paper sat idle through this time.

Flash forward twenty years.........Santa doesn't come here anymore. Everyone is more cautious about the money they spend, and I have more time to wrap a gift. Plus, I actually enjoy doing it. However, the festive papers began to bore me, I realized that I hated the curly ribbon, could not create a bow even with the simplest instructions and what is with those To/From cards that are too small to write anything on?

I have taken matters into my own hands and think that my ideas will help save money for those who don't get their wrap for free.

1. Turn your paper inside out, this allows you to use the paper you bought for a wedding, baby or birthday gift.

2. You now have a blank slate to create. My Christmas colors are ivory/white and gold so after Christmas each year I snatch up all the discounted gold ribbon which is so easy to tie around a package. I buy a gold "Sharpie" pen and write the person's name right on the finished product. No need to say who it is from because the wrap is so distinctive that they will know.

3. Remember that the "Dollar Tree" is your friend. There are a host of options to help you create a most beautiful and unique gift.

4. On a blank slate you can draw or download a picture to give it a most special touch.

5. You can use all the things in your ribbon drawer to create something so special that what's inside doesn't matter.

Looking forward to seeing your creations.