Why I Love Holiday Cards!

I love Christmas and New Year's and all the family and magic and FOOD and special moments blah blah blah but I REALLY love holidays cards. It is without a doubt my favorite time of the year. I love making our cards, writing little notes, addressing them and thinking about all of the people around the country who we love who will soon have a card from us.  I love getting them from all of our family and friends - some down the street - some as far away as Hawaii - some who we see all of the time - some who we haven't seen in years.  I love adding new people to our list and I love getting cards from new friends.  I love when December rolls around and our mailbox starts being filled with cards other than bills (because that's ALL we get the rest of the year!)

Some argue we don't need holiday cards anymore now that we are so virtually connected - facebook, instagram, snapchat, texting - haven't I seen all of your pictures throughout the year anyway?  I say phooey to that.  A holiday card goes on my wall.  Because I never clean or organize, it stays there for well over a month or more and many, many times a day I see your face - or those of your children - and I literally smile.  My kids look up at the cards and either say, "Oh, look, that's _____!" and we talk about that family - or they say, "Who's that?" And then we get to talk about who that person is and why or how they're important to us.  It's great for our kids to have a face to put to some of the names we talk about it and it's also great for our kids to see pictures of people who we just don't see that often.  I just love it.  It is not the same when it's an e-card.  

Some argue that it is not environmentally friendly. Or economically friendly. I say phooey to that, too. I don't send out cards all year long - the joy that comes from my December mailing far outweighs whatever carbon footprint I may leave behind or the $150 or so I spend. Yes, all of them will eventually end up in the garbage or recycling - but who cares.  Our hope is that even if for a day, a few days, or a month we will let someone else know we are thinking about them and we love them.  You can't put a price on that.

Here's our card wall from this year.  

If you sent us a card, thank you - we love it! It made our Christmas that much more special to literally see your smiles and your joy - especially if we don't see you often.  It doesn't matter what challenges came in the past year - all those cards show are joy. That's what the holidays are all about. And I'm already excited for what we will find next year in our mailbox.