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Dec 2009

Christmas Card or Letter

December 9, 2009 By 11 Comments
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Is your Christmas correspondence a wonderful family photo, creative, informative newsletter, or a super savvy email?

As a newlywed…many years ago, all of my Christmas cards were handwritten with great details, each one unique. Then we had our first child and it was a well-posed Christmas photo of the baby. Fast forward to last year, I took a family Christmas photo of ALL four of us and typed a Christmas letter…what was I thinking?

This year is just a photo of the kids, no creative newsletter…I  know it seems too simple. However, after reading so many wonderful posts in “blogland”  this past week I felt the need to simplify my our life. Most of our family and friends can follow us on Facebook or Twitter, so there really isn’t a need to rewrite everything that I already share on the web.

So how do I decide who gets a Christmas Card (with photo) this year? Well, that’s easy, the names that appear in my “old school” address book. Yep, I admit it. I am still using my old, spiral bound, torn pages address book. I have a hard time parting with this book of memories…friends from college, past students, distant relatives, and of course new friends. I love the scratched  out pages , indicating that someone has again moved, the scribbles from my daughter when she was trying to write “with ” me, and the changes in  my own handwriting through the years (thank God for keyboards)! When I look at each name so many memories come to mind and my heart is filled with warmth.
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Now, here is the thing–the names are beginning to get so squished , and the writing so messy that I am afraid that some of these cards may just end up  as a (wait…I here a song) “Return to Sender.”

So, I am seeking a new method for saving those names and addresses…”Eeek! Did I just say that?” Will it be a fresh, new book, current software  (is there such a thing?), or a pile of envelopes received this year with a rubberband around them ? I am leaning toward making  my own Address Notebook with  more than one page per letter of the alphabet and oh-so-cute, tabs or dividers!…hmmm… that sounds like a great topic for another post.

Unfortunately, it seems as though I only refer to my cherished address book during the Christmas season…how sad. For someone who loves to write notes, reflections, and blog posts, I am ashamed to say that snail mail has become a once a year occasion for me…just pathetic!

(Note to self– make that an item on my resolution list for 2010–more notes in the mail).

What is your Christmas correspondence tradition and how do you organize your addresses? Seriously…I need some ideas!


About Thea


Thea is an efficient, organized, and sensitive mama of two. She enjoys her "day job" as a school teacher and adores a good Nicholas Sparks book. Take a peek into Thea's life on her blog, Ordinary Inspirations.

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  • http://www.parismillerphoto.com Tammy

    Sorry, no good advice here. I struggle with trying to get those addresses organized too! I bought an address book 2 Christmas Seasons ago to try to organize them & it kept getting moved down on my “to do” list. So, I’m sad to say that I now have an empty address book still stuffed with all the envelopes I received over the past year. I REALLY hope to get that organized this year. =0)

  • http://www.angiewarrenphotography.com Angie

    Oh Thea you make me giggle! I love your writing. I have become a techy address saver. My iPhone now holds all of our addresses. Is that sad or smart? Not sure.

    So funny to read how things changed for you. The first year we were married I handmade our cards – I was a big times scrapper then. The first year with Danny we made a DVD for everyone to song with some old software that was on our PC. Slowly but surely our relatives and friends get photo-cards. Granted still designed by me, but far different than the hours and days that went into the paper ones.

    Great resolution – there really is something sweet about getting a handwritten card in the mail (anytime of year). Thanks dear!

  • http://www.achallphoto.com/blog Alissa

    Hmm. I have a different method for Christmas cards. I keep a Christmas time binder where I organize all my Christmas-related to-do items. In there, I have a sheet where I list who I mailed a card too each Christmas and I date the top of the page. As my Christmas cards roll in, I rip the return address portion off the envelope and tape it to the back of my cards-mailed sheet. I leave it in the notebook all year long…

    Then next Christmas, I have a list to remind me who I mailed them to last year and who mailed them to us. I also have all their (likely) most recent addresses right there. Everyone who mailed me one last year is first on my list to get a card this year. If they care enough to send them, they most likely care about receiving them. After those are done, I use any more cards in the pile to mail to people who might be new to my life, extended family who might not have known our address, or someone I think just needs a card. Write them all down on the list for the new year and the cycle continues for the next year…

    You can see a blurb about my Christmas binder here…
    http://www.achallphoto.com/blog/?p=382

    Scroll half way down the blog post.

  • http://logyourmemory.com Kristin

    I must admit, I\’ve never had the patience for the individual or hand-written holiday correspondence… for at least 10 years now, I\’ve done a family letter on the computer, usually making it fun or different somehow. The first year I was working for the newspaper, I designed our holiday letter as a front page. Another year I wrote the whole thing in the voice of our 1-year-old. Last year I did more of a scrapbook-looking page with a different file card for each family member. Then I print them all out in color on my inkjet printer, quickly sign a store-bought card to go with it and I\’m done. I keep all of my addresses in one Excel file and update each year as cards come to us… then I use that to print out labels in Word. Not terribly personal but it gets the job done, which probably wouldn\’t happen if I did it by hand… Speaking of which, I haven\’t even started our letter for this year so I\’d better get to it … Good luck with your own !!

  • http://www.nikki-fancythat.blogspot.com Nikki

    Hi there! I’m terrible at getting Christmas cards out in a timely manner, but I do love my address system. I keep a small file box by the phone with index cards for everyone. There are a few great things about this. There are plenty of lines for all the names of the family members, address, phone #, cell #’s and even email addresses. And if they family moves or changes their info, I can toss the whole card and just write them a new one. I even sometimes write directions to peoples’ houses on the back of the card so I can just glance at it or take it with me if I can’t remember how to get there. Hope you find something that works :)

  • http://hollyannhunt.com Holly H.

    Another vote for Kristin’s Excel file…saves days at this time of year! I update it both before I send and as I get new cards in the mail. (I keep envelopes from cards this year in a fancy shopping bag in a closet for backup, and DO still have my address book, but it’s not always accurate.) I print directly to my fancy envelopes, stick a return label on and POOF! I’m done!

    I’ve started making my own cards with a pre-printed blurb/greeting on the back. Gives a little info, but not a book, and is a great chance to share sentiment with f&f.

  • http://www.1wonderwomanwannabe.blogspot.com heidi @ wonder woman wannabe

    We have a list of folks that we send a greeting to in the form of a card. It’s so fun to receive actual letters! I usually find a digital photo either taken by me or by a friend and create my own ‘christmas themed’ photo with a border and add my own text on the computer and then print it out on regular paper to enclose in the card- I love to see photos of peoples family, but who really keeps them anyway? That’s why I print on paper. I usually buy my Christmas cards at the end of the season on sale to use the following year. The trick it to remember where I’ve stored them all year long! Ha!! We have a family blog that I update pretty regularly, so I always include our blog address so people can see what we’ve been up to rather than writing a long newsletter.

  • http://www.card-making-ideas-and-instructions.com/ C.C.

    Oh, mine are all in an excel spreadsheet. I started this spreadsheet nine years ago when tracking our wedding invites and thank you cards and every year I update it and use it for my Christmas Card list. Makes it easy!

  • http://ordinaryinspirations.wordpress.com Thea

    Well, ladies…LOVE all of your unique ideas. Thank you so much for sharing.

    Alissa- that binder is too cute!
    Kristin- You sound VERY organized and super efficient!
    Nikki- I like the index card system idea too…nice and compact.

    Hmmmm…now you gals all have my creative juices flowing. :)

  • http://www.sameshow.com/blog Adward

    Great ideas, since it’s time of saving. I always make some eCards by Powerpoint and PPT2ecard, yeah I’m quite money-concerned now but eager to do something to all my family members and friends. Till now I got few feedbacks but I’d like to move on till I recieve wishes form you :P

    Meeeeeerry Xmas :-)

  • http://superlearnmath.com superlearnmathngentot

    hello guys

    I just want to say hi