That Christmas Card Time of Year

It’s that time of year, Christmas card time. When I was in my early twenties I was broke and made my own cards. I was just learning calligraphy and hand lettered each one. I enjoyed the time spent thinking of my friends and loved ones. I enjoyed the practice each card provided. I enjoyed knowing that each person would open their mailbox and get something made for them that was not a bill or junk mail. Over the years my skills have improved and my list has grown. Now my husband and I collaborate on our card. We still make them by hand and each one has an element from each of our areas of creativity. This year he carved a linoleum block print from he front and I created a calligraphy stamp for the inside message.

I recently finished addressing and sending our cards. We started making them in August and enjoy the labor around sending them out. We sent some all over the world and look forward to the ones we will receive in return. It is great to read the letters, see the pictures people include, and the savor the joyous messages everyone includes. And I must admit, it is fun to receive mail that is meant just for us that is not a bill or junk mail.

In talking to friends, the sending of cards has become a lower priority on people’s to do lists. I get that. Not everyone has time to send cards, or the finances to support all that postage. Not everyone values them anymore. They send emails or text people, or simply let the season take care of itself. Others do them early and see them as a joyful task they do after Thanksgiving. Some people see no need and simply ignore this entire tradition. My husband and I had a conversation about this last summer and decided to collaborate moving forward. We see this as a chance to work together AND share our joy with others. We can’t send everyone a gift, so a personal card is our way of saying we care, your are valued, and we wanted you to know we wish you well.

There are people who still value this tradition and process…we are those people. We like this time of year and the opportunity to share our joy with those we might not see very often. Even if that message is only delivered via the mailbox, we know they get a piece of our joy and we are glad to share it. This time of year provides us a chance to share and receive greetings of joy with those in our hearts.