Holidays and Events

Posts Tagged ‘Christmas cards’

It seems that once a year, a card received via snail mail or e-mail is one of the most important things you can get. Why is that? Why is it that the exchange of Christmas cards is so special? Why do we put so much importance on them? I have a theory about that.

My theory is not based on the spread of holiday cheer. It is not based on the idea that we like to get small tokens from those we know. I believe that Christmas cards are a measure of relationships.

Yep, that’s right. How many people do you only contact with that annual Christmas card? How many times do you sit down to make your card list only to realize that it really hasn’t changed from last year?

We use Christmas cards as an excuse to stay in touch, without the commitment of day-to-day contact. With busy lives, it is so difficult to keep up with all of those college roommates or high school pals. Christmas cards give us that opportunity to let them know how our year went and find out about theirs.

We can sum up twelve months worth of life in few enough words to fit on the blank side of a Christmas card. I find that incredible. We want people we were once close with to stay informed and vice versa.

I am not saying that this is a bad thing. I have just noticed that we rarely take the time to send Christmas cards to people we see on a daily or weekly basis. Often they get a gift with a little tag attached. They don’t need that yearly sum up since they were with us throughout the experiences.

I find that each year, I send fewer Christmas cards. When I first realized that I was only sending them to people that I barely had other contact with, I felt that it was not a genuine show of friendship.

I do have to admit, though, that I do buy a box of cards each year. Then if I receive an unexpected card from an old chum, I hurriedly put a return card in the mail. Ridiculous, but reciprocity is part of the whole Christmas card exchange thing anyway.

Another thing that I will admit is that I much prefer the hastily signed charity Christmas cards to the two page long newsletters. I think that the whole newsletter idea should be tossed out. If you want people, with whom you have minimal contact with to know all of that about your life, maybe you should invite them over for coffee once in a while. Imagine the paper and ink you could save!

Christmas cards are lovely. They often have wonderful, warm wishes and very sincere messages. It’s just that if we heard from one another more than once a year, they might mean even more.

How about this Christmas you try thinking of ways to make your cards more meaningful? For example, spend some time with that person on the phone or chatting online. Those are the moments to remember at Christmas.