I never thought I’d say this but sending out email Christmas greetings instead of cards is looking better every year. Since we move around every couple of years we’re constantly meeting new people and wanting to stay in touch. Our address list for Christmas cards will probably top out at around 115 this year. That’s:
- 115 photo cards (bought at Costco this year so less than $50!)
- 115 stamps ($48.30)
- 115 sheets of paper trimmed down to fit perfectly into odd-sized envelope.
- 115 times of writing out our return address (too late to buy labels and I don’t use the ones that are sent to us by every single charity out there. I don’t know why. Oh, yes I do, they usually have one or both names spelled incorrectly).
- 115 times of writing out different addresses praying that I get each right the first time so I don’t have to waste another envelope, which has no match at WalMart, so you have to go buy more photo cards to get the extra envelopes…
- At least six or seven hand cramps and a week of forearm fatigue from writing 230 addresses.
- Numerous paper cuts on my tongue from licking 115 envelopes. I get no help with this from fellow family members. Ahem. I tried a wet sponge once but it just disintegrated the envelope and made it such a wet mess that no sticky was left to even adhere.
- Inevitably several big bouts of disappointment as cards come back undeliverable because our “friends” have forgotten to give us forwarding addresses. My tongue twinges with pain each time as it remembers the feeling it got cut licking that particular envelope.
And what do I get if we sent out email Christmas greetings?
- Write one letter.
- Click the select key while holding down the control button 115 times.
- Click send.
- Erase name of any “friend” whose email comes back to us undeliverable.
- This was all just FREE and done in one evening.
Holy hand cramp. I’ve never weighed the pros and cons like that before! And I’m not even sure our “friends”, or family for that matter, keep our nice little photo card that was so lovingly prepared and sent to them.
The decision is made. Unless some big bout of sentimentality and digital hatred comes over me in December 2009 these hands will be clickety click clicking away on the computer. I’m not an email greeting snob…anymore.
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By the way, if you do receive hundreds of photo cards from friends and family I have a great tip for how to use them throughout the year. Come back tomorrow to find out! Hint: It involves no scissors, tape, glue gun or craftiness of any sort.
Grinning and bearing it for one more year,
2007’s card
Not So SAHM 
No help from family members??? So it was a magic elf who trimmed the 115 cards? It was the cat who emailed our friends and inputted updated addresses into the address book?
Signed,
Spokesman for magic elf and the cat
Honey, that was no help LICKING those freaking envelopes. I do also thank the magic elf and the cat for helping me out, but their help tends to be “with strings attached”. Hahahahahahaha!!
We have about 400 or so…. and thankfully a church does them for us!
YIPPEEE
Awww, what a sweet photo card! I always put mine in my photo scrapbook along with whatever Christmas photos I have for that year. Fun — and scary — to go through and watch my friends’ kids literally age in front of me.
YES!!! I hear you loud and clear… I’ve decided to do the same this year too.
Those pictures are absolutely adorable! I love the idea of email cards, but then you can’t put it up on your fridge as easily.
Cute card! I LOVE getting cards in the mail, so I’ll do that…well, probably forever. One thing that helps me make it less of a chore is to do 5 or so at a time, each day. And I start mid-November. Good thing, because if I hadn’t already done 30 or so before Thanksgiving, there would be no way I’d be done before Christmas because of all the other craziness this year!
I love actual Christmas cards, but SO see where you’re coming from. I made the mistake of having my cards professionally printed a few years ago and now that’s all I do. I get a pack of 25 cards that wind up costing me $40! Needless to say, I’m pretty stingy with who gets the 25 cards that should be made of gold for that price. I always buy a pack of cards at Target and have some extra prints made up just to have on hand because I invariably miss someone every year. And sad to say…. we’re one of those families that usually forgets to send out our new address…. unless we have their email address. 🙂
I have to admit that I don’t sending ANYTHING. No e-mails, no cards, nothing. I went through my address book and said, “Ok, if I didn’t speak to them in person or on the phone at all this year, I’m not sending them a card.” That narrowed my list down by so much I didn’t even bother after that!
Call me Scrooge, but I’d rather spend my money on things for my family–or save it for my vacation fund.
But your picture is very cute!
Darlin’….what would Emily Post say?! How NOT Southern of you to even consider!!!! 😉 I have trimmed our Christmas card list to right at 100 this year…I hope…of course, if I keep making friends (like you and your MY WIFE ROCKS family), my list will grow again!!!! 🙂
EmmyJMommy:
Ah know! Mah Southuhn sensibilities ah tellin me to keep sending tha cahds. But mah cheap mind keeps tellin me ah could be spendin the money on smocked dresses! 😉 And send us a facebook greeting. You don’t need to worry about adding us to your list! Unless you really want to 😉
Hmm I never considered email…I decided to just not send out any cards this year cuz last year I sent out over 50 and only got back 7 😦 I know, I know, not the point…but it kinda hurt my feelers.
That is such a good point! Most of the people in my address book are plugged in and what happens to those cards after the holidays…landfill. E-cards are not only cheaper but greener too:-)
E or snail is aaaright w/me–am I on the list???? 😆
Buy yourself some Avery blank labels and do up return address labels as cute as you like on your printer-fast,easy and pretty cheap–I dig the clear ones-makes me feel classy! I do book plates for our “library”that way too.
Awesomely CUTE picture!! Did you even get fat when you were pregnant??
Christmas without Christmas Cards??? Are you kidding me?? Really?? I mean you are not just making this up??
I can remember my grandmother had this cool hand knit thing that hung on the wall and she clipped all her cards to it. Then the following year, she used them as tags on packages.
The flip side of that is that my brother hasn’t actually puchased or used a stamp in over three years. He also only writes a check once every 6 months. Computers….
But I mean, who am I supposed to put on the front of my fridge? A printed out email? No way. You, Du, Reagan and Ashlyn will be permanently in blue jeans and white tees until I get another pic showing me that Reagan is a year older and Du has lost some hair. Really?No Christmas Cards??? I just started doing them last year and now you are going to quit on me?? I need some coffee.
I’ve never really done Christmas cards. I’m trying to do them this year, but it is December 8th and they aren’t writing themselves. I think I’ll go the photo card route once we have a sweet baby to stick in the picture. I’ve also considered doing an annual letter to stick in the card, but it seems really weird to just write about Husband and I. Again – maybe something I will do when I have children to write about.
Wow, anything over 75 to me would warrant a nice Merry Christmas email!
I narrow the list down to the “must send” list (usually those over 70 or so that we don’t see that often) and every one else gets one if they send one to us. But e-mail is a good option too. I got my first one last year and rather enjoyed it! Good luck!
I am to lazy to send out all those cards..lol…love yours..good pic! 🙂
What a gorgeous family!
Uh-oh, who let Du near the computer? :)))
That is such a cute family photo, Vicki! I especially love the one to the right, focusing on your kids (though you and your hubby look fab, too!)
I just did “physical” cards last night. Wah!! It helps that my husband volunteered to lick shut and stick labels on the envelopes. About 40 of them is all, though so I can see why you’d switch to email for your 100-some.
Yeah, the cost is tremendous. But I don’t think we’ll email completely anytime soon. This year is a compromise, though. Instead of doing photos from Walmart, I got one online from JibJab of our family in a cute pose, and printed it right on our Christmas letter. Cute, and best of all free!
I made my cards this year. What was I thinking. I only have to send out about 50 not 115. I use all those address labels different charities send me. So what if they spelled my street wrong.
I love to be green, but I can’t do the e-mail thing. My grandmother, great aunt all those non techie people. What would they do?
I love the card from last year.
I never think of clever pictures like that.