Holiday Cards

This evening involved the annual viewing of The Holiday, paired with pizza and red wine. I used it as a chance to keep working on addressing our holiday cards (and of course I had fun stamping away with my new toy). I love the tradition of mailing and receiving cards. 'Tis the season.

My mom used to include a long, typed "family update" letter with our holiday greetings, but I just send the card. According to this snarky journalist and his article, the mass-mailed holiday photo card, the kind without a personalized note to the addressee, the kind I send, is smug and self-serving. I agree with some of his points about our current state of 'warped intimacy', but isn't the Happy Holidays! on the card the message? What kind of originality or personalization might one include on a card that's simply meant to wish someone a joyous holiday season..?  I doubt this scroogely writer gets many cards, anyway. He also says the purpose of greeting cards has "always been ambiguous," but I disagree. As everything has gone digital, I think a stamped, sealed, and delivered paper treat in my mailbox- with or without a personalized note - beats a facebook post or email message any day. Mailed greetings are an old-fashioned, friendly, unambiguous "hello!" and each one I get makes me smile. Long live the holiday card!

PS: Fun fact -  The first Christmas card was sent in London in 1843. (It's on the internet so it must be true, right?:)