Every time the Christmas season rolls in, I always look forward to my holiday cards featuring my cute nieces and nephews. I especially want to see just how much they have grown since the last time that I saw them. There is a certain rush of emotions that you feel deep inside you when you open that little envelope.
I guess that is what missing family does to you when you have to work far from home. Even my builder dad with his humorous, albeit a bit cheesy, construction Christmas cards is part of the season’s welcome that says it is definitely that time of the year.
When I do eventually become a parent, one of the things I most look forward to is entering the fray with much enthusiasm. And maybe then I would be on the other side making my brothers, sisters, and parents miss my adorable children.
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Some tips
A box card is a classic but it is not for everyone. You have to make sure that you have the time to prepare your Christmas cards. This is because going this route means having to create personal handwritten notes in each one. Another option for most of us who do not have much time is to simply write a Christmas letter or a newsletter.
However, you have to bear in mind that this option is not completely devoid of manual work. You still have to write the Christmas messages, pick out the stamps, get the envelopes, seal in the letters, and then mail them in.
Either way, you will have to make sure that you have the right addresses for each one which, could be easy if you maintain contact with them or close to impossible, especially for the older aunts and uncles who rarely are in contact with you.
Another option that gets rids of all the hassle and stress saves a tremendous amount of time, but will have you sacrificing all personal touch is to send a virtual mail. And it does help a lot that almost everyone right now has some sort of online presence.
Most Christmas cards contain pictures of the families that sent them. Usually, it is the whole family sitting with their Christmas sweaters on and flashing their jolly Christmas smiles. As we all know, a picture paints a thousand words which would be quite helpful in trying to save time in having to write an entire letter yourself.
All in all, the entire experience of creating Christmas cards for the family is a rewarding experience. You will not only have a chance to reconnect with your family but as well as give your family an excellent bonding experience as you create that perfect Christmas card pose.
Some history
Sending Christmas cards is not a new tradition as we have been sending holiday cheers in written form since 1843. Before then, people have already been sending greeting cards for all kinds of holidays. However, it was Sir Henry Cole who had a streak of being the unrequited receiver.
He had a huge pile of mail to which he had not responded yet. This was considered extremely rude back then and the Victorians were not so pleased. That is when he had the brilliant idea of asking artists at his employ to give out a most generic letter to send out to everybody.
It did not matter what was mostly written in the letter but how it was ended is what assured it a place in history. It read “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You” and had a caricature of his family in a festive celebration. That has then become the first Christmas card that was ever written. He gave it out to all the people he knew which was about a thousand believing that he had finally fulfilled all his social obligations.
It became a hit and Christmas Cards quickly became a fad but outside of royalty creating a thousand of these handwritten letters was not viable at that time. It was not until a few companies in the United States started offering to create Christmas cards through chromolithography that it really became a Christmas tradition for every family.
Why do we do it
Holiday cards are a great way to keep the connection open with our loved ones. Research suggests that a working adult usually halves the number of contacts that he/she has with her parents every 5 years. As the world becomes more and more individualistic, families turn to simple greeting cards to make sure that they let each other know that they remember them.
In the beginning, Christmas cards were simply an artistic expression of the ones that sent out the cards. It can be argued that it still is with the way people give time and effort to take the perfect shot along with the right message to write on it. But as Christmas became that time of the year almost solely devoted to family, the Christmas card became a reflection of what the holiday meant to them.
Themed Christmas cards are quite hot right now, ranging from construction Christmas cards to school Christmas cards, and so much more. This just goes to show how Christmas cards have become an extension of one’s artistry and personality.
These cards sort of become year-in-review of families about all the things that they celebrated throughout the year. It provides the perfect opportunity to let other people know about all the wonderful things that they were blessed with.
Other thoughts
There are many Christmas card services out there that offer to assist you in your own efforts to fulfill your social obligations. They have a wide range of categories including school Christmas cards, sports-themed Christmas cards, construction Christmas cards, and so much more. You can upload a picture to them and they can offer to print out these cards and send them to you or you can ask them to send the cards to an address list that you provide.
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