'Personal' Christmas Cards

[magicdomino]

I think it sounds like you had a lot of fun doing them, and that's the most important thing. 

The second most important thing to remember is that not everyone has the time and inclination to send personalized Christmas cards.  One of the reasons I prefer Halloween to Christmas is the pressure to do everything perfectly.  Not just the hand-addressed cards with hand-wiritten notes, but the carefully iced and decorated cookies, the 7.5 foot tree with handmade ornaments (one you cut yourself at a tree farm, of course), the garlands of holly and pine (gathered from your neighbors, if you didn't grow your own) wrapped in ribbon that coordinates with the creatively wrapped presents that you spent weeks carefully chosing. Oh, and don't forget to scrub the house from top to bottom for all those wonderful Christmas parties with multiple course of delicious, homemade food.  Unless you are Martha Stewart with a large staff, it ain't gonna happen. 

So, you concentrate on the activities that you enjoy the most, and take a few shortcuts for the ones that you see as chores.  The OP enjoys sending personalized Christmas cards, but I'm sure there are a few gift bags and frozen appetizers in there someplace.     One of her card recipiants might love making gingerbread houses and decorating the tree, but just can't get too excited about sending Christmas cards.  It's not that the person doesn't like the OP, or even sending cards, it's just that there is only so much time in December.

[TootsNYC]

I don't think that valuing a card like yours more than a preprinted card means someone thinks *negatively* about the preprinted card.

After all, I like brussels sprouts just fine--but I love love love love broccoli. Same with these sorts of "gestures of connection."

I treasure and re-read and ponder the card we get each year from a friend in the DC area--he always writes something funny and revealing (he's the guy whose preprinted photo card had pics of his kid w/ chocolate all over her face and she was bawling; he wrote on the back of it). And I always feel that I've just had a brief visit with his family. Every time I read it again. All 14 or so times.

The power of those 5 sentences lasts WAY beyond the time it took him to write them. It's the effort he took to reveal something of himself, and the fact that he thinks we're important enough to reveal himself to, and to spend the energy to write something himself.

But he deserves to get a more powerful response to his Christmas card than does my husband's cousin who even *signs* hers with a generic-looking sticker. And I am entitled to my preference for his ultra-personal touch he gives over the more formulaic approach my cousin-in-law uses.

[KenveeB]

Of course you are. Just like you're entitled to like the awesome gift Aunt Sue gave you more than the okay one from Uncle Joe. But they both deserve thank yous just the same. It was the act of coming here to make the comparison AND comparing it not just to someone else's cards but the one the OP does herself that made it come across as judgey to me. It felt like "why can't everyone else be as great as I am?"

[Lynn2000]

So, you concentrate on the activities that you enjoy the most, and take a few shortcuts for the ones that you see as chores.  The OP enjoys sending personalized Christmas cards, but I'm sure there are a few gift bags and frozen appetizers in there someplace.     One of her card recipiants might love making gingerbread houses and decorating the tree, but just can't get too excited about sending Christmas cards.  It's not that the person doesn't like the OP, or even sending cards, it's just that there is only so much time in December.

This is a good point, and one I was thinking of making as well. Every year I send paper Christmas cards. I don't send cards for any other holidays or for birthdays. (I do send thank you cards.) A friend of mine is quite fanatic about always sending birthday cards to arrive exactly on the person's birthday and gets very caught up in this. But, she doesn't do cards for any holiday. Birthday cards are her thing, Christmas cards are mine. We each have reasons why we find our thing important, and other things less important. Probably, none of those reasons is wrong or rude. We just choose to use our time differently.

[QueenofAllThings]

I do a photo with a per-printed message.

I write a personal message on each and every one - even if it's only 'Cheers!' - because I think it's impersonal not to. Why send a card to a person if you can't take 5 seconds to personalize it?

[Jelaza]

I value any card I get.  Even though I don't display them at this point (I was thinking about doing so this year, but ended up not doing it yet, which means I probably won't at all, but maybe next year), I love the pretty scenes even if there's not a long (or even not any) personal message added.  Cards are lots prettier than emails are.

Right now, I only send out about 2 dozen cards.  If it gets to much more than that, I will probably either be stopping or switching to computer-addressed cards with a pre-printed greeting, because even with my current amount, my hand or arm starts to get sore or cramped by the end.

[Jovismom]

I send/receive many Christmas cards every year.  I receive many different types of cards.  A few handmade from scrapbooking friends.  Quite a few store bought, some signed and some signed with a note.  About half the cards I receive are photo cards.  Some of those are photos of children or families but the majority of them are the dogs belonging to my friends.  (I’m an agility instructor/competitor and many of my friends are within the dog community.)  All of the photo cards I receive are pre-printed with no handwritten note. 

I’ve been sending photo Christmas cards for about the past 15 years.  The subject of my cards has always been my dog(s).  Right now I only have one dog but I have had as many as 3 at the same time in my life and on our card.  I do not sign or put a note on my cards, I have everything printed.  I do however, put one heck of a lot of effort into my photo cards!

In the fall I start trying to come up with a concept for the card.  I like my cards to be significantly different each year.  This year I had an idea, staged it and shot it in October.  (I’m not a professional photographer and I make up for my deficiencies in sheer quantity of photos.  If I shoot enough I’ll usually get at least one good one!)  I shot 30-40 photos then checked them.  I decided that the concept wasn’t going to work so I tossed out the idea and all the photos.

I had another idea.  I had to buy a couple of props.  Once I was prepped I set up and shot photos over a couple of days.  I’m honestly not sure just how many photos I shot but, it was well over 100.  I did get one that I was very happy with.  I worked on it in photoshop to remove some supporting strings and also to remove my dog’s feet.  (It just looked better with her feet removed, you’ll see.)  Then I decided how to crop it.

So the photo was done…..and it was time to start crawling all over the web to find the perfect card that would suit the photo.  I looked at all the photo card blanks on  probably a half dozen websites and, after a couple of days, finally settled on a card.  Then I did a “test order” of a small number to be sure the colors would work as well as I thought they would.  They did so I placed my large order. 

I don’t know how many hours all told I put into this card but, it was  LOT of hours.  I really enjoy doing the cards and I work hard to ensure that the recipients will smile/enjoy my cards.  No, I don’t sign them by hand and I don’t write a note but you better believe that I’m thinking about the folks I’m sending them to!

[Yvaine]

What a darling dog! I'd love to see that face in my mailbox. <3

[Lynn2000]

Jovismom, thanks for explaining all that. Having never done a photo card myself I had never thought about all the work that could go into them! I think it came out really well.

[Jovismom]

Thank you both!  I was very happy with this years card.   

I wanted to explain because, while I'm sure that there are probably easier ways to do photo cards than I do, I suspected that folks who don't do them didn't realize how much work could go into them.

[NotTheNarcissist]

I appreciate any Christmas card I get. I try not to read too much into stuff like pre-printed labels or what have you because people are busy. Some people volunteer a lot, or have a heavy school load, or have little ones to keep up with. My card is not better than there's & vice versa. Someone took the time & effort to send me a card & I don't take that for granted.

[Thipu1]

We use computer generated address labels. Both of us have rather bad handwriting and Mr. Thipu can print the labels with an appropriate line code beneath the address.

We do try to personalize cards.  Each one gets a hand-written note inside. We also personally sign our names.

Most cards we send are store-bought.  They are usually cards with vintage photographs from our area.  Images of the Brooklyn Bridge and Prospect Park are a standard. These are especially nice for people who have moved away from the area. 

Some people receive very personal cards.  This year, a Niece who has two young boys was sent an old Gary Larson card of the cave family on Christmas morning.  We knew that she and her husband would enjoy the joke because they have a similar sense of humor.   

Mr. Thipu's Mom will receive a card purchased for her because she deserves special bragging rights in her retirement community. 

Mr. Thipu will receive the funniest, 'To My Husband' card I can find.

We do enjoy receiving photo cards from relatives.  It's always nice to see how the children grow over the years.  We don't mind if nothing personal is added to the card. 
 




 

[Outdoor Girl]

I sent a very personalized card to a friend.  I did send the same one to two others who I knew would laugh and appreciate it but it wasn't bought with them in mind.  I went to the card shop last year after Christmas and bought a pile of cards at 75% off.  I looked for different ones - traditional, ones that just wish 'Peace' and some funny ones.

The one I sent?  The friend in question is known for his farts.  They are legendary.  So legendary that it was even brought up at my brother's wedding.  The front of the card?  Has Santa saying that when he runs out of coal, it is time for desperate measures and it shows Santa farting into a stocking.

Now, I would never dream of sending this card to just everyone but to the people I sent it to?  I know they'll get a kick out of it.  In fact, I fully expect to get a call from friend's wife, with her in tears from laughing so hard.  Yes, we all have the minds of 12 year old boys.   

[Lady Snowdon]

For the past few years, DH and I have had pictures taken of us and the dog, and made those into cards to send out.  The first couple years, we put it all together ourselves, but this year we had a photographer take professional photos and make them into cards.  They came out beautifully, and I love them.  There's just nowhere to put a personalized message on them; doing so would require either writing over one of the pictures, or writing over the message preprinted on them.  So this year it's just the card, with no message - I hope people don't feel we didn't think about them when they get their card! 

[MommyPenguin]

I can't even keep on top of the cooking and housework.  With all the extra work that December brings, like setting up a tree and buying presents, plus a new baby waking me up during the night 3 of the past 5 Christmases, it's either a simple card that says "Merry Christmas!" or no card at all.  It would just never get done.  This years we have a photo card, at least.  On the other hand, nobody else I know writes notes, either.  And I got one empty envelope... somebody forgot to put the card in!