HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: The thought process goes something like this:
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| Breaking news! they just arrived! |
November
10: Plenty of time.
November
20: Plenty of time.
November
25: Thanksgiving! Where did the time go?
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| I have these..these are good... |
Dec
5: I can't find any in stores. Hmm. Where did all the good cards go?
Dec
10: NO CARDS! But still kind of plenty of time.
Dec
15: You know, they probably don't have to be the BEST CARDS EVER. An
"okay" card is fine. "Pretty nice" will do. It's the
thought that counts. It would be nicer to have great ones, though. I'll keep
looking. Plenty of time.
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| These are good... |
Dec
16: Everyone else's cards are arriving. WHEN did they have time to do this?
Dec 17:
Internet! Buy cards on the INTERNET! WHY didn't I think of this earlier??
Dec 18:
Click, click, click. Here's a great one! Rats, no longer in stock. Here's one!
Sold out. Here's one! "Available Dec 26." What good will that do me?
CLick click click. Tick tick tock.
Dec
19: Last year's cards! I bet I have some left from last year. The ones I didn't
send...
Dec
22: New Year's Cards! I'm gonna send the BEST ONES EVER!
Dec
23: Okay, Reds. How YOU doin'?
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| I liked these, too.. |
RHYS BOWEN: We have so many friends and relatives
scattered across the world that Christmas cards are a must. Sometimes it's the
only communication we have all year. We used to send well over 100 but sadly our
older friends become fewer and fewer each year. These days we send out a
newsletter separately and I send e-cards to people I know will enjoy the
Jacquie Lawson scenes of the English countryside.
I love receiving cards and putting them up all over the house.
HALLIE EPHRON: I love getting cards. Real cards. E-cards, not so
much. But hey, it's better than not getting. I love to just get an email from
an old friend who's been out of touch, just because the holidays are upon us
and we miss each other. Especially I love silly photograph cards (thanks, Dean
and Andrew!)
And I usually send cards but it's harder and harder to find nice
ones. That's my excuse, anyway, and I'm sticking to it. Because this year it
does not seem to be happening.
SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Holiday cards are just too much for me most years, so I let my
husband take care of them. In the last few years, to save paper and postage,
we've been sending New Year cards online. There are sites with amazing design
capabilities and you can add photographs, too.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: We've made our own cards for almost twenty
years. At first it was things like gold hand-stamped pears from a woodblock we
made ourselves (how did I ever find time to do that????) Then we went to photo
cards--not the "family in silly hats" kind, but really pretty
personal photos (Rick's a very good photographer)--the house or the tree or
dogs or cats. But sending 150 top-quality cards--with postage!--got to be
overwhelming, and a couple of years ago we started sending e-cards.
We use a company called Paperless Post. We put in our own photo,
design the text and pick the envelope, which opens like a real card. And people
have an option to reply by email to the card, so we hear from a lot of friends.
Maybe one day we'll go back to sending real cards... or maybe not. Here's the
pic that's going on this year's card, starring fifteen-month-old Dax, posing on
our deck in the recent Texas ice storm.
HANK: Me, too, Roberta! Why are labels so difficult? (I use Paperless Post for invitations...Good? Or end the world as we know it? But that's another blog..) And I am a big fan of holiday letters...and applaud anyone who takes the time! Anyway, Reds, how about you?
