It's time to start thinking about Christmas cards. Are you going to send them? What kind? Do you need to take a picture? Where will you buy the cards? Many online stores are offering discounts on holiday cards right now.
If you are using pre-made cards that you sign, you can get started on those. Do several each day so it doesn't get so overwhelming.
If you are taking a photo for your cards, choose what your children or family will wear and plan a day to actually take the picture. With younger children, this can sometimes take more than one session. I remember before the days of the digital camera, I would take a roll of pictures (I guess 24?), take them to Target to the one hour photo place (this was when I lived in Jackson, and we had a Target!), then eagerly look at all of the pictures, hoping I would have at least one that would work. More than once I had to go back home and take another roll of pictures, go back to Target, and hope for the best again! I am so thankful for our digital camera!
Work on your Christmas card address list. Make note of anyone who has moved and update their address. When in doubt, keep sending someone a card. Who doesn't like to receive a Christmas card? If you are printing labels, go ahead and print them out, return address labels too. If you are handwriting the addresses, get started. Again, do several each day instead of one marathon session.
Are you including a family letter? Begin composing this letter, and print it out as soon as you are finished. Do you need to buy some special holiday themed paper for this letter?
Buy holiday stamps as soon as they are on sale. I asked the post office worker the last time I was at the post office if they had Christmas stamps yet. She laughed at me! She said that it was a little bit early, didn't I think? I just wanted to get them while I was already there if they had them! I will check this week. Do you think they have them yet?
After you have the cards ready (signed, printed, photo and letter included), enlist your children to help and make an assembly line. Play some Christmas music! Make it a happy time! My children love to read the names as they are stuffing the envelopes. Some names make them recall people they haven't seen in a while, and they discuss their memories of this person or family. Some names are of people they don't know, so they ask, "Who is this? How do we know them?". It really is fun to pleasantly discuss the recipients of our cards.
If you get started now, you will be ready to mail your cards on December 1st.
Holiday evergreen stamps came out on October 21.
ReplyDeletewe take a picture for our card every year. I have the outfits all ready but no date to take the picture yet. we don't always do a letter but shutterfly will print a picture on one side and a note on the other- I saw someone else's last year and I liked them, so I'll do that this year.
I usually wait til after Thanksgiving to do this, maybe I'll do it earlier this year.
thanks for all the tips.
-linda
ps. I ran a 10k last Saturday in KY and I finished in 1:01:55. The hills got to me. Good luck on Saturday for your Half.
Roan ~
ReplyDeleteWe have a jump of this, praise the Lord. My husband loaded us all up a couple of weeks ago, since we were all home that day, and drove to the beach to take pictures...then over to the intracoastal to take a few more. I think we will have several to choose from for Christmas picture cards.
As for addresses, I keep my file on Microsoft Word (label task) and just update it each year, as needed. The initial time invested in typing them all out a few years ago pays off when all you have to do is hit "print" thereafter. :-)
I think I will head over now and start working on cropping our pictures for the cards. Thanks for the timely post prompt. :-)
Blessings ~
I have always went photo cards. We have our appointment to get our photos done next week and I'm super excited because this will be our first time with a "real photographer".
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult part of sending out Christmas cards in our house is getting the address list together. So many of our friends and family have moved this year it's going to pose a challenge.