Not a chore
Right about now Santa’s workshop is in operation 24/7. Christmas cards will soon start travelling back and forth across the country to our mailboxes. I can’t wait!
I wish I had a mail box like some of these shown here in this bedding available at Garnet Hill. I can just imagine the elves opening one of the mailboxes to find all the letters to Santa.
Those industrious elves are clever. They start early. Of course, there are hundreds of them, but no matter, if we start early enough sending Christmas cards isn’t a chore.
What, you don’t send any, you say? Well perhaps this is the year. Let me make it easy for you.
Four Tips to make this easy
1. Start now. If you include a family photo take it this weekend. Don’t hold out for perfection. In fact, some times the blooper photos make the best card.
2. There are tons of online card companies that offer fabulous designs and then ship them right to your door ( more on this below).
3. Get your stamps early. I have found this little detail to be most stressful when I am half way through the cards and realize I am out of stamps.
4. Don’t try to get it all done in one night. For me this approach just sucks the joy right out of the whole thing. Try addressing envelopes to names ending in A-C to start.
Five more tips worth your while
5. Use tape for a quick and easy way to seal the envelopes. Washi tape is a fun way to add a little pizzazz, but that’s for you seasoned card senders. One step at a time.
6. Next year consider getting labels or a stamp with your return address. This really speeds things up.
7. Know your deadline. This year it is December 18 for card delivery within your province. Canada Post has an easy to decipher schedule that you may want to consult for sending packages and letters outside Canada. And the United States Postal Service Holiday Shipping and Mailing Schedule will prove to be very helpful. For international here is the Royal Mail Christmas 2013 list.
8. See if you can find a corner in your house where you can leave all the card sending stuff out. That way you don’t have the hassle of getting it all out every time you want to work on it.
9. Did I mention that the whole thing goes so much better with a hot drink in hand and the fireplace on? Is playing Christmas carols pushing it? Hmmm…
Do you send Christmas cards?
P.S. Stay tuned for the next installment in “Holiday Post Series- Part II” where I will share a round up of online sites that offer Christmas card designs and which ones are my favorites.
Just stopping by to let you know that your post was most viewed on Show Off Friday link party this past week! Thank you so much for taking the time to join us in linking up!
Jenn @ IHeartHandsOn
Thanks so much for letting me know Jenn. This is fantastic! I hope it inspired many to write a card this Christmas.
I hear so much about Washi tape! I need to start using it. Thank you for connecting with me and linking up to Traffic Jam Weekend. I’m pinning this, Barb!
Hello there Kimberly, I am becoming a bit of a washi tape addict myself, the stuff has that effect on you! Looking forward to the next Traffic Jam Weekend. Thanks for the pin! Lovely to meet you and hope to chat again soon.
I have such a love hate relationship with snail mail. I LOVE to get it and HATE sending it. My daughter was born in August and I’ve yet to send out her birth announcements! We always send a photo holiday card, because our far away friends and family love to receive them. But if it were up to me, I’d skip it completely! Thanks for the tips, hopefully things will be less stressful this year! Visiting from #sitssharefest
Hi NJ, no doubt there can be this love/hate thing over snail mail. I don’t think there is any ‘rule’ about birth announcements…in fact it is a lot of pressure when navigating a new babe with no sleep! I wish you a stress free Christmas, cards or no cards. Appreciate you stopping in for a visit via #sitssharefest.
Thanks for the tips. Hand written xmas cards haven’t been a tradition for us in the past but you’ve got me thinking that maybe it should be …
Claudia, I so appreciate you leaving a comment. Glad you felt the tips were helpful. Let me know if you decide to start a new tradition! 🙂
All good details to know! Especially since I haven’t sent Christmas cards before and I’m really on the fence about getting things together to send them out this year. This post definitely makes me think it’s do-able! I’m going to have to think on it a bit more. Stopping by from SITS Saturday. I have a special project on my blog. Hope you will stop by and visit! http://adventuresofasemperfifamily.blogspot.com/2013/11/thanks-and-giving-project.html
Hi there Nicole, Thanks for stopping by for a visit. I do think sending cards is more doable than we some times think. I look forward to hearing what you decide. I will drop by later today of see your special project. Lovely to meet you via SITS Saturday
Love the bedding! Thanks for the reminder that it is definitely time to get organized for Christmas cards. Last year, I skipped them for the first time in many years because time got away from me. Great tips!
Time has a funny way of sneaking up on us around Christmas, doesn’t it! Glad you found the tips helpful Candace, and yes, that bedding is pretty cool. Thanks for stopping in.
I send cards every year. I usually write a little synopsis about what the family has been up to. I limit myself to half of a sheet of paper so that my holiday letter does not become one of those hideously boring novelettes. This year I’m going to send out New Years cards for two reasons. We are moving in February and I won’t know the new address until January. I’ll kill two birds with one stone sending a card and change of address. Also, I missed my opportunity to take pictures of the kids and grandkids when I visited them a few weeks ago. I have to wait until mid-December for another chance!
Lovely to see you Mo. Have you been on your trip and back? Completely love the covering off the change of address/greeting card at the same time, as having recently moved, there is just so many details to remember! Enjoy those grandkids. Thanks for stopping in.
What a fun post! 🙂
Swapping old cards is a great idea…everything is! 🙂
That swapping cards is SUCH great idea, isn’t it! Thanks Deb for stopping in for a visit.
I have trouble writing letters all year long, but at Christmas, I send out about 50 personal cards every year. Each one has a hand written message, and although it takes time, I love doing it. I don’t like receiving cards with pre-printed everything. At least grab a pen and sign your own name!
Thanks for the wonderful post, and also, thanks for visiting me at Fairhope Supply Co.!
Thanks so much Hope for visiting, so happy you stopped by. I love that you include a hand written message on each of your cards. I too try to write in a little something as I love receiving cards with that too.
Hope…Way to go. I totally agree adding a personal hand written message is the best.
Me too! Happy writing. Lovely of you to stop by Kristell.
You know I love sending and receiving cards and working for P2C is a good excuse to be on top of the Christmas cards. Just ordered ours. Simple but I think they’ll be cute. Looking forward to next post!
Hey there Vanessa, I bet your cards are awesome (hint,hint) 😉 Thanks for being part of the inspiration behind the series and letting me use some of the great comments from you FB. Let me know if you would like a link back to your blog? Coming out on Monday..hopefully!
Thanks for the good tips. I need to be better about sending out cards ~ I’m hit and miss. I’m looking forward to reading more great stuff in this series.
Good Friday to you Lori, hope your day is a splendid one so far. Glad you are along for the series and I hope what you find inspires you to be more ‘hit’ than ‘miss.’ 🙂
Wonderful tips! The part about starting early and finding a place to leave things out is so important!
Hi there Elizabeth, I love finding that spot that I can leave it all out. It took me a few years to figure that one out, but well worth the temporary mess!
Oh Receiving Christmas cards is so much fun. And yes sometimes writing Christmas cards seems a little bit like a chore. But it can be so much fun too.
I am obviously in the seasoned card senders so I make my own cards (which is not cheaper just more fun). So my cards are all ready to be written. I still have to work on the newsletter which will go with it but by December 1st I should be all set.
If you are running late on sending your cards consider sending “happy new year card” Europeans do it and has a few advantages
– A you won’t be late if you realize december 24th you forgot to write your cards
– B if your friends do not all celebrate Christmas you can actually send a card without the risk of offending them.
In France you have until January 31st to send out “holidays’ cards…and a lot of people do wait until after the craziness of the holidays to start writing (hence they have things to say on the cards).
If you have left over cards from last year and do not want to send the same but don’t want to buy some more…consider trading with a friend.
Hello Kris, Love your idea about sending a “Happy New Year” card – takes off a bit of that date driven pressure. I didn’t know that custom in France – this extends the festivities and perhaps makes them more enjoyable. And, your swapping old, unused cards, is a fantastic tip! I am going to do this as I seem to always have some left over. Thanks for stopping in and sharing all these goodies with us.