The Christmas Card Dilemma

For the past few years I have debated whether it is acceptable to spend resources (paper, mail service, time, etc.) on the practice of sending Christmas cards. Fewer and fewer seem to be hitting mailboxes, but I cling to the practice - while trying (mightily) to reduce the number sent.

Why do we engage in this yearly ritual anyway? It seems to have developed when people lived great distances from each other and a yearly Christmas greeting was a way to keep in touch. The missives usually involved long handwritten letters that provided catch-up for the previous year. That practice was practical as well as festive. When I was a child I recall that people would display the cards is some sort of obvious manner so that visitors could peek into the doings of friends and relatives. But the practice shifted somewhere in the 1980s… the great ‘brag sheet’ emerged. Everyone pokes fun at the habit of extolling ‘little Jack’s misery at again being nominated for class president/homecoming king/varsity captain/etc’. When we all surmise that little Jack is also obnoxiously touted by his parents as a trophy child. So what is the point of the Christmas card in 2025, when communication happens at lightening speed and we really don’t need a long handwritten letter to catch us up on family doings?

Many cards have (d)evolved into a mere photo, with no message at all. While it’s great to see a photo, most of us have seen a kazillion of the same family that are posted on a routine basis. We may have opted out of the excessive bragging, but it would be lovely to hear something of the family activity. I have come to the conclusion that a true gift we can give each other is some sort of unique message around the holidays. The card above is from a dear friend from Baton Rouge who, every year, hand paints cards for her friends and family! I am not suggesting that I have that talent, or time, but - wow - is it ever special! And another friend, here in Vermont, includes gallery worthy prints of her watercolors on her cards.

So I am resolving to do better next year. Perhaps photographs from our gorgeous neck of the woods? I’m kind of proud of the one below, the Connecticut River on a frozen winter morning. Just hopping back into using the wowsy-schmouzy camera that my daughter-in-law helped me purchase before a trip to Tanzania. She is an incredibly gifted photographer and an inspiration for those of us who aspire to do more than merely aim and click.

I’m hearing one of my favorite songs when I see this, and isn’t that the point of a Christmas card? To evoke some emotion at a time of year when our emotional senses are at warp speed? I won’t give up on Christmas cards, even with their environmental toll of paper, resources and time, but I will try to find a way to gift my friends and family with something more than just Hallmark.