It’s Christmastime, which means that it’s time to be sending out a slew of Christmas cards to all my friends and relations and . . . wait. I never do that. I do a family newsletter for a select few individuals, but other than that, I send out pretty much nothing. And each year, a part of me feels guilty. I enjoy getting other people’s cards–perhaps it’s hypocritical of me to not be sending the same in return. And no one likes to feel hypocritical, do they?
But I’m not going to send out cards this year, and I very much doubt I’ll do it in the future. Why not?
Because I’ve got this thing called a “blog” I update 5 days a week. Anyone who wants to know what I’m up to in my life has every opportunity to find out all that and more–at any time they want to. So why in the world would I send out cards, something which would just add to the overall “List o’ Crap Bryce Has to Do”?
I get it. Christmas/Holiday cards are nice. It gives you a chance to reconnect with people you hardly hear from at all anymore. But then again, isn’t that kind of what Facebook is all about? It’s true I have a very limited number of friends who are Facebook holdouts, and it’s nice to get a reminder from them once a year that they haven’t actually dropped off the face of the planet, but I’m not about to institute a Christmas card giving tradition just to sate the desire for some distant friends to be able to get a brief update about me delivered to their mailbox one day instead of their inbox.
I’ve been blogging daily for a long time now–at least, it feels like a long time to me. Something like six years. This is my 1,616th entry. And the quality of the blogging has steadily risen over the years, I’d like to think. Readership isn’t exactly through the roof, but that’s risen, too. I feel confident that anyone who wants to find out about me, can. (Probably find out far too much about me, really. But I try to keep the paranoia at a minimum.)
Still, I do my best to be an open-minded chap, and I realize that my Scrooginess might not make sense to some. I mean, I see some friends sending me cards each year who also do a great job keeping Facebook or blogs up to date. Surely they’ve thought of some good reasons for doing it. So let me put the question out to you, the general public: have blogs and Facebook (properly used) eliminated the need for Christmas cards? Why do you keep sending them? Inquiring minds want to know . . .
I would say that the two have very little to do with each other. Christmas cards are a sign of love and appreciation for those who fill your life with joy and goodness all year round. I enjoy the personal notes and family photos. Can I get on Facebook or read their blogs? Yes. Is it the same as opening up that mailbox, full of excitement and anticipation, and pulling out a beautiful piece of art or adorable family photo sent just for me- not the great masses who read their online posts? I think not. There is something very special to me about hanging up the cards and enjoying them throughout the holiday season. To me, online connections and personal mail are far from the same. I don’t need a Christmas card to catch up with all of these family and friends, but they certainly warm my heart in a way that no blog or Facebook post could every manage. That is why I send out Christmas cards EVERY year and will continue to do so in the years to come. I want to pass on the joy and remind people just how much they mean to me.
I love getting anything in the mail that is not a bill nor an advertisement. Each card displayed on the shelf is like a hug on a bad day. I love holidays mainly for those hugs… I am, however, very bad at reciprocating on any kind of schedule. I compromise by sending notes and cards throughout the year, as the notion strikes me, and tell myself it will just have to be good enough. I definitely treasure physical notes and cards above digital, though, and probably always will.
So, I think we’ve sent out cards only once–and they were “New Year’s cards.” I usually don’t have it together enough to do cards and I’d rather spend the money it takes to print and send them elsewhere, but my one big regret about not doing them is that folks who do always manage to take yearly family pictures for them! And we’re really bad at that. So if I could only figure out a way to make myself take family pictures every year, I’d wouldn’t feel guilty at all.
I don’t know–I’m still not convinced. For the friends I have who are active online, when I get their cards, it’s pictures I’ve already seen and news I’ve already read. For the friends of mine who aren’t active online, I always get the card and am grateful for it, but it makes me wish they actually were active online each time . . .
Maybe I’m just not that sort of sentimental person.