The key to getting Christmas cards out in a timely fashion is finding a system or style of cards that works for you. If you choose a style that’s comfortable for you, you’ll be more likely to keep doing it. And if your addresses are easily updated (as opposed to scraps of return address labels stuck in an envelope), you will find the task is more of a joy and less of a chore. Friends will thank you for keeping in touch too!
Here are four styles from which you might like to choose:
1. The traditional Christmas card. Buy boxed card sets of professional designs and mes-sages to communicate your message at the holiday season. Purchase them early in the fall or at after-Christmas sales for the next year. The secret is to know how many you need (check the number on your address list), and keep it simple by choosing one design for the year.
2. The traditional Christmas card, plus a letter insert. Save the time of writing the same thing over and over by typing a half-page or full page of family news to insert in the card. This letter printed or copied onto white, red, or green paper communicates what’s happening in your life and your well wishes for the reader while you’re free to sign your name on the card.
3. The photo Christmas card. Share your favorite highlight of the year with an attractive photo of you and/or your family on vacation in Hawaii, at your daughter’s wedding, or sitting in front of your fireplace. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this Christmas card is a winner.
4. The family Christmas letter. Pull out all the stops to include photos and updates for family and friends. This is especially good when someone can place photos and text on a one-page sheet, and has more than one picture or thought to share. This is another winner for keeping in touch.
How Many Cards Should I Send?
Keep Christmas card sending simple by placing a limit on how many you will send. This is for your enjoyment in sharing and hearing back from people. You can keep your Christmas card list simple with these techniques:
1. Decide the number of cards you will send based on the cost of postage stamps and the number of cards contained in the boxes of the specific card you have chosen, say two to four boxes for the year.
2. Limit your Christmas card list to the number of addresses that fit on the computer label sheets you use (often thirty per sheet).
3. Keep track of who responds with Christmas greetings before they go off your list, say a three-year gap signals a removal (unless they’re family or someone you know can’t afford to send out cards, such as older friends on a fixed income).
4. Choose the time you want to spend on Christmas cards, and stick to your time constraints, such as two or three evenings.
Simplify Each Year
Simplify your card sending by using the same system each year. Create a pattern by gathering cards, return address labels, and addressing cards before Thanksgiving or soon there-after. Do this early for lifelong friends and business acquaintances. You’ll enjoy hearing back from them all during the season.