Let's Get Personal

Now that the holidays are over, it's time to breathe a collective sigh of relief.  Even though they're a time of happiness, they're also a time of stress.  We anticipate them, plan for them, and put so much effort into them...or do we?

Christmas cards are an inevitable part of the merrymaking experience, but I was disappointed to receive a number that had not one ink mark made by a human hand.  Not a stray dot.  What I got were mass-produced photo cards--friends and relatives wearing frozen smiles with generic, non-personal greetings.  Even the return addresses on the envelopes were printed on stickers along with the recipient's address.  Sadly, the practice of sending Christmas cards has been reduced to stuffing envelopes and slapping on stickers.

In my opinion, a non-personalized Christmas card is just a step better than sending no card at all.  The message I get is, "I don't have time to send Christmas cards and I don't really have time for you."  I understand that everyone's life is busy, but in an age when Christmas is often the only time we connect with some people, shouldn't we take a moment to make that connection count?

I had roughly 40 Christmas cards to send, and I handwrote wishes in each one of them.  I also handwrote the addresses and my return address on every envelope.  I wanted the receivers of my cards to know that I took a few minutes of my time to think about them and to give them a small piece of myself.  I may not have sent all my cards out at once (I wrote them throughout the course of a week), but I gave each person something that no printer can create.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but if you want to make next year's Christmas cards personal and magical, take out a pen and start writing them.  Plan ahead and start early.  I'll bet the people receiving them will stop to take a look and appreciate the treasure in their hands.  Never underestimate the power of the pen and a human touch.

Personally yours from the perch.