The Meaning Of Christmas (Cards)

In the past couple of weeks, we've received our share of Christmas cards from family and friends.  I generally enjoy this annual ritual, and for many years our family has put forth an above average effort to send not only a card, but a themed-letter with highlights of the past year, along with a short personal note.

On the other hand, the Christmas cards we receive fall into two general categories: Those that include a picture with a form letter, and those that are simply a pre-printed family picture.

I acknowledge that lots of people don't think much of the Christmas form letter.  I get that, it can be kind of lame, and include all kinds of unnecessary information.  But as silly as that sounds, at least it's something. Which brings me to today's touchy subject.

I have little regard for those who send only a pre-printed picture as their so-called Christmas card.  Sadly, this has become the norm for the greetings we receive, and that trend has been growing ever since it became easy for people to make the pre-printed picture card several years ago.

If all someone cares to send me for a Christmas greeting is a once-per-year family picture, why bother?  If you're unwilling to give more than the minimum effort, just send it to me another time, when you aren't so lazy, er, I mean busy.  Hell, you can even send it electronically in an email, or tell me about a picture you posted to Facebook; it's all the same to me.

To all those family and friends who send me nothing but a pre-printed picture card as a Christmas greeting, I have a Christmas gift for you, something to make sending your Christmas greetings even easier:  Take me off of your Christmas card list.  If our relationship doesn't mean enough for you to personalize your greeting, then I assure you, it doesn't mean enough for me to care about getting an annual picture of your family/pet/vacation.

Just save the stamp, or better yet, donate the postage to charity.  That's a better way to show someone how much you care.