Old Style Christmas Cards

Merry Christmas!  I love this time of year.  Here in Florida we don't often have snow or even cold weather for that matter but this most recent cold front has me thinking of Christmases gone by.  Year after year my mother would dig out boxes of Christmas cards.  Different themes for different people and then she would sit down with them all in this lid+box system and hand write each and everyone on her list.  Before I could write cursive myself I recall letters arriving to the house filled with cursive.  Each letter from one of her dear friends or relative.   A good part of the time the cards were so filled with writing it went well onto the back of the card.  

I knew that when I grew up I wanted garlands filled with notes from friends and sure enough when I set out off on my own they came.  A trickle at first but then more and I discovered even more came when I sent my own cards out as well.  So I bought boxes of Christmas cards jimmy rigged a lid and box writing system and wrote my Christmas cards. Each card I wrote something different that I thought the person I was sending it to might like to hear about. Years have gone by and the response cards have gotten shorter and shorter I have understood each time and even sent found wishes and prayers to that busy person.  Sometimes the notes changed into those dreaded newsletters.  You know the ones, they're fine and all but in world where everything in the mailbox is mass printed junk and bills there is just something a little lack luster about it all.  But still I cherish each card.  I happily hang them on my garland and even as my own hand aches with tendonitis from writing I still try to send cards out each year.  This year I'm half done and have come up against the harsh reality of having not purchased enough cards last year.  Now would you believe I ran out of return address labels on my very last card?

Enter Shutterfly.  They had the best deal going on some custom mugs I made that I can't show you yet.  Now I know what you're thinking something custom will never get here in time much less to write all that I do and get them sent back out but I think you'd be wrong.  My mugs were ordered Black Friday and where shipped out the very following Monday.  I'm still amazed that my custom order arrived before the prints that I also ordered.

So now I can order my holiday cards and my labels and have everything sent out in time to keep my in-laws happy.  Who knows I might even do something kookie and make them match!