Christmas Cards

We got our first Christmas Card in the mail today.  I've never been a hug fan of Christmas Cards as I just don't see the point most of the time.

Most of the cards we get are from acquaintances we otherwise wouldn't hear from...and wouldn't care.  A card from your mortgage broker you used 12 years ago to by your home isn't going to elicit much more than a "who?" from me.  The rest are from family I'd otherwise probably get a gift from or friends I rather wish wouldn't waste the money.

The one card we have now is one of those $3.50 jobs from Hallmark.  Don't get me wrong, it is a nice card, probably the nicest we will get, but it will sit on the table for two weeks and then get tossed in the recycling bin.  I'd rather they tossed the $3.50 into the Salvation Army bucket and saved themselves the time and money on the mailing.

Now if you want to send me a Christmas Card that won't cost you anything, go ahead and send me an Ecard.  They cost nothing and are funnier than most anything else out there.

Now I'll be 100% honest in stating that I might seem a little hypocritical because I am sending some Christmas Cards this year.  Of course, I've got some minor changes to the routine.

1st, I got my cards dirt cheap....like 10 cents a piece.  When I was buying some items from a website I needed $3 to get free shipping, which would have been over $10.  They had a 10 pack of Left 4 Dead themed cards on clearance for $1, so I spent $3 to save  $7.  If I tossed the cards in the trash I'd still be ahead $7.

2nd, I'm not mailing them out on their own.  They will be taped to the Christmas Gifts were are sending or handed out in person.  I'm not busting a nut to get a butt-load (a scientific unit of measure 'round these parts) of Christmas Cards out to everybody I ever knew.

3rd, That's it.  I'm not running out to the stores to get additional cards to add to my list and nobody is getting special card treatment.  My Grandmothers will get Left 4 Dead Christmas Cards and they will most likely be utterly clueless why they are getting some lame card.  I know it'll just sit on their table for two weeks and be tossed in the rubbish anyway.....




There was an idea I've had for some time now that I've never been able to get into motion, but I'd like to.  I've always wanted to do a Christmas Card drive just after Christmas to gather up all the cards that weren't used during the season.  Unless you buy the expensive ones individually you should have extra cards.  If you buy boxes of 20 then you probably have an average of 10 or so left over.  My idea was to have a Card Drive and then store them until the next year.  On Veteran's Day I'd get a group of volunteers to sit down and fill them out with a simple greeting and/or message and then we'd send them in bulk to the Veteran's Home and Hospital for our Veterans stuck there for the holidays.


I don't know, it was just an idea.