Christmas Cards

I looked it up on the internet - you know, that wealth of information at our fingertips that was invented by Al Gore. It said that the first Christmas card was sent by Sir Henry Cole in England in 1843. Too bad old Hank isn’t around now to see the fruits of his labors. The account that I read said that Sir Henry sent out cards because he was too busy to compose an individual Christmas greeting for each his friends. Well, I guess some things never change.

There are some pretty strict rules involving Christmas card etiquette. You must follow these rules closely or……well, I’m not sure what happens, but anyway here are a few guidelines:

• If you send someone a card, but you don’t get one in return, it is ok to scratch that person off your list for next year. However, if you DO get a card from them, you must continue sending them cards ad infinitum. Even if you don’t have any other communication with them during the year. They must be close friends or you wouldn’t get a card from them. Simple.
  
• If you DIDN’T send someone a card, but you receive one from them, you must immediately send them a card and rush it to the mailbox that very day if possible. This is to minimize the appearance of having overlooked them in the first place. You wouldn’t want them to think that they weren’t on your “A” list, even though they weren’t.
  
• It is deemed uncaring and insensitive to send cards that have your name pre-printed. If you have pre-printed cards, you must write a short note inside the card so as to give the appearance of a personal touch, which sort of negates the convenience of having them pre-printed. I think we’re back to that “faking sincerity” thing again.
  
• Same for using mailing labels. Real cards are hand addressed.

Those are the basic, heretofore unwritten rules of Christmas card sending. In addition to that, I’d like to pass along some personal preferences. I believe these opinions to be in the majority – maybe not unanimous, but in the majority. So here are a few other suggestions:

• Don’t send those family newsletters. I’ve opined about this before. No one outside your immediate family cares about that stuff, and they already know about it.

• Don’t send pictures of your pets and list their names right along with your spouse and children, unless you consider them equals with your spouse and children – in which case you have some serious problems. And please don’t dress them up in some goofy red suit for the picture, or tie a red bow around their neck. Frankly, I don’t think Rover cares whether I have a merry Christmas or not, and I certainly don’t care about his. When I get a Christmas card from “Bob, Sally, Jennifer and Fido”, it tells me that someone I know has some really bad priority and self esteem issues. If you consider your dog a member of the family, you either need a new dog or a new family – or both!
  
• Don’t put return address labels on Christmas cards. It ruins the surprise. And you know how I like surprises.
  
• And finally, don’t send Christmas cards to everyone you know. Use a little discretion. Here’s a tip. If you feel like you have to use your last name when you sign it so they’ll know who you are, you shouldn’t send it. If you receive a card and you have trouble figuring out who the person is, they shouldn’t have sent you a card.

I’m sure you’ll want to print this so you can refer back to it next year. This is valuable information that should be handed down from generation to generation. But most of all, remember that Christmas is not about gifts, and cards, and decorations. It’s about the birth of Jesus. Don’t forget that! Christmas wouldn’t mean anything without Him.

I pray that each of you and your families have a merry and blessed Christmas.

Till next time……….