Manners Matter

Dear Mary Pat,

I can’t seem to get my act together when it comes to my Christmas cards. Every year (usually as early as mid-November) I search for the perfect box of cards. I splurge on the nicer ones with the decorative envelopes and heavy card stock. No bargain basement box of cards for me. While in the store, I am very optimistic about my ability to send these cards out in a timely fashion, even though there is a tiny voice in the back of my head reminding me that I haven’t accomplished this simple task in the last 15 plus years. As a matter of fact, I could start my own Christmas card store with the previous selections that never saw the inside of a postal truck. (At least I am smart enough not to purchase stamps that will one day need an additional $.02 or $.03 more to meet the current postal rates.) I think my main problem is I don’t know what to write on the inside of the card. I am annoyed when people only sign their names and am equally annoyed when I get a photocopied dissertation on what so-and-so has been doing for the last 12 months. Any suggestions?

Signed,

Not Much of a Pen Pal

Sister Bay, WI

Dear Not Much of a Pen Pal,

I can appreciate your dilemma. I have thought similarly, especially when it comes to the form letter. Why do I have to spend 16 minutes reading about some random person’s life when I would be hard pressed to remember their name if it weren’t conveniently listed on the outside of the envelope? I know you’re proud that your dog was successfully house broken, but do you really need to share that detail with your 94-year-old great aunt in a holiday card? My rule of thumb is that if someone is in touch with me throughout the year, they will already know my news – big and small. (There are a couple of exceptional form letters that I have received over the years that include noteworthy highlights, but for the most part it’s the written equivalent of blah, blah, blah.)

I think you are overlooking my favorite type of holiday correspondence – the photo card. Perfectly acceptable to not have anything included in the card apart from a photographic image and a signature. The signature doesn’t even have to be hand done, it’s expected that the signature will be pre-printed on the photo card. Maybe you include new contact information if necessary (new email, new phone, etc.), but other than that, nothing else required. How simple. Everyone will see a photo of you, your kids, your pets, maybe a shot of your new house.

Maybe if you start thinking about your list in October, you might have a better shot of getting your cards out.


Good luck,

Mary Pat