Christmas Cards

People don't seem to send Christmas cards the way they used to. Or maybe I have the wrong circle of friends and relations. But I seem to remember that in the old days people would send and receive hundreds of cards. Everyone they knew, even slightly, would get a card.

I'm not talking about the pre-printed business holiday cards that law firms, accountants and other personal service folks send. I'm talking about personal, signed-by-a-human-being cards.

When I was a child, I used to count the cards my parents received. It was a large number, and every day in December it would increase, necessitating a recount. And then we would save the cards, chopping them up to make labels for the presents under the tree.

There are other uses for Christmas cards. Some people make decorations from the cards, stringing them around the fireplace, over a doorway, or some other attractive spot. Others donate them to a non-profit that uses them in some way.

I myself send Christmas cards to friends that I don't see very often. I neglect neighbors, relatives in distant states whom I never see, and professional and work friends. I use the Christmas card as a way to stay in touch. Of course, I also chop up those I receive for gift labels. The habits of youth last a lifetime.

Green Christmas

I was trying to put a cap on Christmas gifts for the family this year--but that didn't work. So instead we have a new rule--every gift must be used. Joe College has already made several trips to his favorite store, Goodwill. There are tradeoffs--while we're buying used stuff, driving around to all those thrift stores uses more gas. But it encourages creativity and means that we don't have to fight the crowds at Best Buy.

OLGS bought a skimpy tree because that was all that was left on the lot and he didn't want to drive to a tree farm. He justified this by stating that land used to grow trees could feed millions. What he neglected to note that the land on which trees are grown is generally unfit for any other agricultural purpose.

But I've discovered a whole new dimension to shopping.