The Art of the Christmas Card

This time of year, a lot of my parents' friends send out Christmas cards. These cards have morphed over the years. It used to be that they all sent pictures of them and their kids in front of the Christmas tree (awww). Then later, the kids would be pictured alone, or with the family pet, possibly in front of the fire or perhaps (unconvincingly) enjoying the great outdoors as a family. More recently, cards arrive with signatures like "Rosemary, Mike, & the kids" or "Rick & the girls." Christmas cards are more of an afterthought than ever.

(example of a typical family Christmas card)

The cards that I look forward to every year are not really cards at all, but autobiographical letters (sometimes 3-4 pages, single spaced) detailing a family's achievements over the course of the year. Each kid gets a paragraph or two where they can talk about how great they are ("Timmy was student of the month! Jane danced in the Nutcracker! Joey sat on the bench for baseball, football, and basketball seasons but he was a great contributor in practice!"). Parents can sing their own praises, as well, casually mentioning their new job with more vacation days and a bigger salary or the houseboat that they bought "just because." I don't look forward to these letters because there is nothing personal about them. I don't want to hear your family's bragfest, I want a personal letter or a phone call or nothing at all.

The time has come, my friends, for a Christmas Card revolution. Down with ambivalence, down with bragging until your face turns purple. In with caring about each other and making an effort all year through so that relationships aren't reduced to the exchange of cards once a year. Give of your time and yourself all year through, LIVE the spirit of Christmas, and love each other, gosh darn it.