We are starting to get our holiday cards in the mail. I love getting them. I’m always shocked that other people’s kids grow up, go to college, get married . . . I understand that the growing up process is happening to my family, but it stuns me a little bit every year to see the Christmas cards with everyone else’s families doing the same thing. Still, I love rooting through all of the catalogs and credit card offers in the mailbox, for an envelope with some familiar hand-writing and a Santa stamp. I rip the envelopes open, like an excited 5-year-old ripping off the Christmas wrapping paper, of an anticipated, desired gift. This is because these cards are an anticipated gift of the season. They never disappoint.
A friend told me once that when someone sends a family picture on their holiday card, you can guarantee that the mom will look great. Everyone else in the family can look a little “off” – not looking at the camera, smiling a little too hard, someone’s head cut off, but if the family picture is being sent, the mom of the family, is looking good in it! It makes sense. Most of us female heads of household are also annual Christmas card designers. If we’re going to go to all of that time, money and effort, we might as well feel great about the finished product.
I went to the Shutterfly website where they have a webpage dedicated to what to write in your Christmas cards. There’s a whole list of sweet, meaningful sentiments. They also list some funny things to write. Here are a few that made me giggle:
- Why are Dasher and Dancer always taking coffee breaks? Because they are Santa’s star bucks. Happy Holidays!
- When you stop believing in Santa Claus is when you start to get clothes for Christmas. Happy holidays! (This one made me laugh because my kids were never good at “hiding their disdain” when they opened up a box of clothes.)
- “You know that you’re getting old when Santa starts looking younger.” – Robert Paul
- Get your fat pants ready, it’s Christmas!
I hope that you all are enjoying the delights of the season, like the cherished cards from family and friends. Please let me know in the comments section, if my friend’s hypothesis is true. One last idea from Shutterfly:
- “Christmas is a time when everyone wants his past forgotten and his present remembered.” -Phyllis Diller