In a recent Newsletter I mentioned that I seem to be less and less organised each year as Christmas approaches, and it got me to thinking what I REALLY meant by that.
So with a fresh home-made latte (double-shot of espresso, to be sure), I put my virtual thinking cap on and looked this in the eye for the first time.
I find my Christmas season got less organised when folks started using emails to send electronic Christmas cards rather than Christmas cards — bits of bytes which I couldn’t display in my home, to smile warmly at whenever I saw them from the corner of my eye as I was working in my home office each day.
OK — I think I’ve narrowed down the culprit (of why I don’t FEEL organised) — it’s the FEELING of not seeing those cards that I miss the most. Sure, I still have a couple of delightful friends who send cards via snail-mail, but the majority send simple emails, electronic cards and the industrious ones send PDF Newsletters. It’s also the act of buying cards (to send out) which isn’t being done, which adds to the feeling of sadness and loss of a Christmas tradition in this era of so much internet-based human interaction.
So here it is — my AHA moment — I’m feeling disorganised because:
- I’ve lost my tradition, the act of buying, writing, reminiscing and sending my wishes across the miles to those I love and want to reconnect with — personal and business friends and acquaintances around the world.
I used to send a lot of cards at this time of year and loved the act of writing them, and thinking about each friend or client as I wrote their card. I used to LOVE receiving the cards in the post, to look at the envelope and stamp, and the magic which went into sending this to me from Mauritius, Iceland, France, USA, Canada and all those other countries where my friends live. Kicking back with a cup of tea or coffee, reading the cards and Newsletter updates inside was a tradition I loved — finding out what everyone’s been up to the past year — and then reciprocating by sending off my own little newspaper-like updates.
Email ‘cards’ just don’t seem the same to me … maybe I’m just “old school” when it comes to this one time of the year when I like to reach out and let someone know I’m thinking of them, and that I value their friendship, their business, or their connection – whatever that might be.
I’m going to buck the system — I fell into that habit but I’ve been struggling against it for years now, and I’ve decided to take a stand! I bought some cards yesterday, I’ve dusted off the laser printer, and I’m ready to print envelopes — even if these cards arrive LATE, I’m going to send them :-)
Oh — and just to be clear — I WILL be sending VIDEO CARDS too — you know I love making videos, don’t you? Video cards are like the Rolls Royce of electronic cards — you can download them or watch them over and over, and if I do mine right, they might even make you chuckle :-) I plan on creating individual ones for special clients, as everyone likes to feel special and memorable – which they ARE!
Your Say
So what’s YOUR plan for Christmas cards this year? Buy any? Write any? Make any video ones? I’d love to know how you cope with this in an electronic age — whether it’s good or bad.