On writing Christmas cards

I always think it's going to be a chore, but I get a strange kind of pleasure from this annual task. 

It's a stock take, I start with last year's list and then collate all the changes - addresses, names growing or shrinking families, new friends etc. I am forced to address the state of my relationships with people - particularly those I've not been in contact with for a while.  It's a time to note and acknowledge the fluctuations in my social network.

Selection of Christmas cards is important.  I feel every card I send says something about me. I could never send the same card to everyone - I choose different ones to send to different people according to their age, gender, personality and my relationship with them. People from the generation above me tend to get bigger cards and I think there's some very latent sense of 'respect for your elders' at play. 

As I've been organising and writing mine this afternoon, I've been thinking about how much the ritual of card sending is loaded with culture and meaning and how engaging with it (or not) can send out all sorts of messages.  Everyone makes a choice, consciously or unconsciously, about how they want to handle the issue of Christmas cards and in so doing they reveal something about their personality and their priorities.

Women are more likely to do the card sending in couples - it's just more important to them. They're more likely to notice the details and the subtlety, so it's harder for them to ignore or abdicate the responsibility for it.

Comments

[Gordon]

Yeah I'll go with that. Despite the fact that my handwriting is neater than my that of my beloved wife, the Xmas cards are "too important" and "must be done right".

We did try it once, but it ended up with Louise standing over me as I wrote out each card, dictating word for word what to say to who. Soul-destroying.

[Andrew]

Yep, her indoors does the cards. Im used to think it was because she knew I was so disorganised, now I realise she's just better at keeping in touch - largely because she likes doing the little things that matter.

[Masters Dissertation]

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