Seasons Bleatings, uh, Greetings

I wish I had the time to send out holiday cards. Instead, every November, I buy a fresh box or two absolutely intending to send holiday wishes, but instead, the box sits unopened, mocking me.

So considering I haven’t sent out Christmas cards in years, I realize it’s kind of obnoxious of me to complain about some of the ones I’ve received this year, but honestly? Some of them just blow me away. And not in a good way.

I love getting Christmas cards. I really do. I like knowing that someone is thinking of me—and has much better time-management skills than I do. I love getting updates on people’s lives, learning how their year was, even seeing pictures of their family. I don’t even mind the holiday newsletter—as long as it’s not one of those “Our lives are so perfect so we’re going to rub it in” letters.

But then there are the ones that seem…well, less than sincere? Maybe lazy? There are a couple that arrive every year that come across like we ended up their mailing list, and as long as we’re not dead, they haven’t removed us. They’re a little assembly-line-ish.

Look, I know that if you’re sending out more than a dozen cards you’re going to look for shortcuts like printing address labels to the sender. I get that—I don’t expect the senders to suffer from hand cramps addressing and writing out cards. However—and this is a biggie—please, for the love of all things Christmas, DO NOT slap a sticker inside with your names in place of a real signature. “Love, Husband, Wife, and Kids” loses the essence of a heart-felt holiday message when it’s typed on a sticker. Just scrawl something along the lines of “Happy Holidays” and sign it. I’d just as soon you save your stamp.

But maybe that’s just me.

Have I turned into a big Grinch?

bah humbug