I had a few moments the other day, and took a quick peek at some blogs. One that caught my attention was Desiree’s. Desi was talking about the fact that she is going to change some of her holiday traditions. What she had to say made considerable sense, and got me to thinking about things I might want to do differently.
Other than decorating less, and focusing less on overwhelming gifts, there is one thing I’d like to change: Christmas cards. I’ve run the gamut of options when it comes to Christmas cards. I’ve given them to everyone I know, to no one, to just family, to just friends, to family and select friends. I have a problem with the idea of sending out a card with a pre-printed message and just our names at the bottom.
I was thinking at the beginning of November that I would be able to make time to write to people to let them know how thankful I had been for their friendship and help this year. By the time I was addressing Christmas cards (this is a family and friends year), I was really dissatisfied that I didn’t have the time to say more to each of them.
I think I know how I want to resolve this issue. Next year, I plan to make a list of family and friends, and each day write a letter to one of them. For every day from the day after Thanksgiving, to New Year’s Day, I hope to tell someone that I’ve been thinking about them, and how important their friendship is to me.
It seems that would be so much more satisfying than a card. Even when you find just the right card, and that’s much more difficult in these days of political correctness, it still doesn’t convey exactly how you feel. So, this might be the best of all worlds.
I know it will be a busy time. I know that it could be difficult to make the time, but if my goal is to write just ONE letter a day, I think I can accomplish that. And, if I find I have more friends than days, I can always start the project earlier.
What do you think? Are there traditions that you might change?
Thanks, Desi, for getting me to think about this!

Cop Car… In answer to your question, when you were visiting my home, and I was heating a pan at the stove…
The red design in the center of the pan turns to a red circle when the pan is hot.
(smiling) I’ve been thinking about this for a month, and intended to tell you that I’d looked into it. I suspect the engineer in you KNEW what the design was for, and you were just being polite when I disregarded it, and used the pan cold.
Thanks for the mini-lesson! *G*