A lot of people think that sending Christmas cards is a PITA.  I disagree.  I love to send Christmas cards and I love to receive them, too.

Those of you who were reading this blog last year might remember I posted a different vintage Christmas card every day from December 1st through New Year's.  I bought a bunch of new-to-me vintage cards this summer -- put them somewhere safe, and now I can't find them.  So I couldn't repeat that.  And, truthfully, not many people tuned in to see my wonderful, beautiful, terrific, cards.  : (

The days of me buying expensive cards (or anything else--except books and music) are over, so I usually buy my cards after Christmas during the 50-75% off sales, and if you hit the stores early, you can get some nice ones.  But I also need to send cards that are long enough to toss in a bookmark.  (Hey, I get more bang for my buck that way.)  So this year I had to buy some cards BEFORE Christmas.  (Blasphemy.)

I'm looking forward to pulling my list together and doing my cards.  Sometimes I include a Christmas letter to a few old friends, but mostly I just scribble (and if you saw my handwriting, you'd agree) a few lines.  I like to hear from my pals, and I must be one of the few people who actually enjoys receiving those holiday letters filled with news.  Last year I participated in a "card exchange" with strangers from one of the cozy mystery lists I read.  I got a couple of letters from people I didn't know--filled with news about even more people I didn't know.  One was written by the family's adorable little dog--and included a picture.  I loved it!  (I wear bangs so that people can't see the word SUCKER that's written on my forehead.)

I keep a lot of the cards I receive, too.  One of my favorite cards came from my Grandfather.  He died back in the 1980s.  Every year I pull out that card and hang it.  I look at the words he wrote and lament the fact I barely knew him.  But he wrote "love Grandpa" and I have no doubt he did love me.  It never fails to move me to tears.

Christmas cards are one of my favorite things about the holiday season.  How about you?