At Christmas I really like to drink spiked eggnog, eat far too many cookies, and, assuming I’m on the nice list, get all the wonderful gifts that I asked for in my letter to Santa. But, what I like even more is spending time with family and hearing from friends. Some friends I haven’t seen in a while might send cards, pictures, annual letters or even emails. Regardless of their form of communication, I’m always happy to hear from them.
I am, however, a bit old fashioned when it comes to sending out holiday greetings; I still love to mail cards. Every November I used to prowl the stores to find the best available cards. Every December Kathy and I would write a message in each card and mail them off to people on our mailing list. I’m sure the Post Office appreciated our financial support.
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In 1999 I decided to make my own cards. Although that turns out to be more work than just buying them, I enjoy creating something personal and unique. For my first card I used a photograph that a relative took in about 1958 of the the farm where I grew up. I was about 10 years old at the time and you can see the 1910-ish Sears Roebuck house that we lived in.
Since I enjoy photography, in 2000 I decided to start using my own photos. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to audition for Hallmark. In fact, most of my cards are not exactly Christmas looking, they just show snow-filled winter scenes. This year I looked back over the photos that I used on past cards to make sure I would avoid making a new card that was too similar to an old one. Having dug up all of those photos, I thought it would be fun to share them. After all, my mailing list is rather limited.
This year, 2025, I was way behind schedule for sending out cards. In fact, I was behind on almost everything. I didn’t receive the printed copies until Sunday, December 21. Then I signed them fast and rushed to send them out on Monday, December 22. If you received one, it probably arrived after Christmas. Maybe you have not yet received yours and wonder if I took your name off my list! Nope, I’m just late.
If you’re not on my list, at least you’ve now had the opportunity to see 27 years worth of my Christmas card photos without having to wait 27 years! I’ll probably post more Christmas card photos after another 27 years, so keep an eye out!