It may come as no surprise that we Fullers take our holiday cards pretty seriously every year. And I have no shame in admitting that I'm a sucker for a good family letter too. I love 'em all - the long ones, the short ones, the bragging ones and the humble ones. I love reading about what families decide is important to share with their far-flung friends and family.
I also love when people write a little note in their cards, even if it's a simple greeting, or just their signature, or even just my address on the envelope. I love the personal connection that handwriting offers, you know? And I have to admit that I scratch my head at cards that are 100% automated - printed card (usually with a photo or two), computer generated address and return address stickers, not even a signature (let alone a greeting), then popped in the mail. The first question that comes to mind when I see these is are these people actually wanting to wish me a happy holiday season and send me warm greetings this time of year, or are they just trying to put an updated photo of their kids in front of me?
Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE getting photos of everyone's kids, I absolutely do. And I hang every single card and photo up in the kitchen until the tape dries out and we have cards falling every day (that usually happens sometime in late January). So I do enjoy them for a good long time.
But to me sending cards is more about the people I'm sending them to - thinking about them as I prepare each card - writing their names and signing ours - and less about the automation of it. For us Fullers, holiday cards are about crafting a new design each year (Doug's job) and filling them with warm thoughts and greetings (my job).
And I'll hand it to Doug, he does a terrific job with our letter each year. I think he strikes the perfect balance between telling people what we're up to with a healthy dose of wit and humor. Seriously, I think he could make a full-time job of writing people's holiday letter. That's a job, right? Well it should be.
So without further ado, and because I have to get back to my quilting - I'm delivering the finished flag quilt next week - today I'm offering up our annual Fuller Family Update ™ for those who don't receive our card and letter in the mail.
I know you probably can't read it as displayed below, so I've included a text link below the graphic. If you click that link, the PDF version will pop up in all its glory and you can read it there.
Enjoy, and happy new year!
