The Christmas Card

Like many people, I don't throw away my old Christmas Cards.

Some folk keep them for the next year to remind them of their Christmas Card 'responsibility' to distant friends and relations.

Some folk cut them up for tags.

But I keep them for a more practical reason.

Early in December, after dusting the surfaces of my furniture, shelves, window sills, I put the old Christmas cards around the house and then don't have to dust for another 6 weeks at least! It's such a busy time of year anyway.

One Christmas Eve when the family was partying at my house, my eagle-eyed sister said 'oh, you've got a lot of cards!' And then she said 'hold on a minute, wasn't that the card I sent you last year?'

BUSTED!...'Yes, I confessed, and here's the one you sent me the year before.' It raised a laugh. Nowadays, most of my family do the same thing and copy me, well it gives the illusion of being popular if nothing else. There's probably a label for it somewhere, 'imposter syndrome', 'narcissist', or just plain 'too lazy to keep dusting'.

The cards I've received over the years really are Works of Art, it just seems like vandalism to throw them away. I know some people like to raise their profile, and standing in society, by sending very beautiful and expensive cards, and I'm more than happy to receive these and play the game.

However, this year, because of the pandemic I guess, I have started to compare the written messages from previous years, and how these messages have changed from past Christmases.

There is definitely a more sombre tone this year. Less Glitz...Less Sparkle...Less Enthusiasm.

In the past, my Christmas Cards were filled with news and happy events of the closing year and hints of get-togethers next year, but this year, it's a short sharp 'from....etc, etc'.

In all our defenses, what can we say? Are we even going to have a Very Merry Christmas? What about our Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year? Will our messages just rub 'salt into the wounds' of how dull and monotonous many of our lives have become?

I once had a Boss who told me 'he freezes people out' if he doesn't like them. That was a shock - none of us really know what other people think of us, and with a bit of help and guidance we can all improve our relationships with others. But we all need some honesty, some realism about how we sabotage our good fortune, and how we can keep in step with others.

In reality, at some stage of life, we have to accept that things have changed. Personally, I'm no longer as fit as I was, and my contribution to the village has decreased significantly due to failing health and long covid. Perhaps I'm seen as a bit of a burden or a nuisance now, rather than an asset and someone who will raise funds for good causes, or help clear the overgrown parts of the cemetery or cut the weed in the river.

This is a Wake-up Call

This surely is a 'Wake-up Call' for us to get the most from our lives, and perhaps reinvent ourselves, ready for a New Year.

During the first lockdown, I tried to make the food in the freezer and cupboards as interesting and delicious as possible so that I could look forward to something every day. Found some wonderful recipes, and relived old memories from my childhood, even a boiled egg with soldiers reminded me of my daughter as a toddler.

Then, in the autumn, I went foraging for blackberries, hazelnuts, damsons. sloes and made some 'hedgerow' preserves and some Damson Vodka!

Being happy is the only way I know of living a good life, even if somedays it's more difficult than other days - there is always something to be grateful for.

I'd love to hear other ways of recycling those old Christmas Cards...who knows I may just come up with a few more myself!