Holiday Almanac December 1: Christmas Cards

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For more information on the Holiday Almanac, go here. Or to see what I've been up to on past Holiday Almanac days, check out this page.

We’re starting out the month with an easy one: address all your Christmas cards, make gift lists, and buy the ingredients that you'll need for the baking you'll do later.

I love sending Christmas cards, and since I learned on my first Christmas here in the UK, it takes awhile for holiday cards to make it to the USA from over here, so I generally try to get them done early regardless.

Consequently, this was not a huge deal for me… especially since last year while working for a stationery store I stocked up on enough holiday cards to last me from now until 2025. Christmas cards are done, gift list is made, and ingredients for at least a few of the week's upcoming baked goods are purchased.

You may notice that not all of these cards are currently addressed. this is because it's impossible to take photos of cards that already have addresses on them, and this is not my firsst rodeo.

You may notice that not all of these cards are currently addressed. this is because it's impossible to take photos of cards that already have addresses on them, and this is not my firsst rodeo.

*Here’s a weird thing: you know how in the US, it’s polite to say ‘happy holidays’ instead of ‘merry Christmas,’ since not everyone celebrates Christmas? Well, in the UK, a holiday is a vacation, and no one says ‘happy holidays’ this time of year. My office is having a Christmas party, the shop windows all have ‘Merry Christmas!’ written in them, there’s a Christmas market known as ‘Edinburgh’s Christmas’ that has taken over half of this city, and the cards you send out are Christmas cards, not holiday cards. While I try to remember to alter my usage depending on the nationality of those who I am speaking to, this month is definitely going to be a bit of a hodge-podge as I am an American living in the UK and using an incredibly old ‘Country Christmas Holiday Almanac’ as my guide. Take no offense! You can participate in most of these activities no matter what holiday you celebrate, even if you’re more of a Winter Solstice-type of holiday-er.

The verdict:

5 spoons out of five. Send out Christmas cards. Everybody loves getting snail mail, and there are so many cute ones nowadays that you really don't have an excuse. Plus, getting this kind of behind-the-scenes stuff done early means I don't have to deal with it later in the month when I'm up to my eyeballs in baking.