Works For Me: Early Christmas Cards

There are just a few immutable truths of the universe.  Jesus loves you.  Parenthood is hard.  Kitchen remodeling is the fastest path to insanity.  And taking Christmas card pictures of your children will not, WILL NOT, go as well as you'd like. 

And when you finally do manage to get those pictures taken, the stack of cards will gather dust on your kitchen counter for way too long, at least until somebody cleans off the dust by spilling orange juice on the whole pile. 

Or the photo place will lose your order.

Or you will lose your Christmas stamps.

Obviously, I have suffered Christmas card trauma in the past (incidentally, if you Google "goose poop Christmas", guess who the NUMBER ONE search result is?  Yep.)  I am determined to avoid it this year, and so far, I am on track. 

I took my kids' Christmas card pictures already.  Really!  And not only that, I came straight home and ordered all my cards from the photo place.  I am working on my address labels and Christmas letter this week, and I plan to put it all together just as soon as the cards arrive in a few days.  In fact (don't laugh) my goal is to be 100% finished with my Christmas cards--as in stamped, in a neat stack, ready to mail--by November 15th.  I'm doing it early, I'm avoiding the hassle, and I feel good about it.

Except that I haven't actually done it yet.  But I'm going to. So it's working for me, in a maybe-if-I-manage-to-pull-this-off sort of way.

So, do you have a tip you'd like to share?  Leave your clever WFMW tips below, and be sure to check in with the guidelines here first.  Remember to link directly to your WFMW post, not to the front page of your blog.

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Speaking of linking up, remember that this coming Monday is the Fall, Y'all! Bloggy Giveaway over at my other blog.  I'm sure you haven't forgotten, right?  Because you're all smart girls and you love free stuff, right?  Join us!

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Comments

[An Ordinary Mom]

For now on our student budget, we do Christmas emails with pictures of the kids attached. Works for me :) !!

[WorksForMom]

THAT is a really clever idea Shannon!

[ellen b]

I love that. I love to have the cards all taken care of close to Thanksgiving. Good job! Thankfully we had a family wedding in October so the photo shoot was an easy one this year...

[Karen@FamilyBriefs]

What a great tip - thanks for reminding me of something ELSE that's on my to-do list. Guess I won't make it by November 15th, but thanks for the encouragement to go ahead and get it done!

Thanks for hosting - have a great week!

[Myfriendconnie@SmockityFrocks]

Thank you, Shannon. I'm waiting for our new baby to take our Christmas picture. I'm due on Christmas Day, so my cards may go out late this year. I'm with you though, it is never easy to get everyone looking clean and happy at the same time!

[Heather]

I too am thinking about Christmas cards. We send out a photo cd so I am getting it ready now. Plus I usually design my Christmas cards and need to come up with something soon. :)

[Amy]

I will have to say, I'm catching the worm this year (you know, early bird catches the worm). I've already taken the picture and ordered the photo cards. I'm like you, I hope to have the addressed and ready to go by Thanksgiving! I so love Christmas cards and getting them!

[Lynnae @ From Under the Clutter]

Great idea! I try to have Christmas ready by Thanksgiving. Cards, shopping, everything done, so I can spend the holiday season enjoying my family. I'm terribly behind this year though.

I have an aunt who spends a weekend in November with one of her friends, holed up in a hotel room, and that's when they address all their Christmas cards. I like that idea. Schedule a vacation, so you don't have kid interruptions. :)

[Jill]

Great idea in theory, but not so great when you have little ones who seem to change daily. I intend on fully embracing this tip once my kids are older though. I hate the stress of Christmas cards.

[Andrea]

Thanks for the reminder!!

[Barbara]

I put all of my addresses into Word and print them off on label stickers. I use the return address labels that the charities send and the sticker-stamps that are sold at the warehouse stores (cost less than face value in Canada, anyway). I have this year's Christmas envelopes ready. Our family photo is scheduled for November 25 and we'll get them printed onto cards and into the envelopes. Now, I have to worry about writing a letter putting everything in the mail. The letter is most intimidating since I blog so often I have trouble summarizing. I want to write "Read my blog" on the card with the URL and leave it at that.

My own WFMW post is up.

[Angie @ Many Little Blessings]

Thanks for the tip -- it reminded me to go do some retouching on the picture that I think I will use for our Christmas card!

[SAHMmy Says]

Good for you! I bought two hundred or so regular cards last year on clearance, so maybe I'll just make lots of copies of a cute photo and slip one inside each card. Thanks for the reminder to start early!

[JCK]

God, I love your ambition. I bow down. I bow down.

[TX Poppet]

Maybe I'll just start double checking addresses. For me that always takes longer than writing the cards!

[Abel]

Nice logo, I must say. I like it.

[Janelle @ Now Play Happy]

Hey Praise God for digital! I start taking pictures now for my Christmas cards - I just do it myself as you can take them over and over and over and over.... :0

[Laane]

Here it's not considered polite to send cards longer than two weeks before christmas.

So there's always the risk of them becoming new years cards. LOL!

[Jenny]

I had the same idea for my WFMW post this week too! I added another one as well for variety's sake. :)

[Hilda]

I much appreciate photo Christmas cards vs generics. I love looking at my niece's chubby cheeks and I display those long after the holidays.

[Missy]

I was just thinking about Christmas cards yesterday.Thanks.

[MyStarbucks]

Wow! You're good! I was just thinking about Christmas cards yesterday and the fact that I am going to have to get the kids ready for a picture. I always want to hold out and see if we get any snow but then that puts me all the way up to December 1st and that is cutting it a bit too close.

[Activities Coordinator]

Last year, we took Christmas pictures on Labor Day and cards were ready to roll (with clever Christmas letter inside) on Thanksgiving Day.

This year...Mystical 8-Ball says, "Don't count on it."

[Everyday Mommy]

Christmas cards have never been a problem because of where you-know-who works...when you care enough to send the very best and all (snort). And, believe it or not, I have more than half of our Christmas shopping done :) Really.

[Tracy]

I haven't managed to get a card out in years. This year, I have started, in hopes of finishing prior to Mother's Day...

Seriously, finishing them early would help a lot.