I am feeling good right now because I took my Christmas-Card Photo Fretting, plus your input/advice, plus a rare moment of calm motivation, and I butter-churned it all into ORDERING COLLAGE PHOTOS THAT WILL BE HERE NEXT WEEK.
I went into it thinking I wouldn’t necessarily CHOOSE anything, just sort of play around with some sample photos to get an idea of what my options were. I combined that with an attitude of “Who really cares? No one, that’s who!” and also an attitude of “Don’t spend too much time on this: just sort of PICK some photos and be done with it.” I didn’t worry about whether I’d already posted that photo on Facebook so everyone’s already seen it, or whether it was the BEST or MOST REPRESENTATIVE photo of each child, or whether the photos were cropped/color-corrected ideally, or whether each child was in the exact same number of photos. And I know I talk a lot of smack about Walllmart, and I intend to CONTINUE to talk smack about Walllmart because there are many levels on which they fully deserve it—but I will give credit where credit is due, and in my opinion their photo-collage-designing-and-ordering process is easy and good and well-priced.
Normally we take a photo at Thanksgiving, along with what is apparently the entire rest of the country, because it is not uncommon for me to place the order and have a delivery estimate of mid-or-later December, as I panic about getting the photos into the cards and still having time for the cards to arrive before Christmas. So having the photos instead arriving in early November feels like a COOL BREEZE—especially THIS year when concerns are already ramping up about shipping delays, and LAST year cards were already taking weirdly long amounts of time to travel, and that pinehat in charge of the USPS has only done more damage since then.
So now my NEXT task is to haul out the Christmas cards and see if I have enough scraps left over from previous years or if I need to buy some more, and then I am ACTUALLY GOING TO ADDRESS AND SEND MY FEW INTERNATIONAL CARDS ON TIME THIS YEAR!!!! ONE DREAM LEADS TO ANOTHER, BABY!!!
Very impressive work! We certainly are not there yet.
Do you mind if I hijack this post and ask a question that’s on my mind?
Am I ridiculous for being upset when family doesn’t call my kids (newly 5 and 9) to wish them Happy Birthday? Sometimes they get a card.
It’s weird because I thought we were close and I don’t ask for much. We are a few states apart. I don’t know if the kids care and I work my ass off to give them good birthdays but it hurts my feelings.
I imagine it depends on the individual family culture. If, in your family, everyone calls everyone on their birthdays, including all the kids, except they leave your kids out, then that could be upsetting. But, like, in my family, no one calls people on their birthdays: it’s not a thing (and I wouldn’t want it to be a thing, and wouldn’t be willing to reciprocate if someone else in the family wanted to make it a thing). A card would be GREAT. If your family otherwise acts as if they love and care about your kids, then I think that if it’s very important to you that they show that love in a very specific way you have in mind, you’re going to need to let them know. (And be prepared that they might do what I would do, and say “Oh dear—I do love your children and care about them, but there is a zero chance I’m going to show that love with phone calls.”)
YESSSSSS! Go you!!! I am very impressed and am going to try to channel some of your energy toward getting my own card finished and out the door! Woo!
Nice. This post reminds me of a much earlier one, where tipsy-Swistle brought just the right energy to get some things done with which later-Swistle was quite pleased.
I thought of that post this weekend, when I was undertaking Unpleasant Deep-Cleaning Tasks and wondering if I would mind them less if I had a little buzz on.
Here’s to tricking ourselves into getting stuff done. Also, if anyone wants to come marvel at the floor under the bathroom radiator, I will make you a mimosa.
I hate hidden cleaning. So unsatisfying. But I bet it sparkles and you can see that when you see it from just the right angle.
Thanks to you, I still call Wallllmart “Satan’s Gift Emporium” in my head and smile every time.
Such a great feeling checking off a job like that!
Woohoo! I refrained from commenting on your post about the what-how-when to take the picture dilemma, because I ordered my cards at the end of September using a summer photo and I have a reminder in my calendar to start addressing them next week. It is another crazy year with so many extra scheduling intrusions (for me, at least), and the early start is intended to let me focus on other details later on.
PINEHAT. Brilliant. You are officially my source for festive put downs.
Even though I have not started anything holiday-related, have no pictures, no cards, and no plans to get started, I find myself highly cheered by this post because I am so pleased for you! Your cheeriness is contagious! (I mean, I still will not start the process this weekend. But I am CHEERED going into my Friday workday, which is a potentially even more impressive feat)
YAY!!!
Well done!! You’ve defeated the anxiety procrastination that defeats me every year! And also found a really good solution for the Christmas card dilemma.
This post is SO very satisfying – even though I have yet to give a thought to Christmas cards yet (which I really need to do). As an FYI, CVS is a great option to Walmart – their card creating process is so very easy and they are great about getting them (sometime even the same day if you opt to pick them up).
Well done! I use Walmart for cards too – much more affordable. I normally take a photo of my kids around this time, but decided to just use a family photo from the apple orchard. Except I haven’t looked at ordering yet. I should do that!
This post was the kick in the pants I needed to pull the memory card out of my camera and start downloading photos to see if there’s a suitable one to use for the Christmas card this year! Files are transferring as I type this…
Okay, I’ve now chosen a pic, edited it, and ordered copies to put in our cards! I’ve also gone through the year’s worth of pics from my good camera to pick the selection from which I’ll choose images for the family photo calendar, though I still have to go through all the phone photos in the cloud… A productive evening, and all thanks to Swistle!