Receiving holiday cards is fun. I remember from a young age rushing home from school to see which Christmas cards had arrived that day.
After going off to college, and throughout the single days of my twenties, holiday cards rarely came. My parents always sent me a great one, but that was about it. I went probably about a decade without seeing the advancements in the Christmas card movement.
My wife and I entered matrimony in the summer of 2008. A wedding puts you on the map in the holiday card world. Suddenly we were worthy, and the cards started coming in during out first holiday season as a betrothed couple. Having a wedding also gave us an impressive address database, which meant that we started sending out Christmas cards. When you start sending them, you start receiving them, and this is when I realized what has become the norm in holiday cards…putting a picture of your kids on them. When I had last received holiday cards regularly, digital pictures hadn’t be invented, so most cards were handwritten. This has changed.
Unfortunately, sometimes years pass without seeing a family member or friend (let alone their children). This means that at least two times a year a card arrives and I have no idea who created the children being featured on it. I didn’t even know that one of my cousins had a son, let alone that he’s twelve and plays soccer! I remember wondering when we have children, are we going to put a picture of them on our card every year?
In 2010, my wife and I welcomed our first child. As the holiday season quickly approached, we realized our baby absolutely will appear on our Christmas card. Not just this year, but every year! I’m sure that some friends/family have opened our card, having no idea whose baby is smiling at them.
If you had received our holiday card in your home mailbox, you would see that we made a donation to our favorite charity on behalf of all of our friends/family. That charity is The Saving Tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), whose mission is to raise money for the grossly under-funded, lifesaving grass roots research of congenital heart defects (CHDs). My daughter was born with a heart defect, and is now excelling, thanks to past advancements and research in CHDs. If you are looking for a great cause to support during the holiday season, please consider Saving Tiny Hearts.
Now you know why our amazing baby is on our Christmas card. Got heart?
Merry Christmas to all!