2009 was the year of digital gifts from my friends on Facebook. Oh! So many presents kept coming my way; beautifully wrapped too. And the drinks! My my, I could take a bath in all those delectable cocktails celebrating the season that came my way. Let’s toast!
But this year was different. Based on the influences of social media, I assumed that maybe five snail mail cards would come my way. But I guess either many of my friends were bored with digital greetings or they wanted to support our postal system; in any case, the avalanche of Christmas and holiday cards showed no signs of stopping! I had to move a vase and a bowl just to make room for them on my foyer table!
On the social media side, the giving of gifts completely disappeared. Poof. Gone, without a trace. Fine by me; I’m not one that’s willing to give up my personal information to an app. Perhaps my friends became wiser too.
Nope, some new trends emerged. Posting holiday tunes for one; Dino, Lena, Eartha, Elmo & Patsy. Posting photos or cute illustrations and tagging everyone you know. Or, simply posting “Happy Holidays” if you weren’t feeling creative but must get a message out.
I wasn’t sure what would be “proper”; after all, not all my friends celebrate Christmas. So I found a solution where one size fits all; a peace sign. My favorite symbol actually. Did I get blasted for it? Yes, from one friend who called me a stoner West Coaster! Eh, he was only kidding and I can handle the teasing and taunting. However, I was amazed by the outpouring of response from my friends, the likes and the comments, and it felt good too! Isn’t that part of what the season is about? Making others feel good?
Now, back to the physical cards. I sent out over 30 this year. And I’ll do at least that next year. Sometimes, “old” traditions are great too; don’t you feel especially good when a whole pile of them arrive, all on the same day? That big silly grin you get when you finally pick a good spot to sit down and read all those greetings! And some folks still like to write a novella in those cards.
A big thanks to my friends who haven’t gone totally digital! And here’s to social media too, which can be warm and fuzzy at times. Happy New Year!
1 comment:
I hate doing snail mail cards and do not miss the additional clutter. The ones with the Xmas letters are especially painful. We did get one card extolling the "blessings" of the year accompanied by a letter filled with moaning about health issues and friends lost.
And finally your peace sign was a brilliant new symbol of the season. I love it and propose we only use that in the future.
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