Thursday, December 15, 2016

Christmas Greetings

"Greeting cards have all been sent, the Christmas rush is through..."
from The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas, Darling."
If only that were true. Every year I vow I will get my Christmas cards out early.  And every year I find myself in mid-December without having sent a one. This year is no different. What's worse is each year I seem to have less motivation to do it.  It's not that I'm not in the Christmas spirit.  Heck, I've got Christmas spirit oozing out my ears. But nobody seems to participate in this time-honored ritual any more.  So for every 2 cards I send out, I might get 1 back, and that's even after having drastically reduced the number of cards I send. I'm not sure if it's because of the constant contact we have with friends and family now through social media, or if we've just gotten lazy. But, I know eventually I will get my cards out again this year, even if it will be last minute once more.

Since I don't have most of my readers' addresses, I'm offering this bounty of vintage Christmas cards as my wish to you all for a very Merry Christmas. I bought all of these at one estate sale; one family's accumulation of their own friends' and family's well-wishes from an age when we were social without electronic media.





































I'm glad to see Elmer and Evelyn finally let Bobby and Diane join them on their card.

It must have been hard "keeping up" with the Von Derheide's. They had the *best* cards!
















9 comments:

  1. Love the vintage cards. I reblog a bunch of them on my Christmas tumblr blog. Always love seeing new ones. Er, new to me, I mean. We have cards to mail, as well, just haven't done it. Tomorrow! I hope. Merry Christmas to you, too!

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    1. You're welcome to them, Joe. Glad you enjoyed and a Merry Christmas again.

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  2. guilty as charged. : (
    i always always ALWAYS love and appreciate that you send us a card every year, and i'm one of those horrible lazy people who can't even manage to get it together to send cards in return. whether you send one or not, know that i am thinking of you and the family and are wishing you a happy christmas and the best for the new year.

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    1. Aw, I wasn't singling you out. There are plenty of other offenders. It's funny though, I pull people from my list after not hearing from them for a few years, then suddenly out of the blue, I'll get a Christmas card from them and they're back on the list. A Merry Christmas to you and Craig as well. And keep an eye out for that card.

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    2. oh, i didn't meant to suggest you were specifically singling me out -- i was just freely admitting that i am terrible at sending physical correspondence, and you are always so good about it. : )

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  3. Card #2: "RAWRRRR!!! FLEE, PUNY PARISHIONERS!!!"

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    1. that IS an awesome card. i also like the one from the phosphate company (because very few people even know what phosphates were nowadays), and also the one from Mr. & Mrs. Peter Blank, because how great would it be to be introduced as "Mr. Blank" wherever you went?

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    2. >"RAWRRRR!!! FLEE, PUNY PARISHIONERS!!!"
      It looks like she's sticking one of the congregation on the roof.
      >i also like the one from the phosphate company
      And not a trace of the Lentz Phosphate company on the internet :(
      I like the one from The Von Derheide's skating with the family pets "Twinkle" and "Cuddles" following.

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    3. i like those, too -- my family sent those type of cards back before i was born, and for awhile after. since my dad was a photographer, he always did these great custom cards for us. the Von Derheide series reminded me of them. it seems like it was a popular thing to do.

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