First holiday tree

Was put up last weekend. Along with the first decorations. These are meaningful because they were decorations given to my mother, by her aunt, for her first holiday tree as a married woman. Though Mark wasn’t eager about a tree, he kindly put it up. River was thrilled to help with the decorations. He looks at the tree with magic and appreciation in his eyes, and that alone makes it worth it.

I feel like I’m turning into a boring, stereotypical adult, taking on the rituals of holiday cards, a tree, and a soon-to-occur cookie exchange. But the truth is that I like it. I like the soothing glow of the lights, the family history represented in the ornaments, the beauty it adds to the room. I’m glad number two will come back to a place that looks welcoming and that she’ll see photos of her early days that reflect the season when she was born.

I like that River takes pride in his home and his environment. He’ll make comments, entirely unprovoked, such as “Our house is so big and beautiful. There is so much room to play.” (It’s actually not very big, but it’s larger than the place he spent his first 18 months).

Or “I don’t like (insert name of neighboring street).”

“Really?” I ask. “Do you prefer (insert name of our street)?”

“Yes.”

It’s good to have a base, a shelter and a family, where we all feel safe and comfortable and warm. I appreciate that now.

Ready to join the holiday card brigade

One of the stereotypically adult holiday activities I have not participated in is sending out holiday cards. I was overseas for a long time and for the past couple of years, I’ve had excuses. First I had a newborn, then for the next two years I just didn’t get around to it. Now I don’t have any more good excuses and my fear of being justifiably booted from my friends’ holiday card list is inspiring me to get on the ball. I love receiving them, I love displaying them, and I now keep them as mementos of the people who were in our life each year, frozen in a photo and a pose of their choosing.

Mark is not enthusiastic about the idea, so I’ll have to take on this project myself. I was going to use tinyprints, since some friends had recommended it before. But then I came across an offer from Shutterfly that said I can receive 50 free cards if I blog about their holiday cards. So I’ll be trying Shutterfly this year.

I can’t say anything about the quality of Shutterfly, or any other holiday card maker, since I haven’t ever ordered any before. However, I did order a couple of photo greeting cards from Shutterfly this spring. They turned out beautifully and the recipients seemed to appreciate the personalization of the photos and the greeting, so I have high hopes. Since we are expecting number two right around the holidays, I’m wondering if I make a joint holiday card/birth announcement, or at least include a photo of number two together with our family of three photo.

I’m liking this one for the option of multiple photos. And this one too. But if I don’t include a personalized message, I suppose the folded cards would look pretty bare inside. In that case, perhaps a flat one, like this, would be better?

A question for you. Should I go with a service that pre-addresses and mails the cards, taking out a big step and making the process easier and more likely for me to accomplish? Or it is worth the effort in order to add a personal note, or at least signature? Do you include a letter with your cards, or just send the card? What do you prefer to receive?