Christmas Card Organization And Other Christmas Fun

I don’t know about your family but ours has spent the last two weeks rushing from one Christmas program to another.  If you live in these parts you may have seen us.  We were the ones near the front wielding cameras, smiles and coffee cups.  Nothing exhausts me more than actually having to be showered and dressed in a presentable manner with makeup applied…for multiple days in a row.  Why does getting yourself ready at times seem like an insurmountable task when you become a mom?  Is it because by the time you get to yourself you have spent all your energy talking your son out of wearing shorts and a tank top in the middle of December?  Or maybe it is because your daughter insists on dressing like Pinkalicious and her outfit won’t be authentic enough if you don’t help her find her favorite pair of pink socks?  You know the ones with the peace signs?  The pink polka dot ones you’re holding just won’t do.

Exhibit A:  My hair is clean and combed, jewelry is on and we’re smiling.  I must have documented evidence to show my children some day that I did in fact own something other than sweatpants.

All my complaining aside, we had a blast partaking in their performances.  We laughed, we cried, and we were thrilled when they waved to us from stage.

We watched our sweet kids act…

…sing…

…dance…

…inspire…

…and bring us the Good News.  Our last program was yesterday and just in the nick of time because last night Winter Storm Draco hit.

And he wasn’t messing around.  My kids were so excited to see snow and couldn’t wait to get out there and play since they didn’t have school today.  They lasted about 20 minutes.  The 50-mile-an-hour country winds were too much for them (and our lawn furniture!) and they literally had to defrost once they stumbled indoors.  I’m not gonna lie.  There were red cheeks and tears.  Nothing a cup of hot chocolate and some hugs couldn’t cure.

I spent the snow day finishing up some delicious Christmas baking (that post to follow soon!) and completing some Christmas crafts that have been on my to-do-list for weeks.  Well, first I slept in, then I watched an episode of The High Low Project with Sabrina Soto while still in bed and THEN…and only then…did I get about the business of Christmas.

One of my favorite parts of this time of year is heading to the mailbox each afternoon.  I LOVE getting mail and with nearly everything these days being sent electronically, Christmas cards seem extra special.  Like little gifts from all the beautiful people in our lives.  And each year I like to display them.  In the past they have been individually hung on a special wall in our hallway.  When faced with hanging them that way again this year my mind immediately sped past the joy of looking at them as I passed each day to the much less fun day in January when I have to painstakingly take each one down.  And so I decided to save a roll of tape and about 70 minutes of my time and instead made a coffee table book of sorts with them.  I bought these book rings from Wal-mart.  They were less than $2.00 and will carry me through more than one Christmas.

To complete this project?  All you need is a paper punch, Christmas cards and about 15 minutes.  How retro…code for really old…is my paper punch?  I love it!

You will want to figure out the order of your Christmas cards before you start punching.  Size definitely comes into play here but so does the layout of the cards you have received.  Just be sure you punch them in a way that folks will be able to open and read them once assembled.  It takes a wee bit of visualization skill but I promise this project will exert no more strain on your brain than it spent trying to figure out if the Saturday Night Live sketch Mokiki Does The Sloppy Swish was funny or just plain weird.  I also used some scotch tape for those cards that came with a Christmas letter.  I just taped the letter to the back of the card.

Once all of your cards are punched, begin threading them through the book clip in your predetermined order.  And the best part?  As more cards arrive, it will be easy to fit them in where they work best.

I also decided to make a quick cover for the book in Word.  I printed it on a piece of card stock I already had on hand.  As I make more of these each year I can easily keep track of the individual years this way.  I may look for a more sturdy cover made out of cardboard or a heavier card stock once I can get out of my driveway.

And here is the book of Christmas cards on our coffee table.  Not bad for 15 minutes.  Not bad at all!

And yet another nice and neat way to keep my emotional hoarding under control.  Enjoy the snow and the forced rest everyone!

Stacey