Sending Christmas Cards

How is it that the simple act of sending Christmas cards can be so stressful? I remember my first Christmas as a wife. My husband and I got married in November. By the time we got back from the honeymoon, opened presents and I finished writing Thank-yous I had decided that I would forgo Christmas cards that year. I was just too tired. When I told my new husband he told me how he really wanted to send out Christmas cards. He mentioned that he would help but he felt we should send them out since it was our first Christmas as a married couple. I quickly relented and bought cards. Of course since I have a bad habit of trying to be Super Carrie, I didn't take my husband up on the offer of help. I got all the cards done and out shortly before Christmas.

After getting so stressed about sending cards out the previous year I was determined to get the cards done early. Now, if you can believe it, I start working on Christmas cards in October. It sounds crazy but it has made life so much less stressful for me. I simply put any unused Christmas cards along with a box purchased after Christmas in with my fall decorations. Then I put them by my bed and work on a few at night right before bed. If all goes well I get them all done by early November. I then put them in the mail the day before Thanksgiving so everyone gets them the day after Thanksgiving.

I must admit I ran into a snag this year. I am a new mom so I wanted to put a picture in the Christmas cards this year. Who knew it would take so long for the pictures to come in. Note to self, get Christmas picture taken in October.

OK, it is late November or early December and you need to work on your cards. I would still suggest putting them by your bed to work on them before you sleep. Figure out how many you need to get done and how many days you have to get them done. Then you will figure out how many need to get done each night. Don't forget that asking and/or accepting help is a good thing.
Is it getting very late and you are super stressed about getting the cards out? How about sending out a Christmas email to everyone you have an email address? I know, it isn't very traditional, but you can make it extra special by including a link to some family pictures, or a note about the past year. Then you can send traditional cards to those you don't have email addresses for.

Here is another suggestion, don't send cards. Yes, everyone loves getting all the cards, I know I do, but is the stress and expense worth it? If this year you are especially stressed, behind or the cost of stamps is difficult, allow yourself to not send them.

Update:
I was just informed of another way to reduce the stress of sending cards that I really like. Only send cards to those you get cards from. When the cards come in, open with family after eating dinner. You can take a moment to talk through fond memories of the past year of the person or family that sent the card. Then divide the cards up between family members and write a card back. It can be made more personal by adding a note about the memories discussed. This way you don't have to worry about making a list of people to send cards. Since the card will likely have a return address on it, you don't need to look up everyone's addresses to get the cards out.