Holidays can be joyous occasions, but they are also ripe minefields for inevitable family disputes and apprehensions over finding the perfect gifts within our budgetary means.
Rather than focus on what went wrong, or get petty and withhold my affections toward those who really didn’t instate themselves in my life recently, I decided to send out a customized thank you card. Then, the blizzard hit and well – it became a lot more irritating to place an order, wait for it to arrive, trudge to a local post office, and buy stamps when my last venture led to me tripping and falling in a pile of snow that hit above my knee. No, thank you.
They’ll understand, I warred with myself.
No, saying ‘thank you’ is the polite thing to do, I reprimanded back.
The words from a colleague returned to me suddenly – Wait, you actually send out ‘thank you’ cards to your family when they give you gifts? Weird.
Well, those particular family members receive cards by default for their material generosity, but I also usually send out cards to those who leave more subtle impressions on me throughout the year. This time around, I decided on the quickest, cheapest, and most meaningful way without individually calling everyone up or writing out letters by hand – e-mail.
Besides, I convinced myself, you’re better with words when you type, anyway.
I attached a few recent photographs from the storm, created a custom card exterior, pressed ‘prt sc’ on my keyboard, and had an automatic image to send along with my message.
Is it strange to mail out ‘thank you’ notices to relatives during this festive season? How do you thank those who positively impact your life?
