Do You Keep or Toss Holiday Cards?
It’s the week after Christmas, a time for packing away ornaments, cleaning out the fridge, and dealing with the rest of the holiday detritus. This includes deciding what to do with all the snail mail you’ve received in the last few weeks - the annual influx of holiday cards. (Fun fact: the US Postal Service delivers around 15 billion letters between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year.)
On one end of the spectrum, we have folks like Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project who makes herself quite happy by displaying the cards for a few days and then chucking them. She lives in Manhattan; storage is at a premium; I get it.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have me. If you have ever sent me a holiday card, and you are not my insurance agent or mortgage broker, that card is likely enjoying retirement alongside my parents - or rather, above them, in their attic. Is that much better than the trash, though?
If you’re somewhere on the scale between us, here are a few suggestions:
My washi tape tree in 2018
“Not only are they festive and a great way to stay organized, Holiday Card Rings also provide a perfect way to divert awkward conversations during the family holiday party. Just look at old cards!” - Kavita Varma-White on today.com
Pack away this year’s cards with your other holiday stuff. When you pull it all out next year, take the opportunity to look at them again and reflect on the past year - and then toss.
Keep photos cards and - hopefully this goes without saying, considering your source - anything with a handwritten note. File away the good stuff by year. You can upcycle the fronts of greeting cards into next year’s gift tags or decorations.
Punch a hole in the corner of each one and loop them on a metal loose-leaf ring, as shown on Today.
Use all or part for everyday items like bookmarks.
These suggestions need not apply to just holiday cards. Any piece of snail mail that’s of value to you can do more than spend its remaining days tucked away in an attic. Our posterity won’t have nearly the treasure troves of communication we inherited from our grandparents, unless tracking down your ancestors’ smart phones becomes a thing in 2060. Unless, of course, we write more notes, fill each others’ mailboxes year-round, and keep the magic of mail alive. And remember to keep the good stuff.
Recommended read:
Mail Delays & Holiday Cards
