Our Christmas Rule

November 15, 2012

I don't think the girls would agree that it's our Christmas rule. They would say it's my Christmas rule and they're right. I'm the creator and enforcer and by typing "Christmas" in the title, I'm also the rule breaker. Our rule is that until the town holds their annual Christmas parade at the end of November we don't talk about Christmas. We don't sing Christmas songs, listen to Christmas music, watch Christmas movies or decorate until then. But once that day hits it seems to be nothing but Christmas. I like it that way. Christmas is a lot of fun but it's also a lot of work and it can be overwhelming at times. One solid month for one holiday is plenty of celebrating for me.

I have one exception to the rule. It's Christmas cards. If you take mailing time into account it's almost necessary to think about this one piece of the holiday a little bit early. This is the one time of year that the good mail showing up in mailboxes across the country far outweighs the bad and, for me at least, checking the mail becomes an obsession. We make the daily trek downtown to get the mail. We bring our treasures home, punch holes in the cards and add them to the card string. I know everyone has their own way of displaying Christmas cards. Ours is the card string and Christmas just wouldn't be the same without it.

Even more than getting cards, I love to be a contributer to the extra burden the postal workers have to bear. Every year I design a holiday card and send it out to family and friends. I print a few extra and the following year I put them up for sale. Last year I sent out the Sugar Plum Fairy cards and now I've just put them in the shop for this year's holiday season. I'm selling them as singles or in packs of five. I'll also be selling them on December 1 at the Lunenburg Holiday Artists' Market at the Lunenburg Cultural Centre. 

Last year I also decided that it would be great to send a holiday card to anyone who was interested in beefing up their mailbox in December. If you haven't signed up to get this year's holiday card yet, you have until November 30. You can still sign up after that, you'll just be on the list for next year's card.

May your mailboxes be stuffed this holiday season.