Advent Calendar, Christmas Cards

GeneaBloggers has a Advent Calendar event this year, 24 days of family history related subjects to challenge the researcher. The prompt/challenge for December 4th is:

Did your family send cards? Did your family display the ones they received? Do you still send Christmas cards? Do you have any cards from your ancestors?

Ok, caught me, I am one of those annoying friends that sends annual Christmas letters. I started this annual ritual when Man and I lived in Morocco in the early 1970's during his Naval days. I wanted to share our lives and news with so many friends and family, that I cooked up this idea to write one letter and duplicate it.

I have been writing them ever since, they have progressed from simple typed letters to letters with cutsie (well, I thought they were cute) graphics to letters with photos of family and yorkies (but of course).

Above, one of the early graphics.

The last few years I have taken to publishing these Christmas greetings in a PDF format and forwarding it via email. The first couple of years I tried this I expressed to friends and family the belief that it was not the format of delivery of our Christmas message and blessings that mattered, but the thought. If any were aggravated by my choice of delivery, they did not say so.

I have copies of most of my letters from 1984 to 2008. They are scanned and linked to my family history data base. Man tells me his mother has copies of every one I ever sent.

One thing about maintaining copies, your family events are duly recorded. Re-reading them is a great deal of fun. Much like reviewing old family photos.

Yes, there are still regular Christmas cards mailed out, many stuffed with the annual Christmas letter.

*Graphics are all from past Christmas letters, and were usually obtained from clip art software programs, long ago retired, source information long lost.

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