I opened my first Christmas card today (Thank you, Julie!) and taped it to my laundry room door– the traditional location for displaying holiday cards in the Juettner home. (I usually leave them up until June.) This year, we sent Halloween cards instead, so I won’t be sitting in front of The Muppet Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life, writing notes and addressing envelopes. I did that in October while watching Scream and Happy Death Day. But I still love snail mail– will forever love snail mail– and can’t wait for my laundry room door to fill up with cheerful greetings and friendly faces. And even though I said I wouldn’t, I’ll probably send out a FEW holiday postcards this month. How can I resist?
In honor of Christmas traditions and snail mail, I’m re-sharing this post from five years ago about how my dad used to respond to Santa letters when he worked at the post office. I hope you enjoy re-reading it. I did.
These days kids can email Santa.
That makes sense, I guess. After all, handwritten letters have mostly gone the way of the passenger pigeon. But, while I certainly appreciate the convenience of modern forms of communication, I still really love “snail mail.” That’s one of the reasons why I cherish the holidays. It’s the only time of year when my mailbox is stuffed with more than bills and ads and the occasional postcard.
I know some say it’s a waste of paper and for many people sending a large stack of holiday cards is just too expensive. I also understand how silly it seems these days to send mail to someone who lives ten miles from you, someone who you’ll see at least three times on Facebook and maybe even in real life before the letter arrives. I don’t care. I love mail. I love hand-addressed envelopes and stamps and…
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Carie Juettner 