Sending Christmas Cards

Christmas cards! I love sending them and I love getting them! I have a ritual of preparing my space and creating the ambiance I like for getting in the flow of performing this annual tradition.

First, I set the mood with a holiday scented candle (Cranberry Chutney by Yankee Candle) and some holiday music (music from 'Rudolph').

Next, I select my pens, ink, paper, stamps and set them up in my writing area. In this case, I spread out my wares on the kitchen table. To help get me in the mood, I also included a photo of my husband as Santa Claus when he was guest of honor at a local holiday event last year (2009).

I've got my Christmas card list and I start at the top and work my way down. We send out about 100 cards and I like to have an assortment of different cards as I like having a small variety to send. One year, I made my own cards which was fun and creative, but that is definitely something that needs to be completed before the beginning of the holiday season.

While I don't include a letter in each one, I do include a personal note in all of the cards.

To help make the writing process more fun, this year I ordered two bottles of Christmas scented ink from Art Brown: The International Pen Shop. Both inks are from DeAtramentis. The green ink is pine scented and comes in the bottle on the right with the beautiful blue Christmas label. The coffee scented brown ink, in the gorgeous monochrome brown label on the left, has a slightly stronger scent.

I used the Lamy Studio (near the bottles) for the green ink and the Levenger True Writer for the coffee scented brown ink, which had the smoother flow.

Now they are all done and ready to mail! I have included these photos and a few more at flickr if you care to check them out.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Hanukkah! Peace & Goodwill to All.