My Holiday Card Project is not solely for the purpose of sending seasonal cheer to friends and family, but also an annual check in with literally everyone who matters. This annual card initiative allows me to connect with loved ones, keep on the radar of artistic and business
colleagues, and take stock of those folks who may no longer be serving the Collective. The Holiday Card List gets longer every year as I continue to meet and work with amazing people all over the world. A few names do get dropped as well; the best way to know if you pissed me off
during the year is to get cut from this list!
Of course, the Holiday Card Project implements a complex organizational system. The l Love Lucy address book that I have had for 30+ years is consulted like a religious ledger. All addresses are written in pencil, as people often move. I don’t erase addresses of loved ones who have passed away because I like to see them in there; it’s like a little visit. The only way to get erased from the book is to be kicked off The Holiday Card List. Then you’re actually dead to me. The addresses must be kept current, as nothing stings more after a month-long mailing initiative than a returned holiday card in January. (If this happens, I reach out for an updated address and send the card back along with a valentine for good measure). As I work through the address book, I keep a hand-written list of who was sent a card and, very importantly, what card they were sent. This is so that, God forbid, no one will receive the same style of card 2 years in a row. I have these lists going back almost 10 years, so there is never a worry of repetition.
Within The Holiday Card List, there is a clear hierarchy that dictates the quality of the art on the card one will receive. Friends, family, and colleagues are divided into tiers. The top tier consists of chosen and actual immediate family, and these folks are sent the newest and most clever artistic cards I can find. These are also mailed first. The second tier is for my favorite friends and colleagues; people I love dearly who live all over the world. It is also important to me that those on this tier receive a fun, pretty and/or funny/clever card, not only because I know it will bring them joy, but also because I want to be represented in their card displays as one of the hippest card senders. The third tier is for non-immediate family members and more casual professional colleagues who receive the left-over cards from last year. With leftover cards, it’s important to meticulously check the aforementioned handwritten lists to make sure no one receives the same card twice. The remaining fourth tier is for everyone who is left; acquaintances and colleagues that I haven’t seen in ages, but for whom I still have a fondness. If I have already taken care of the upper tiers and time permits, I like to send a hello to these folks using up what’s left of the cards.