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Get Ready for the Holidays with Basic Invite

Modified: Aug 17, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

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Is it already that time of year again? How can that be?

Here we are pulling together last minute Halloween costumes, and I'm busy thinking about Christmas cards, ornaments, and winter decor. It seems like the end of October cascades headlong into the holiday season, and I'm never ready. But this year, I'm getting ahead of the rush!It's not too early to start getting ready for holiday festivities!

Let's just be honest, this proactive turn of events is not because I'm so organized. It's only because

Do you really still write Christmas Cards?

I am one of the last holdouts when it comes to writing actual Christmas cards. I generally write a short history of our year, and include a couple of pictures, so family members can watch the kids growing up. I know people don't do that so much anymore, with streaming real-time status updates on Facebook, and the pictorial history of Instagram. But I think it's nice to get something other than bills in the mail, so I still send out a few cards every year.

To continue the theme of honesty I've got going here, I have to admit I don't usually write my letters until after the Christmas rush, so they end up being New Year's letters, and occasionally even Valentine's letters. "Better late than never" is my life motto.

But this year I'm determined to get ahead of the game, and Basic Invite is making it easy for me with their 

One of my favorite things about Basic Invite is their samples. For a very small fee, you can order a printed sample of any of their products, before you purchase a whole order. I checked out several, just to see the quality, and was so impressed. Just look at the cool shimmery paper option of these Shimmer Paper for Holiday Invitations

I think if I were ordering wedding invites or invitations for a very formal event, it would set my mind at ease to be able to look at and hold an actual version of what I'd be sending my guests.

Back to my Christmas cards, I am loving this version of the Christmas letter idea:

If I can get my act together and write my letter before I have to order the cards, this is what I think I'll do this year.

Organizing your Christmas Cards

Can I share a little organizing secret with you? I've been writing family Christmas letters since our engagement, so I have 17 of these little pieces of our story. A few years ago, I decided to officially use these letters as our own personal family history. I'm not great at keeping a journal, or even keeping track of my kids' milestones. (My 10 year-old's baby book still isn't finished.) So these letters are all I've got, unless I get magically inspired to finish about a half dozen scrapbooks that I've started over the years.

I picked up a simple 3 ring binder and a package of page pockets, the inserts that are just a big sleeve the size of a piece of copy paper. Every year when I send out cards, I keep a card and letter for myself and slide it into the next pocket. Now we have a book of us. It's not fancy, but my kids love to look back over the old letters and cards to see pictures of themselves and read about what happened that year. This basic binder has become one of those parts of our family that tells our story and helps us know who we are. So I'll keep writing my letters, if for no other reason than to keep from missing a page in our book!

Thinking ahead to the Holidays

I hope I've given you some ideas of how to get ready for this holiday season. Next time, I've got a fun Christmas craft that I'm working on. (It's currently in the failure stage of experimentation, so I'm hoping I'll figure it out sometime before Christmas!)

Now, get to work on your holiday cards and party invitations, and I'm hoping I'll be on your list of recipients for both!

Happy early holidays, and don't panic, it'll all get done. Or it won't and that'll be OK too!

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. Johanna says

    October 24, 2017 at 10:18 am

    I've just started thinking about getting something ordered for us this year too! And I love the idea of a binder to keep samples from the past - I have mine in a folder in my computer, but touchable things would be much more fun! 😀

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      October 25, 2017 at 9:18 am

      I agree, there's just something special about touchable memories!

      Reply
  2. Susan Cooper says

    October 26, 2017 at 7:28 am

    As much as I try I never seem to get around to sending Christmas cards. I’ll be taking a look at this idea. Who knows, I may actually surprise myself, and everyone else for that matter. ?

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      November 16, 2017 at 5:29 pm

      What a fun surprise that would be! 😉

      Reply
  3. Jeri Walker (@JeriWB) says

    October 27, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    This will be the first year in ages that I've not written a Christmas letter and sent cards. With the weekly posts I've been doing, a letter and its graphics is too time consuming. Plus, I've decided to put more effort into business communications and the like. I remember when I used to get around 25 cards, and now it's like two or three. The digital age has certainly changed that habit for a lot of people.

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      November 16, 2017 at 5:30 pm

      Yes it has! We only get a few cards each year too, but I'm too stubborn to give up yet. And you get a free pass, after all the writing you've done this year!

      Reply

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Welcome!

I'm Meredith, the designer, crafter, and DIY-er behind The Palette Muse. I love all things colorful and creative, and I love sharing them with you. Thanks for visiting today!

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