happy holidays are built in november

Read time: 4 minutes

seasons greetings,

can you believe the season of joy, gratitude, & merrymaking is here? again? already?

the older i get the more i realize that the holiday spirit is not about the winter weather, festive decorations, theme parties, sugary sweets, perfect gifts, or extravagant meals.

don’t get me wrong i love all these things, but they aren’t the real magic.

the holiday spirit is all about connecting on a personal level.

i believe with my whole heart that one of the best ways to carve out time for personal connection during this season is with handwritten holiday cards.

i know you’re probably thinking i’m biased because i own a stationery store, but this isn’t a sales pitch. i truly don’t care if you buy your cards from me.

i just want to help you connect & make merry this season.

note-worthy numbers

i’ve previously posted about what makes handwritten letters so note-worthy.

as refresher, here are the stats that prove it:

• digital notification overload: 253 notifications every day, 251 are digital, only 2 physical as mail (details below)

• letters last longer: life span of email is 17 seconds, but 61% of people keep cards for six months or more

• card collectors: the average american will save 17 cards over the course of their lives.

• social media can’t replace: 80% agree that handwritten letters can’t be replaced by social media.

• prefer the physical: 64% prefer handwritten letters over electronic communication.

10 reasons to write holiday letters

keeping these numbers in mind, let’s get clear on your why you should write handwritten letters. i think you get even more benefit from writing letters during the holidays than you do any other time of year, making it the best time of year to start or restart this new habit.

here are the top 10 reasons to get on writing

1. a handmade gift: a handwritten message is akin to a handmade gift — the epitome of thoughtfulness, especially compared to those generic amazon gift receipt messages.

2. cherished keepsakes: people don't hold on to text messages, but majority of cards are kept for 6 months or more!

3. affordable & unexpected joy: sending a card is cheap compared to many other gifts, plus a welcome joy amidst ads & bills.

4. that festive feeling: sending cards is a wholesome & mindful way to get yourself into the holiday spirit, even truer when listening to mariah.

5. a nostalgic digital detox: an opportunity to step away from your many screens & enjoy the tangible, nostalgic act of writing a letter by hand.

6. encouraging reflection: writing cards invites you to look back on the year & the people in it, appreciating the the little moments & growth.

7. science-backed happiness: practicing written gratitude is a proven to boost happiness according to positive psychology research.

8. strengthening bonds: 68% of people agree that handwritten letters show someone really cares, especially when compared to social media.

9. the underestimated impact: a study proved that random acts of kindness like handwritten letters boost the well being of others more than we expect. a kind card means more than you realize.

10. positive ripple effects: cards are known trigger that pay it forward feeling in recipients, allowing them to experience all these benefits too!

a card is like sending a warm hug, wrapping them in your gratitude & best wishes. and if you don’t like hugs, this is a way of getting out of giving hugs :)

5 best address collection tools

once you get clear on your why, i think the next most important thing is to get over the biggest logistic hurdle…

collecting addresses.

thankfully many tools exist to help with exactly this:

• most user friendly tool: postable’s free address book

  • you get a custom link to share with your friend & loved ones. they fill it out with the all information you request.

  • you can keep it online or export to a spreadsheet.

  • coolest feature is that you can collect other personal information too: their address, phone number, partner name, anniversary, birthday, kid’s names, & kid’s birthdays too!

• most integrated tool: minted’s free address book

  • with the the minted app you can easily collect addressed by manually typing, emailing, texting, importing form your phone, or scanning the return address of an envelope

  • coolest feature is that you get free recipient addressing on all orders so you don’t have to handwrite the addresses yourself. seems like a no brainer if you’re purchasing minted holiday photo cards.

    • which btw i came across a way for you to save 25% on your minted order. all you have to do use this link to sign up & you get a personal one-time code (no affiliation) offer expires Wednesday, November 22.

• most customizable tool: for the more tech savvy, you can make a fully custom form with google forms (free), jotform (100 free submissions), or typeform (10 free submissions).

i guarantee you that all these are easier than scavenging through your text message history and drastically reduce the odds that your letter goes to the wrong address.

10 ways to outsmart the holiday hustle

i’m looking out for all your merrymaking this season so i wanted to share 10 more ways to get a head start on the holidays before the festivity frenzy begins.

1. request time off from work, schedule the time before all the urgent end of year deadlines start to arrive & guilt you into working more

2. finalize & book your holiday travel

3. if you’re sending a photo card, schedule your holiday photo shoot asap

4. order your holiday cards, especially if you’re going custom

   • hint hint nudge nudge, shop merry makery

5. gather your holiday decorations

6. plan parties you want to host, extra urgent for friendsgiving

7. start listening for gift ideas for others, something look overused? did they lose something? are they really into something you own?

8. shop early for holiday gifts & get your list ready so that you can take advantage of those black friday & cyber monday deals!

9. make your wishlist of what you want or need, so you aren’t stumped when someone asks, avoid shopping for your self for the next month

10. make your own self-care plan, you won’t enjoy treating others if you’re cup is empty so make time each week to take care of you.

people always talk about how summer bodies are built in the winter, i propose a new version of this

happy holidays are built in november.

keep calm & merry on,

p.s. i had the best time designing a custom holiday card with line art of the DC skyline. i’d be honored to merry make your custom holiday cards too!