'Christmas Cards - Spread the Word!'

So? What do you think? I designed my own Christmas card for close friends and family this year and this is the front of it. I took this picture on holiday in Kufstein (Austria) in 2007 after taking a full Santa outfit with me in my case to surprise my fellow travellers with on Christmas Day. The holiday itself wasn't very good but my fooling about in this Santa suit went down well and was hilarious as even the hotel staff had no idea who I was? They were all looking at each other trying to work out if they should chuck me out or not? I went over to the D.J. in the hotel, asked for the microphone and proceeded to talk to everyone in English HA HA! I LOVE to do crazy things at Christmas because its the one time of the year you can feel free to act a bit daft and get away with it. Life isn't much fun 99% of the time so you have to take things into your own hands and make it so every now and then...

Talking of taking things into your own hands...

I have decided to start a campaign this year to try and rejuvenate the Christmas spirit in my area. Walking about Hollington and the local area I have been very disappointed this year with the amount of festive decorations, lights and Christmas trees visible in peoples homes! Energy costs may have something to do with a reduction in Christmas lights but the vast majority of homes don't even seem to have a bauble or strand of tinsel in sight either! This is NOT good and so I have come up with a plan to try and get people talking about the good side of Christmas again. I have quite a few Christmas cards spare this year and so I thought it might be a nice idea to write 'Thank you' cards to pop in the letterboxes of those who HAVE made a real effort to spread some festive cheer about the place by doing up their homes or decorating their windows and leaving a gap in the curtain where a beautifully decorated Christmas tree can be seen. I love it when people show their love of Christmas and always enjoy reading the 'Merry Christmas' banners that can be seen in front gardens, as posters or as a flashing light display on the front of a house.

 The idea of putting 'thank you' cards in people's letterboxes is really just to let those who have the Christmas spirit and who are doing their bit to spread it around that SOMEONE has noticed and enjoyed their efforts. Life for many could be so much different if they just had a bit more encouragement and/or praise in their lives. 'Working for the man' can get gutty but if your boss comes up to you and says 'Well done - you've done a great job there' once in a while it makes it all seem worthwhile again. Bosses seem to think that work is all about money but it isn't - a little praise can make a worker just as happy sometimes as a bonus in his or her wage packet.

  Obviously, great bosses often do BOTH but sadly, there aren't many Henry Ford's about anymore (Ford's competitors used to ask him why he paid his staff so much in comparison to them? Fords reply was that he wanted all of his employees to be paid enough to buy one of his cars! I have a lot of time for Mr. Henry Ford..)

I 'delivered' twelve of my thank you cards today whilst out and about and it will be interesting to see if I get any replies or anything comes up about my actions online or in the press. I deliberately omitted my telephone number and e mail addresses when writing the cards only giving my name and address on the back of the envelope instead. The idea of that being a) to reassure people that my cards have no sinister meaning and b) so that anyone who wants to reply has to make a traditional effort to do so by writing to me or visiting my house! I think Santa would be in favour of my little campaign - don't you? xx

P.S.) I used Vistaprint to print up my Christmas card. They are very good and I heartily recommend them.