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| Photo: Deluxe.com |
CHRISTMAS CARDS OF YESTERYEAR
With Christmas celebrated five days ago, I have to come clean: I am so over Shutterfly holiday cards.
I'm not saying I hate them. I just miss the sparkly cards with snowflakes and Christmas trees. The penned messages are meaningful and wintry scenes are pure magic to me. Where has the personal touch gone?
Shutterfly is an attractive answer for those who don't have time to shop for cards and write something inside them. Their slogan is: "Make Something That Means Something." Many people have bought this marketing. To me, the cards feel cold, impersonal, unoriginal and dare I say, self-centered. They are like a mini-photo album and except for the border, they have absolutely nothing Christmasy about them.
But I get it. Shutterfly makes it easy. Just pick a festive design, upload your favorite photos, customize text and colors to your liking, add premium finishes like foil if desired, and then preview and order your personalized cards.
The Shutterfly Christmas cards have been around for a while, the momentum is growing, and they make up about half of the cards we receive. But let's get real...these photos are so tiny, I can barely make out who is in each picture. (At least this is true of the cards we receive.)
"Get with the times," some would say. So, I could adjust my thinking and accept the trend.
But I'm stuck in the past.
It makes me sad to see the cherished tradition of sending wintry, sparkly cards slipping away. A new tradition has begun, and I'm not a fan. Call me old-fashioned. Nostalgic.
I realize choosing Shutterfly is a choice and I won't judge you for going this route. You do you. I am hopeful the old-time cards will return, but for now, the holiday greetings have changed and we've lost some of the magic of Christmas.
