It's been a aaaaages since I sent out physical cards for Christmas. I can't even remember when the last time was, it's been that long. It's been even longer since I purchased actual Christmas cards from the shops. The last physical cards I sent out, I created by myself on Canva, or in Pages, or something like that.
These days I usually send out digital cards. Depending on the recipient of the cards, the subject matter varies from a photo of myself in a Christmassy situation, :), to some inanimate festive object.
By far the most popular subject in my digital cards is this fella here, who's an ornament on my Christmas tree. He's not the only one though. There are quite a few of them with subtle differences. There's even one with a little "Adé" name tag on him.
I obviously didn't make these, I'm nowhere near as creative. Someone else much, much more crafty did. They just look so cool hanging on the tree every winter along side the other stuff.
They also make epic photographic little models and have featured in so many of my Instagram posts over the years as well as video backdrops.
They're made of fluffy recycled/biodegradable material, and they're eternally reusable - being so cute and all.
Question: Which is better for the environment?
🌲Real "trees" (which are really branches), which are biodegradable but non-reusable or
🎄fake trees which are re-usable but non-biodegradable?
I've seen some super conscious people that have a live (planted) tree in their garden and decorate that instead. That's probably the best option of all, but most people (in London anyway) don't have that kind of outdoor space.
I think winter is a pretty dire time for trees anyway. Evergreens had evolved to not wither in winter, but hence shot themselves in the foot. Humanity seeing this, formed a reason to chop them down because they don't shed their leaves.
Impersonal?
One thing I've noticed about digital cards that I receive is how impersonal they seem, especially those auto-generated online ones. You know they ones - you type in a name and sometimes a message, and an email address. The recipient get's an email with a url link and some adverts. They click the link, they get asked to "upgrade Java", and eventually get shown the card with more ads. It just doesn't seem as thoughtful and personal as getting something through the post - which is physically unique to you.
Is it that different though? Most physical cards purchased are mass produced, many carrying generic messages that most people don't bother to add to except for "Dear xx, Love xx".
I think taking the time to photograph something, and then designing your own card in Canva or Photoshop can be even more personal than sending a physical card. Using personal photographs of loved ones, or shared memories with them, while making them a card can make it even more so.
Do you still get physical cards through the post?
Peace and Love ✌🏿
Adé
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