Cards for the Elderly-Part 1: Starting a Tradition

            Hey folks! I think the majority of us feel a little more giving and open-hearted this time of year, don't you? (Well, after the initial Black Friday non-sense, anyways. ;) ) I know lots of people have different service-type traditions that they and their families do this time of year. For some of us it can be hard, even if we want to help out in some way. Some people simply don't have the time to spare between kids, jobs, etc. Many don't have the money.

            Last year, we participated in a Family Volunteer Day. I left with several fun ideas that I could even do with the kids as far as projects go. However, they still cost money. (I would love to make tons of fleece blankets for retirement home residents or a women and children's shelter, but fleece is pricey!) So, it finally dawned on me that, “Hey! I should do something I enjoy and already have the materials for!” Which, in our case, is making Christmas cards! And thus was born (what I hope to be) a long time tradition for us.

            I learned a LOT from our experience making cards the first year.

*Start early! I think I started a little after Thanksgiving last year. This would probably be a reasonable time for most to start, but turned out to not be for me for a couple of reasons listed below.

*I had a pretty lofty goal of making 100...By myself! Sure, my 5 year old did help decorate them some, but 100 is a lot for one person.

*I perhaps got too elaborate with some. In other words, while they looked really neat, some were almost too time consuming to be worth the effort. With that high of a goal on top of that, I ended up getting burnt out for awhile and it was no longer fun.

            Needless to say, I am taking all of that into account and learning from it! So, this year I am...

*Starting much earlier! While I am posting this at the end of November, I've actually been working on cards already since the beginning of the month. (I'm writing this on 11/5.)

*While I would definitely like to reach 100 again, I'm not as worried about a specific number this year. But, I may not be worried about a number as much also because...

*I've enlisted more help! One of my Facebook friends who is still in the local moms group we used to go to saw my post asking if anyone would like to help us make cards. She is using it as an opportunity for her December service project with the group! Yay! Couldn't be more excited. :) I'm also hoping some gals who volunteered to help in our nature school group follow through too. I would love to have tons of cards to hand out!

*So far, I am not getting as elaborate with the designs on the front as I did last year. Perhaps if I have time near the end I will make some “fancier” ones.

            Next time, I will be sharing tips on what supplies to use, where to find cheap materials, and design ideas!