Christmas Cards in July?

I received two Christmas cards in July one year.

The first one surprised me and made me laugh.

My Texas friend made a point. “I forgot, so I thought I’d send Christmas cards in July this year.”

Perfect.

I settled down to read her Christmas letter at my leisure. No Christmas presents to write, no cards of my own to write.

Nothing was pressuring me except the need for a glass of iced tea on the porch.

I brought all the other mail and magazines with me to read. After I savored Wild Girl’s family news, I sighed with satisfaction.

Running my finger down her letter’s prayer points, I prayed for her daughters.

I’m so glad she sent the card and letter six months later than I expected.

Then another one?

The next envelope, from a friend in Maryland, truly surprised me.

A Christmas card fell out, followed by a letter on Santa Claus paper.

And she began her letter this way:

“Oh, that I could write like Michelle Ule–who even makes doing laundry sound exciting!”

What?

She, too, apologized for sending her Christmas cards in July, but she’d moved.

“It took me a while to unearth the Christmas card list,” she said.

A notoriously busy woman, I didn’t mind getting her card later, either.

Again, I had a chance to pray for her and her busy family.

It made me laugh, though, that she had such confidence in my writing skills.

If you send Christmas cards that are not Jesus-nativity-related, it doesn’t really matter when you send your missives.

Below is composer Claude Debussy’s Christmas card. It would have worked just fine without the holiday greetings.

Why not send Christmas cards in July?

It’s such a whimsical idea, isn’t it?

Who says we have to mail greetings in December?

Other friends have taken the pressure off the holidays by sending their annual missive at Thanksgiving. “We’re thankful for you, so we thought we’d tell you.”

Another friend likes to write her letter for Valentine’s Day, “because we love you and are thinking of you.”

Any time of year would work, though, since the purpose is to touch base with a letter.

You can still include the important information, particularly as outlined in this post.

And, of course, by sending the family newsletter during the summer, you might even get some visitors!