And they're off!

It must be the journalist in me who still believes in the magic of snail mail. While the net provides a faster and surer way of sending greetings across countries, I think that there's magic when you receive a real card with someone's real handwriting on it. You can almost feel the emotion that went into each word in the letter, and the effort of going out of your way to mail it. That's why I always get giddy when I send and receive cards and letters. As Claire said, "getting a letter is much better than getting leaflets and bills in your mailbox."

You got that right, Claire!

Plus, it's always fun to shop for Christmas cards. This year, I got my cards at Marks and Sparks since they've got a wonderful selection. I bought a box of handcrafted, die cut and crystal embedded cards. They're awe-inspiring, but a bit tricky to write on and mail. Then there's another one which had silver stamping and the happiest illustrations I've seen in a while. This box only set me back by $90 for 30 cards, which is an uber great deal!

After spending the weekend writing to each and every relative I can remember, I went to the Post Office this morning to send out my 2nd batch of Christmas cards. After mailing letters and packages for more than a year, I've been able to gauge how fast things get to their destination. Mail from around Asia get there the fastest, while the ones that go to Europe can take more than a week. Last Saturday, I sent my cards going to Amsterdam, and today I sent the ones going to the U.S. and Spain.

Another reason why I love sending Christmas cards to the U.S. is that they have this habit of displaying all the cards they receive on top of the ledge over the chimney. It's always nice to see this cacophony of greetings from all over the world, all gathered in one place. It's a testament to how much love goes inside every home during the holidays. And love is what Christmas is all about.

Despite the proliferation of the internet and email, I hope that my relatives in the US don't forego or forget this tradition. Because as long as keep putting cards on their chimney ledge, i'll keep on sending them.