I really love Christmas cards-well, I guess I should say I really love all cards. Cards at Christmastime really are a tradition I enjoy in both receiving and sending! When photo cards first came on the scene (on the actual photo paper, yuck! Remember the Kodak Kiosk at Walgreens?) I was not a fan. Now, there are so many options to create beautiful cards using your photos that they also can become keepsakes.
At the end of each year when we’re putting away all of our Christmas decorations, I rubber band all the cards from that year that we received. It was a few years ago that it hit me-why don’t I save our family’s cards, too? Sure, I had leftovers (somewhere…), but why not make saving them be more intentional, so we could document our own family through each year?
So voilà. That is how my Christmas card keepsake ring became a tradition.
I started by gathering all the extra cards we had sent from over the years and promised to order extras going forward. I simply take one extra card each year and add it to a binder ring. It is so special to go back through each year when it’s time to add the new card on the ring!
I think what really makes this tradition so special is the write-up I do on our cards. When I’m creating our cards, I like to write a little summary of our year in review. This is a super short recap of what our family has been up to the last year. I always love reading others’ year in review on their cards. Yes, we have social media for updates for most of our family and friends, but there is something more meaningful when it is written out on a card, don’t you think? I also like to put our kids’ ages on the cards-it’s a nice touch for family and friends and helps them keep up with how quickly these children are growing!
As our family grew, I knew I wanted to have a ring of cards for each child. Last year, I separated everything out, and made each child their own ring of cards. This way when they leave the nest, they can take a ring of our family over the years with them.
Each ring has the same cards-yes, even ones from before they were born. I want my children to see how our family evolved and grew. For the kids’ rings, I also went through earlier this year and added copies of their birthday invitations on their individual rings-just so special! My mind quickly traveled back to those parties and all the memories from that year with them as I added the invitations. I hope their minds instantly take them back to relive memories, too one day when they’re all grown up…
To finish each one, I added wooden stars that already had holes in them on the ring like a charm, and cut vinyl for my kids’ initials. I then used scrap fabric to tie on the ring, too as a little something special!
This is such a sweet tradition that has a big impact each year when you add to it!
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