Who the hell's got time for a family Christmas card any more?

White shirts. Jeans. Santa hats. The beach.

I bet you have taken a picture like that before, yes? Have you got one hanging on your wall?

If the answer is yes, them there’s someone you need  to meet. Mandy Nolan is judging you, because she thinks that the standard family Christmas card shoot is lazy. Not quite as lazy as the card she refers to as “I remembered your address and I bought a stamp card” – the one that you got at the post office and only scribbled your names in. But pretty lazy all the same.

Because Mandy does this every Christmas:

You get the idea.

No plain charity cards. No white shirts. No paper hats. Full-on costume-party drama.

That stuff takes effort. That stuff takes planning. That stuff takes coercion.

Listen to Mandy talk about it on Mamamia’s podcast for parents, This Glorious Mess:

For most of us, even sending ordinary Christmas cards seems like an overwhelming act. Getting people’s ADDRESSES? Hand-writing an update of what everyone in the family is up to? Striking the right balance between smug and humblebrag?

“Well, this year little Tarquin started walking at six months, while Persephone’s fluent French is really setting her apart at kindy. Unfortunately, Adam got a demotion at the office and he’s now only directly responsible for a all of the Asia-Pacific region, while the commitment of me retraining as a Lifestyle Consultant has really taken a toll on ‘us time’.”

Personally, I feel inspired by Mandy’s commitment to livening up the fridges of Australia, but the inspiration is competing with the sense of being entirely overwhelmed by the season’s endless to-do list.

In the 20 days left before Christmas, I have so many presents to buy, Christmas concerts to attend, costumes to make, stockings to fill, pieces of finger-food to prepare, menus to plan and so much actual Work to do, that the thought of trying to coral my unruly brood into outfits and then take, print and create cards might just push me into a weeping heap in the corner.

But then, I am a weak, weak woman.

Do you send Christmas cards?

Also on This Glorious Mess this week: Santa’s on Skype, should you wear swimmers in the bath in case the kids walk in, and just why our podcast studio was splattered with blood. 

The full episode this week is here:

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