I try to send out Christmas cards each year. It's a way to say "Hey there, I haven't seen you in a while, but I haven't forgotten about you."
Incidentally, anyone who sends out Christmas cards knows that the number received is directly proportional to the number sent. So some people must feel an obligation to reciprocate.
But you know you've created some distance between yourself and that friend or relative when you receive one on which every word on the envelope and the card came off a printer. Those are the Christmas cards that have the sender's name pre-printed below the greeting. Everything is pre-printed. One would almost expect to see "Untouched by human hands" on the back.
The message those cards deliver is something like this: "I care enough to spend the extra money on a pre-printed card but not enough to, you know, make it personal by actually writing something on it or signing it." Or maybe it means that they sent out so many of them that they don't have time to write a personal note on it. Now that should make a person feel important.
So for anyone who is trying to compose a greeting on one of those impersonal cards here's a suggestion for the text:
My Dearest Friend/Relative/Acquaintance,
I sincerely hope that you and your spouse or significant other, or just you if you live alone, have a very Merry Christmas (or whichever holiday you might celebrate around this time of year).
And you can be sure that I have always and will always treasure our relationship/friendship/acquaintance. I mean that with the utmost sincerity.
/printed name/
(Untouched by human hands.)
Just trying to be helpful.
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