Christmas Cards you WON’T forget!

Today is the 1st December – the first day of advent, the first day on which I am allowed to start nagging my other half to get the decorations out the loft, and the point at which I start to feel incredibly festive. As such, the first of December is a perfectly acceptable time to start planning my Christmas cards.

Christmas cards have always been a massive part of my Christmas memories. I have fond recollections from my childhood of my Mother sitting at the dining room table with her list, a very long list at that, of friends and family to whom she would lovingly hand write a card, before asking either my sister or I to help pop the stamps on or lick the envelopes – a job which I weirdly used to love despite the horrible taste the envelopes left behind. Some cards were kept to a basic greeting, but in others, particularly when we were younger, she would include a hand written message and family update, and perhaps an embarrassing photograph or two.

Now as an adult myself, I don’t send as many cards as I should. Partly because of cost, but partly becacuse for me, it’s the special cards that count. A standard off the shelf card with no real link to me or no personal message just doesn’t do it for me anymore. Despite the sentiment being there, and the wishes being good, it inevitably ends up in the recycling…. unless it’s special. What do I mean by special? For me a special card is one that you can tell the sender has taken time to select. A card that I would want to hold on to. A card that reflects my personality so perfectly it immediately raises a smile on opening. A card that I would add to a memory box, pin on a notice board or pop up on the fridge to make me giggle when I am feeling glum. A card that I wont want to throw away.

Knowing that these are the kind of cards I love to receive, I have made a pact that these are also the kind of cards that I will send. If they don’t stand out from the crowd, and wouldn’t pass the pretty ruthless cull test, then I shouldn’t send them at all.

I have followed Love Layla on Facebook for some time now and their cards most DEFINITELY fit the bill of cards that I wouldn’t want to throw away. They really stand out from the crowd. It goes without saying there are some naughty words involved, so not ones to view at work. Here are some of the classics I have opted for this year that are a little less naughty – in other words, the ones that are safe to share on a parenting blog (the other’s you will have to trust me on are pretty hilarious!) ….

For the other half…

Not wanting to be sexist, but I am sure there are many females who can relate to this. If your other half is as hopeless as mine, you inevitably end up buying not only a long list for your immediate family, but also a long list for his family as well. I then watch in amusement as he looks almost as surprised as his Mum does when she opens her present on Christmas morning, followed by the nonchalant look he tries to pull of when he remembers he’s supposed to already know what it is. I normally get a cheeky wink or thumbs up when his Mum reaches in for a thank you hug. A wife’s work is never done!

For my sister…

Elf on the shelf…. You either love it or hate it. Helen did elf on the shelf last year and by day 10 was cursing the day she started. She would get in to bed most nights after a long day at work, only to suddenly have a moment of realisation at 11pm that she hadn’t moved ‘that bloody elf’. So this year, here are my words of advice!!!

For my Father in law aka Father Christmas…

It’s no secret in this family (other than to the children of course), that my Father in Law IS Father Christmas. Each year we have a bit of a inner turmoil about whether to still take the children or whether Erin will twig who he is and that it will ruin Christmas forever, but each time, she is so completely and utterly star struck that I don’t think she would recognise him even without the beard!! This is a cheeky praise to the beard…. an inside joke if you will.

To my auntie Margaret…

One that is sure to raise a smile is this classic broccoli number! Some of my childhood Christmas memories include getting the whoopee cushions out around the dinner table and laughing hysterically when we snuck one on Nanny’s chair when she wasn’t looking. As she was elderly and her hearing was pretty much non existent, the poor thing didn’t always know what we were laughing at! As a family we find farts FAR more amusing than we probably should – Margaret would often try and pretend a real one was the whoopee, and if we didn’t buy that, then the poor old sprouts got blamed for everything!

For the Best Friend…

Finally, for my best friend – she lives on the other side of the planet but we are still as close as ever. She is coming home this Christmas and I am already almost pee’ing my pants at the prospect of spending a few days with her over the festive period! We say the same thing every single year. Christmas is NOT a time to focus on the diet. Christmas is the time for donning the Joey Thanksgiving pants, and for embracing the heat benefits of carrying that extra bit of additional weight. As an adult we can’t count on getting much under our Christmas Tree in terms of gifts, but we can guarantee that the one thing we WILL get for Christmas is fat. Pretty much a no brainer. 🙂

This year this card is more true than ever, as she is currently expecting her first child! 😀 😀 😀

It’s what’s on the OUTSIDE that counts…

This year, Love Layla have extended their range to include Wall Calendars and this AH-MAY-ZING wrapping paper. Mike’s presents are definitely going to be wrapped in this. Thank god Erin’s phonics skills aren’t quite up to scratch yet!….. on second thoughts… maybe I’ll save him opening that one until the children are in bed. I’m not sure I can cope with her spelling out W-A-N….. 🙂

So there you have it, not a boring card in sight! If this year you want Christmas cards and paper that stand out from the rest then don’t forget to check out Love Layla, – there really is the perfect card for everyone. There are loads of promotions on the site, including Free wrap or calendar with any three individual cards, or any 5 cards for £12.50.

Happy Birthday Jesus.

*This is a collaborative post*