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<\/a>Last week, as I was playing golf and talking (mostly talking) I mentioned that I might not send out Christmas cards <\/strong>this year. My partners shook their heads and told me they stopped sending holiday greetings years ago.\u00a0 I guess I’m just late to the party – again.\u00a0 But as I thought about the annual tradition of keeping up with old friends, it dawned on me that I do that all year long.\u00a0 Social media and email have completely changed<\/strong> how we keep track of and communicate with each other.\u00a0 Now, through the miracle of Facebook, I can tell you that my friend down in Atlanta had scrambled eggs for breakfast because she posted a photo of it.\u00a0 \u00a0I regularly email with friends throughout the year, so I know of every birth, death, marriage, divorce and trip to the mall. \u00a0So, I don\u2019t really need to get a Christmas card or worse yet, a Christmas letter, to know what my friends have been up to.\u00a0 I know what my friends are doing right down to their scrambled eggs.<\/p>\nI have to say, I do like to see photos of people\u2019s kids, grandkids and dogs<\/strong>.\u00a0 Especially if they are related to me.\u00a0 Those I treasure and file in a collection in my “family files”.\u00a0 But while I won’t be sending out cards this year, I reserve the right to change my mind and resume sending them next year.\u00a0 Especially if I win the Nobel prize or discover the cure for cancer.<\/p>\n One tradition I will always maintain is providing you with Pop’s Christmas Ice Cream Fizz<\/strong> recipe.\u00a0 I hope you enjoy it as much as our family has over the years.\u00a0 There is nothing like a little gin to make the holidays just the slightest bit more fun!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0A jolly man indeed<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n POP\u2019S CHRISTMAS ICE CREAM FIZZ<\/strong><\/p>\n Fill a blender 1\/4 full of ice cubes<\/p>\n Add 6 jiggers of gin<\/p>\n Add 4 scoops of French Vanilla ice cream<\/p>\n Add 1 small bottle of soda water (the size you get in a 6-pack)<\/p>\n My brother Bob adds an egg, so the white adds some froth, brother Jack doesn\u2019t add an egg. \u00a0Personally, I\u2019d add it just because you can then claim it\u2019s a protein drink.<\/p>\n Just blend it well and \u2013\u00a0voila \u2013\u00a0<\/em>you have a concoction sure to put a positive spin on everyone and everything!<\/p>\n Our mom served them in a wine glass with a dash of nutmeg. \u00a0As we got older, we would conspire with Pop and ditch the wine glass for a chilled beer mug from the freezer. Saved having to go back for seconds\u2026or thirds.<\/p>\n Happy Holidays!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Last week, as I was playing golf and talking (mostly talking) I mentioned that I might not send out Christmas cards this year. My partners shook their heads and told me they stopped sending holiday greetings … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/labels-300x300.jpg\")
<\/a>I have some general observations about holiday cards, and I admit, I’ve been guilty of doing some of the very things I dislike about the custom.\u00a0 I see Christmas cards as falling into four major categories.\u00a0 First are the corporate cards.\u00a0 You know, the ones from the banker or insurance agent<\/strong>.\u00a0 The first card we received this year was from our estate attorney.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know whether he\u2019s sending genuine greetings or he\u2019s waiting for his card to be returned so he can start filing paperwork.\u00a0 The second category are from distant friends \u2013 people that we haven’t seen or spoken with in years, but somehow the need arises to wish each other the very best for the holiday season<\/strong>. \u00a0Mostly they are old neighbors or workmates I couldn\u2019t pick out in a crowd.\u00a0 Am I morally obligated to continue this exchange of well-wishes?\u00a0 In the past few years there has been a trend toward having their cards printed with their signatures printed on the inside, with a return address sticker on the outside.\u00a0 Our name and address are printed on an address label and stuck on the envelope. It has all the warmth and personal touch of our utility bill<\/strong>. I admit that I have done this on some cards in the past few years, which is what started me questioning why I’m sending a card at all. The third group are the true friends \u2013 the ones we see or keep in touch with all year long. \u00a0Heck, some of them are golf partners or good friends with whom we socialize every week. \u00a0We will be wishing holiday greetings in person, some of them several times<\/strong>.\u00a0 Do we really need to send cards too?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Christmas-Letter-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a>The last category is the Christmas letter.\u00a0 Some of them are really well done. \u00a0Some. \u00a0But most seem to have turned the holiday tradition of wishing others well into one giant \u201clet\u2019s talk about me\u201d<\/strong> exercise. In general, the problem is that people just don\u2019t know where to stop.\u00a0 Johnny got into Harvard?\u00a0 Great.\u00a0 Snookie was elected president of her third-grade class?\u00a0 Good for her!\u00a0 But too often it goes into such minutia that it borders on the ridiculous.\u00a0 My parents used to receive one that was so full of trivia and self-aggrandizement that we couldn’t wait until we were all gathered on Christmas Eve so that one of us kids (by this time adults and full of \u201ccheer\u201d) could read it in dramatic fashion, everyone breaking into gales of laughter.\u00a0 There is nothing like reading bowling scores<\/strong> to bring out the holiday spirit.\u00a0 Each year my husband and I receive a Christmas letter from one of his former co-workers that always includes a litany of the various trips taken, a review of golf handicaps (they always go down, of course), and an update on the career achievements of their four adult children (and spouses!).\u00a0 Last year they even included the employee count and various office locations of their son’s latest employer.\u00a0 Seriously. Do they take a moment as they’re writing this to consider whether anyone<\/em> cares about the headcount in Poughkeepsie? I’m more prone to wonder why the son keeps changing jobs.\u00a0 I think there’s a story there.<\/p>\n![\"christmas-ornament\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Christmas-ornament-300x227.jpg\")
<\/a>Perhaps the best take on Christmas cards was from a friend of our parents back in the 60\u2019s.\u00a0 They kept every card they received the previous year.\u00a0 Then they re-addressed it to the sender<\/strong> inserting a note that read \u201cWe liked your Christmas card so much last year that we have decided to give you the pleasure of seeing it again this year.\u00a0 So, we\u2019re sending it back to you.\u201d\u00a0 Now\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>is clever.\u00a0 And it beats using old cards to make ornaments.\u00a0 As for all the Christmas letters?\u00a0 They could be shredded into bird cage liner<\/strong> and the circle would be closed.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pop-234x300.jpg\")
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