Hallmark, do you hear me knocking?

Second week of November, I've officially entered my holiday gauntlet. Thanksgiving is barely a blip on the radar as my sights are set on the Christmas holiday season, specifically Dec. 17, the date of the BF's and my annual holiday party.

Our party is the BF's and my gift to all of our friends. We invite upwards to 100 people, expecting about half of them to show, at least. Usually more than half do show and that's fine, making for a very crowded but fun time. It's a big to do for the BF and I, but it's nice to get ALL of our friends together. The intermixing of people from different aspects of our lives makes for interesting interactions. A good time is had by all.

Actual preparations for the party don't begin till the first week of December, including but not limited to the acquisition of mass amounts of alcohol and beer, purchasing of food stuff and ordering of prepared foods. None of that will happen until the holiday cards/invites are completed and sent out, the sole responsibility of which rests on my shoulders.

Sure, we could buy pre-made holiday cards/invites. Yawn. How boring! I'd taken it upon myself to make the cards and invites for our holiday party, from concept to finishing for that personal touch.

"You wrote that?!?" is a regular remark I hear from people receiving my card. It's complimentary to me and dismaying. Why are people so surprised?

The invite has to be done before the last week of November for snail mail. I could use evite, but again, I'm going for that tactile and personal connection with our friends. A physical card means that much more to them and to me.

It is a labor of love. Most times, I feel rushed, but it gets done. Sometimes, I just want to get it done and out in time. All the time, I don't feel completely satisfied with it. I am my own worst critic.

But it's that time again, time to screw on the thinking cap, bring out the heart of a poet and make something sweet, "but not too sweet, that'll make people sick."

With that, I leave you with the last few years' holiday cards.

2001

2002

2003

2004