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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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Speaker 1: tip is to enjoy your holiday cards more. Don't just

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Speaker 1: let the cards you receive pile up in a stack. Instead,

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Speaker 1: approach them mindfully so you can maximize the sense of

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Speaker 1: connection that is so important this time of year. I

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Speaker 1: think most of us do love getting holiday cards, at

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Speaker 1: least in theory. Unfortunately, amid the business of the season,

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Speaker 1: it can be easy to open a card, take a

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Speaker 1: quick glance, and then toss the card in the stack

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Speaker 1: of mail to be dealt with later. The pile grows

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Speaker 1: bigger until you either recycle it or let it fester

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Speaker 1: there well into the new year. Far better to come

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Speaker 1: up with a better process. One idea separate opening holiday

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Speaker 1: cards from processing the rest of the mail. One option

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Speaker 1: is to put cards by the place where you have

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Speaker 1: your morning coffee so you can open them then, or

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Speaker 1: set them on the kitchen table so the whole family

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Speaker 1: can see them together at dinner time. The idea is

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Speaker 1: to come up with a time when you can actually

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Speaker 1: focus on the cards themselves. Then, when it is that time,

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Speaker 1: really look at the photos, read any handwritten messages, which,

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Speaker 1: by the way, you should always include in any cards

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Speaker 1: you are sending. It really doesn't take much more time.

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Speaker 1: Take a minute to reflect on the people sending the card.

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Speaker 1: If you are opening the card with family members, you

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Speaker 1: can talk about your memories of the people who sent

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Speaker 1: the card and tell stories to younger family members who

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Speaker 1: might not know these people so well. Then figure out

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Speaker 1: a way to display the cards. There are lots of

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Speaker 1: great ideas floating around on the internet for doing this.

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Speaker 1: Some people use clothes pens to clip them to a

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Speaker 1: garland or to a ribbon strung around a door or

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Speaker 1: across a mantle. Some people make a holiday card wall,

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Speaker 1: either on a bulletin board or somewhere else like a

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Speaker 1: closet door where you pass by frequently but don't have

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Speaker 1: some sort of art that is already taking up space.

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Speaker 1: Looking at this wall and the smiling faces of your

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Speaker 1: loved ones can become a favorite part of your day.

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Speaker 1: But even if you are not going to do that,

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Speaker 1: you might create a particular basket or bowl for the

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Speaker 1: cards so they don't just wind up wadded in among

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Speaker 1: the bills and catalogs where you have to sort through

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Speaker 1: them again as you deal with those. In any case,

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Speaker 1: it is good to be reminded of all the people

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Speaker 1: in our lives and all the people we care about

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Speaker 1: and who care about us. Over the past two years,

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Speaker 1: we've probably seen a lot less of these people in person.

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Speaker 1: Holiday cards are a way to stay connected to folks

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Speaker 1: that we don't see that often, so they are worth

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Speaker 1: treating with a bit more care and enjoying them a

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Speaker 1: bit more. Then say that. Add for your local pest

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Speaker 1: control place that also came in the mail. In the meantime,

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Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to

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Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's B the number

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Speaker 1: four then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot

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Speaker 1: me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com.

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Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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