Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to send cards now? Why wait till Christmas?
Speaker 1: In this time of social distancing, we're not able to
Speaker 1: interact in person as we usually are, so plenty of
Speaker 1: families and friends have found new ways of connecting. My
Speaker 1: brothers and their families and my parents and I, for instance,
Speaker 1: to a giant zoom call from time to time. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to add one more mode of connection to
Speaker 1: the mix. Holiday cards. Well, more like not holiday cards,
Speaker 1: as the case may be, but with the same sentiment
Speaker 1: in mind. Lots of people send holiday cards to family
Speaker 1: and friends every December. This is a great way to
Speaker 1: maintain relationships, especially with people we don't get to see
Speaker 1: all the time. I love photos of far flung friends
Speaker 1: and relations doubt in holiday gear. But December is a
Speaker 1: long way away, so why not reach out to the
Speaker 1: people you love now. If you send holiday cards, you
Speaker 1: probably have a spreadsheet or address book with all the
Speaker 1: recipient's addresses, or if you've recently gotten married or hosted
Speaker 1: a big party, maybe you have the address list you
Speaker 1: used for invitations. You can use these lists to inspire
Speaker 1: your outreach to people you care about but can't see
Speaker 1: right now, here's how you do it. Every day, pluck
Speaker 1: a few people off your holiday card or invitation list
Speaker 1: and send a card or note. Any stationary cards or
Speaker 1: paper will do. Use the freebees you get from nonprofits. Heck,
Speaker 1: you could even repurpose the photos and envelopes from your
Speaker 1: actual holiday card. If you have kids in your home
Speaker 1: or neighborhood, you can enlist them to decorate cards, or
Speaker 1: if you're crafty, you could have fun creating the cards yourself.
Speaker 1: Inside the cards, you can write something simple like thinking
Speaker 1: of you or sending love from our house to yours.
Speaker 1: Of course, longer notes are always welcome, but the main
Speaker 1: idea is just to let these people know you're thinking
Speaker 1: of them and care about them. You don't have to
Speaker 1: be systematic with your letter writing, no need to start
Speaker 1: with the a's and work your way down to the zs.
Speaker 1: There's no set number of cards per day you need
Speaker 1: to send, and it's okay if you write to some
Speaker 1: people on your list and don't get to others at all.
Speaker 1: Just let the list inspire you to reach out. Sending
Speaker 1: a few cards can spread a lot of joy. Receiving
Speaker 1: a card can be a real pick me up, and
Speaker 1: writing to people we care about feels good too. If
Speaker 1: you send non holiday cards, I hope you'll tell me
Speaker 1: about your experience and about other ways you're staying connected
Speaker 1: to family and friends. You can reach me at Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast podcast at iHeart Media dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. M Hey everybody, I'd love
Speaker 1: to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E
Speaker 1: the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at
Speaker 1: i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.