No matter what I do, I never get people's addresses right on holiday cards. Then they start coming back, and most of the time, I'm all screw it, Christmas is over and we can stop pretending this is a fun thing to do.

Apparently holiday greetings make everyone ragey.

Especially people who live where my BIL and SIL used to.

*shakes fist in the direction of Cedar Rapids*

I have this metal, over-the-door snowflake/flower hybrid with a bunch of slots to hold holiday cards. Despite my bad attitude today, I do very much enjoy watching the flower fill until I can only see the pink epicenter. It makes me feel loved to have so many people in my life who want to show me what they and their children look like. (The letters, maybe not so much, but that's a personal preference.)

There's a flip side to this loved feeling, and that is the guilt feeling that comes from throwing them all away. I tried telling myself I was hanging on to them until Epiphany, but that was like, last week.

It's time. And that means it's time to let go of the six remaining cards in my little box, too. People can see what we look like again in eleven months.

Goodbye, carefully designed, rounded-edge, heavy card-stock lovelies! I can't wait to see what you all look like next year!

How long do you hold on to holiday cards?