I Get What I Pay For

I'm sitting in a quiet house. Jude is sound asleep and Tim is playing a rare game of night soccer with his city league team. The Christmas decorations are up, which at our house means a lot of garland and white lights.

I realized this year, as I ran like an excited schoolgirl to the mailbox, that one of my favorite things about the Christmas season is receiving Christmas cards and letters. I love seeing pictures of friends and family. I love hearing about their year and what they have been up to. We hang the cards and photos from ribbons in our dining room and I look at them multiple times a day. In fact, I often leave them up long after all the other decorations have been boxed up and stored.

On the other hand sending out the Whitacre Christmas card is not nearly as exciting as receiving. But don't get me wrong, I know it is part of the deal so I do it. Sometimes I enjoy it because we have a lot to say or I really like the picture we chose. This year...not so much.

When I started looking into buying photo cards, things began to add up. It looked like on average it was going to cost somewhere between $100 - $150 to print and send cards. To some this might not seem like much. To me, this sounds like much more than I would like to spend. So what did a thrifty, frugal, downright cheapster like me do? I tried to make my own. Normally, this isn't such a bad  idea. I've done it in the past and they have turned out decent. Perhaps they don't look like I ordered them from Papyrus or my local stationary store, but they work.

I sent my files to print on Sunday night and picked them up on Monday. When I opened the envelope my heart sank. Yes, I do realize that children are starving in Africa and in the larger perspective of things this doesn't matter, but my heart still sank. The photos and text are grainy, pixelated and muddled. I brought them home and was embarrassed to show my hubby. After looking at them, he suggested that next year I have him do a double check on file size, etc before I submit anything - duly noted.

I considered scrapping the whole idea and not wasting more money on stamps. But alas, I have attempted to set my pride aside and am sending them out tomorrow as is. What is done is done. I guess in the end, I did save money, but I also got what I paid for. I would say that I've learned my lesson, but I haven't really. I will try again to save money next year, but will at least bring in the brains of the operation before pressing submit.