Handwriting at Christmas
I have an aversion to writing messages in greeting cards. I never know quite what to say, and I dislike writing in biro (and you just can’t trust untested cards with anything else, while writing in pencil is sadly not really acceptable). I’m not sure when I last sent a birthday card, though I am good at remembering birthdays and will always send a message.
But I hold onto the Christmas card tradition. I don’t mind how many I receive. I won’t hold it against anyone who chooses to email or eschew the practice altogether. But I still send them. I do cheat a little: I write identical messages on all cards, making up for it by doing it in my finest calligraphy, and hoping to dazzle recipients enough that they don’t notice how generic my wishes are. I’m always all for making tweaks to traditions so they work for you.
Christmas is a rare time when we still use our handwriting. It’s not just cards, but also gift tags on presents under the tree, and perhaps even a handwritten voucher for a gift in kind. There might be a note for the milkman to accompany a thank you tip, a homemade Advent calendar with numbers drawn by hand, or place cards at the festive table. Even if it’s only your team’s answers scrawled onto a photocopied quiz sheet at the staff Christmas party, there is bound to be more handwriting about at this time of year.
What all these things have in common is connection. The gifts, the thought-through table plan, the good wishes in the post, the names of loved ones written on cards, tags, envelopes, in our very own unique hand – even the enforced fun of a work Christmas quiz – are all about asserting and reinforcing the ties between us, with paper and ink. Christmas cards get lined up on the mantelpiece and bookshelves, we might trace our own names with the tip of a finger on the place card by our dinner plate, perhaps pocket that pretty gift tag and save it for a little while. We may not stop to think about our reasons for doing so, but these handwritten tokens are the very stuff of Christmas.
My tips and tools
Use luggage tags as gift tags, or cut card down to size, and decorate them with rubber stamps before adding the recipient’s name. My free festive card kit includes phrases written in my calligraphy that you could also use on gift tags. Get it by signing up to receive my Inky Letter.
Make your own Christmas cards, buying them blank or cutting them yourself. A standard A4 sheet, cut in half, should have the right grain direction for folding into two A6 cards. Print out a photograph and paste it onto the front. Or grab some of mine in my free festive card kit by signing up for my Inky Letter.
If you lack confidence about writing names, addresses and messages by hand, let me convince you of all the good reasons why you should love your handwriting
Order your gift from me and tick the gift tag option at checkout and I’ll include one free of charge in your parcel, with your recipient’s first name written in pointed pen calligraphy
