Cut out Christmas

It's that time of year again when I'm supposed to write and send Christmas Cards but this year, having become obsessed with the planetary consequences of the The Festive Season, the whole card business seems more pointless than ever. I mean besides investing energy sitting scribbling, signing and sticking, how can I justify all that card, ink, envelopes and stamps, not to mention the thousands of card-miles? And for what? To say hi, decorate a mantlepiece and end up in a recycling box. Not worth it.

But there's no denying the social pressure to conform. And with dozens of beautiful cards arriving each morning and the Carboncopies bringing home fistfuls from their friends, I have to admit the pressure got me. So I made a concession and let the kids send some cards. I mean it's one thing to risk being a social outcast yourself but another to see your kids in the playground with nothing to hand out to expectant friends.

So the Carboncopies got busy - making their own cards. Recycled of course; from newspaper, magazines, birthday cards and paper then stuffed into old envelopes. The productivity of my little eco-troopers was a sight to behold. And while Carbonbaby chewed on sellotape helping elder Carboncopy create complex 3D cut-out cards, little Carboncopy found the quickest method of production; taking one of last year's Christmas cards, ripping off the bit with the picture, scribbling a message on the back and sticking it in a carrier bag for delivery. In the space of half an hour, he'd made 17 eco-cards and saved 17 envelopes.

In the playground the next morning, parents and children dashed around delivering Charity Cards while little Carboncopy handed out his cut-up greetings, looking like a charity case.
Parents looked with bemusement at the scribbly scraps of card he was handing out to their off-spring.
"What's that?" one of them asked him.
"A Christmas card," he replied proudly.
The receiving child passed it to mum for inspection.
"How sweet," said the mum, looking distinctly unimpressed.

I think it's unlikely that card will make her mantelpiece. We can only hope it makes the recycling bin. Perhaps it's not just the thought that counts.