So, maybe a little Bah Humbug from me…Christmas Cards for the whole class?

I have resolved to enter this Christmas season with a new spirit, to enjoy and like Christmas and all it’s trimmings. I blogged recently about this you can read about it here.

However, I am asking for a little grace for a spot of bah humbug and I think it’s justified. Of course, I am sure people will disagree with me, which is also fine, of course.

My beef is with Christmas cards, but not the cards in general, although I do struggle with with whole sending card thing, but the  trend of children writing cards for their class mates. I personally think this is a hideous and time consuming, new thing that I have to add to my list of parenting “to do’s”. Big Girl wants to hand out Christmas cards to her class mates, because some of the far more organised parents in the class have already got their kids to write them, and the teacher hands them out at the end of the day. I feel slightly resentful, to be honest, because I was patting myself on the back, having managed to get the cards done that had to be sent abroad, just in time, and having got the children to make cards for their grandparents this year, now I have had to get my head round finding a class list and buying PC cards (I was told no “religious” ones) for her to fill out and despatch.

So, yes, I am being a bit of a misery about it. I mean, it is a lovely gesture, and the children want to share the joy of the season (or not, i strongly suspect that quite a few of them were stood over as they were made to produce their signatures on 30+ cards) and it is nice for her to add her little pile of received cards to the pile we have (which I always mean to festoon around the house, but invariably never do) but what really got my goat yesterday, was whilst standing in the playground, I over heard a mother, telling another parent that she counted how many cards her child got last year, and took down names and this year she is only allowing her child to write cards to those who gave them last year. Truly, horrifyingly, summing up the whole competitive, nasty spirit that can sometimes invade the playground and parenting in general. I had to suck on 3 Rescue Remedy sweets in quick succession to restore my calm and stop me from going over there and verbally accosting the mother in question. Really, is that what it’s all about? I now feel we HAVE to do cards, just in case my child is excluded and feels left out.

Small Boy has also started bringing cards home from friends in his nursery, which again, is a lovely gesture, but at not quite four, he isn’t really into writing and signing 25 cards, so it looks like that job falls to me! Yay!

So, do you embrace the send the whole class a card notion, and with enthusiasm, or are you a bit of a mean old Scrooge like me?

(For the Mum’s in my daughter’s class reading this, we do actually really like the cards, and we are of course going to reciprocate, in fact the cards are being written as I blog this, so whilst I am being a bit bah humbug on my blog, we will be participating, and I will smile and be gracious, I promise! 🙂 )