Facebook Killed Our Christmas Tradition

And I'm totally OK with it.

For 15 years Kelly and I have faithfully put out an annual Christmas card/letter for family and friends across the country. It was for full of the usual suspects: highlights in our marriage, highlights of kids lives, travels we took, scripture that captivates our imagination for the Advent season, etc. As the years went on the letters got shorter. First they were front and back (how does a young married couple fill front and back of a letter...seriously!). Then they we had kids and went to front side only letters (seriously...if you write more than one side you are either full of yourself and/or you have way too much time on your hands. Plus, I just have that kind of time any more to read your 9 point font anthology. Sorry). Then over the last 3-4 years we've gone to a pithy/snarky quarter sheet note sent with cheap (albeit nice) clearance card and family pic.

Which leads me to now.

Unless you live in a cave or your name is Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, money is tight for your average family. So last year we passed on the Christmas card/letter/pic to save some jack. Now if I'm honest a little part of me was sad because the Christmas card is tradition. And I love traditional stuff around the holiday season. But we had to be honest, the money we were shelling out for approximately 100 cards - $0.44/stamp, $1-2/box of clearance cards x5, $0.07/8/family pic, plus paper, toner/ink, time - and, well, I was never good at math, but that's a little chunk of change. So last year we passed to save some denero.

Enter Facebook.

Kelly and I have been on Facebook for a long time (I started back in 2004...I think). And you see, over the years more and more of our family and friends have joined that wacky little online social network. As more and more of them joined, the better were able to re-connect, stay in-touch, and get updates in both word and picture.

As Kelly and I talked about "to Christmas card or not" this year, I simply said, "We don't need to. Facebook killed our Christmas card and I'm totally OK with it." We don't need that annual update any more because we get weekly, daily, and hourly updates from many of our friends and family. We see your kids, your art, and your vacations. We read your likes, dislikes, and randomness. We hear your joy, pain, happiness, sadness, frustration and love. We even know what you need for your farm, mob, and top 5 lists.

So if you're bummed you won't be getting a Christmas card/letter/pic from us...sorry. If that means we won't get from you then (I know how the game is played), it's all good. We'll all save a little moolah. Save a few trees. We can all thank or blame Facebook then.

And I'm totally OK with that.