Fun with Christmas Cards

I enjoy receiving Christmas cards this time of year.  I can't wait to check the mail each day to see if we received any that day.  And it's a really good day when the Christmas cards outnumber the bills! 

At our church, we (the children's missions class) invite the congregation to bring their Christmas cards to church with a few dollars for "postage."  The children then sort the cards alphabetically and hand them out before each Sunday service.   The money is given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering so everyone is a winner! 

Another one of my all-time *newer* family traditions is one we just started probably five years or so ago.  When my family of four and my sister's family of four all arrive at our mom's house on Christmas Eve, we each take a look at her Christmas cards and pick out our favorite.  Out of everyone's favorites, we vote on an all-around favorite (its easier if one card gets more than one vote; otherwise it can get tricky).  After the voting is over and we have our winner, we open the card to see who it is from ('cuz you can't do that before you vote...it might sway your opinion). 

I can't remember whose idea it was, but someone said we should notify the winner.  So we did!  We went to the computer, designed a card, and included an explanation of the contest they had won.  They don't actually win anything, but we want them to know they did an outstanding job picking out their cards that year. 

I think this is one of my favorite traditions because it gets the entire family involved, the adults and the kids can actively participate, and it's just good plain fun.  It's also interesting.  One card might look plain and boring to me and someone else may see/feel it in a whole different way.  

So that's just one of my favorite traditions this time of year.  Do you have any you would like to share?