Christmas vs New Year's (2)

Did I say daunting? Yes, I did, in reference to food. But even more daunting was the prospect of cards. The good thing was that New Year greeting cards are postcards. Simple. Basically yours for the price of the stamp.

The bad thing was that they are postcards. Blank. No design. No pre-printed message.

The wise people started writing theirs early, like in July.

The clever people came up with unique designs, often based on the upcoming year's totem animal. For instance, 2009 will be the Year of the Cow. They also balanced the formulaic greetings with interesting personal observations.

The talented people wrote theirs in hand-calligraphed sumi ink, or perhaps they carved fascinating/beautiful/humorous wooden blocks from which to print them.

My husband and I were none of the above, yet we were blessed with many friends that we wanted to greet.

Daunting, daunting, daunting.