Each day of the holiday season, I look forward to getting the mail. I flip through bills and catalogues in search of envelopes hand-addressed to “The Wilberts” or the “The Wilbert Family.”
I dump the rest of the mail on the kitchen counter and flop down in a chair to open holiday cards. At thirty-six, I am at the stage of life when many friends have young children. My favorite cards feature these little ones—siblings outfitted in matching Christmas finery, a baby in her cuddly Halloween costume, twin toddlers in bathing suits on the beach. Each year, I pile the cards in a pretty bowl on the sideboard in my dining room. I always think: I need to find a better way to display these, so we can enjoy them more.
I’ve seen relatively nice things in catalogues, including this curly wire card holder from Pottery Barn. However, I have never liked anything enough to actually buy it.
A few days ago, I was at my sister-in-law’s home. She had hung strips of burlap over French doors between her entrance hall and kitchen. She then laid ribbon on top of the burlap and used clothespins to attach cards.
Hoping she considered imitation the sincerest form of flattery, I hustled over to Hancock Fabrics and bought four yards of cream-colored burlap and then went next door to Michaels for four rolls of two-tone metallic Martha Stewart ribbon. At home, I cut the burlap into seven-inch wide strips. I draped the material and the ribbon over the top of four glass-paneled doors (they lead from the hallway into the living and dining rooms) and set about clipping the cards to both sides of the doors. By using the same number of cards on each side, I didn’t need anything to hold the cloth or ribbon in place. The weight of the cards did the job.
Now, as I walk from room-to-room, I see beautiful holiday cards and even better, the smiling faces of my friends’ children. Happy holidays!
Photo courtesy of the author
