Christmas Cards in June

 I am not usually a last-minute person and normally start thinking about sending Christmas cards sometime in November before Thanksgiving. There are probably not a lot of us sending Christmas cards anymore as many people are moving onto digital cards which Allen and I have been receiving more frequently. Printed Christmas cards are starting to seem a little old school but somehow still feel more personal to me, especially when I can add a hand-written note directly to my friends and family. Plus, a lot of the recipients of my cards are my age or older and more used to physical cards.

My Favorite Santa

Last year I did not send Christmas cards because it is difficult to mail them from Honduras and they probably would arrive several months late if at all. We were able to get two packages from the US early on that only took 2 months, but I am still waiting for a letter from a friend for over 6 months. In retrospect, last year would have been a good year to switch to digital cards, but I didn’t do that either.

One thing is for sure, Christmas card giving is alive and well at NPH, and it is a major project that is planned well ahead of time – starting in June. The NPH Christmas cards are another way to connect the children with their sponsors, providing an updated photo and a personal message or drawing from the child or from the caretaker for children with more severe disabilities. There are several steps to this process:

·       Design the cards and get approval for the design.

·       Select vendors, get quotes, get approval on cost, and put out the order.

·       Take photos of each child – both for the annual photo update and (this year) a special photo with the child wearing a Christmas hat.

·       Edit the photos.

·       Distribute the physical cards with writing and coloring materials to the children so they can add drawings or messages and sign their name.

·       Add photos to the cards, then reshuffle them into packages for each country. (There are 11 countries with NPH sponsorship offices.)

·       Send the packages by October so each country office has time to receive and distribute them out to the sponsors.

Padrinos' Coordinator Getting into the Holiday Spirit

So far, we already have an approved design and have taken a lot of photos. We also have the cards printed and grouped so we can send them out to the children's homes. Allen came with us to Tegucigalpa to take photos at Casa de Angeles which is an NPH home for children with more severe disabilities requiring them to be closer to a hospital.

Padrinos Photo shoot at Casa de Angeles in June

The same day we also took photos at Pasos Pequeñitas which is an NPH supported day care for single parents that are struggling to make ends meet.

Children at Pasos Pequeñitas

Last year a lot of the work was done in July and August after I first arrived, and we had trouble meeting the October deadline. This year I think we are well ahead of time, so hopefully it will go more smoothly. Since I only have one more month left here, I hope I can get a lot of the work done in that time and that the process goes more smoothly. One big help is that the US sponsorship offices has agreed to digital Christmas cards which cuts a lot of work out of a large percentage of the sponsorships.

I plan to send my own cards out again this year but will likely start my process in November!

Mrs. Santa

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