Who Can Blame Sad Santa

Drawing by Oz Thomas

It's probably way too late to be saying this, and I apologize for not getting around to it sooner, but really: Do NOT send out inane Christmas cards with those silly pictures of your family all lined up wearing red sweaters, or any sweaters for that matter, or lined up in any way, or even just the one of the new baby or the toddlers and the dog. Simply put, they suck. They are narcissistic to the max, as if all we want for Christmas is a picture of you and yours suitable for framing. In this day and age of Facebook, it's just not necessary since people who send those probably post pictures online of every family occasion anyway, so it's redundant at least, and if you ask me, downright sacrilegious.

Being a Jew, I rarely send out Christmas cards. This is one year I am planning to do so, mostly because I bought a great box of cards on sale at the art museum gift shop back in August, and I'd like to share it with some friends. Besides, it makes me feel connected to people far away, which matters for some reason I can't pinpoint but there it is. Shown below, it bears a great shot by the wonderful William Wegman, and I'm betting a few people might even keep the card beyond the holiday, just because.

Shown above is a handmade card I received from an artist friend. Now that's a card, sent straight from the heart. And his depiction of a distraught Santa is all too accurate, what with Black Friday starting on Turkey Thursday and blending into Small Business Saturday followed by Cyber Monday and then bursting into the day before Christmas sales which are followed by those day after Christmas blowouts. Anyway, 19 of you will be getting a card from me, and one of you already has. I hope you like it.