I recently started a side job working in a neighborhood doctor’s office. I’ve worked in many different jobs over the years and the skills used are all pretty similar. Typing letters and transcribing notes is all the same except for the terminology used. However, after a few months it became very apparent that this job was very different from others. The doctor sends out Christmas cards to his patients…ALL of his patients, whether they celebrate Christmas or not! You may be saying to yourself, “So what? Our office sends out holiday cards too.” You may be right, but the difference is that our doctor sends out company Christmas cards.

There is a distinction. In this day and age of everyone being politically correct, we actually pick out Christmas cards that wish everyone a “Merry Christmas.” Not holiday cards that wish “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays,” but Christmas cards that say the often forbidden words “MERRY CHRISTMAS.”

The doctor’s philosophy, which I happen to agree with, is that there is nothing wrong with sending Christmas cards wishing people a Merry Christmas, whether they are Christian, Jewish or Muslim. He feels that he is sharing his holiday joy with everyone he comes in contact with and how can expressing his thoughtful message with Christmas cards be construed as wrong.

So if you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, our office wishes you the best of the holiday season, peace and the love of family. And may you receive plenty of Christmas cards yourself!

It’s not something you’re likely to think about until a personal experience arises. I wasn’t really aware of sending business Christmas cards until I worked in a small office where the owners were not Christian and didn’t celebrate Christmas. My attention was drawn to exclamations of delight as my bosses opened company Christmas cards sent to them from both clients and vendors. The greeting cards were happily tacked to office bulletin boards and stood up on credenzas and desktops.

I’m reminded of this when I hear debates about whether or not it’s “politically correct” for a company to send out business Christmas cards. The gentlemen I’d been working for recognized that the holiday cards were a celebration of the sender’s joy and goodwill and they felt honored to be remembered and included in these festive greetings.

Another company at which I worked considered company Christmas cards to be so important that the employee with the most attractive handwriting was selected to set aside other work in order to hand address all the envelopes for the greeting cards. At first, they were struck with the dilemma of guessing which holidays each intended recipient might celebrate. The dilemma was resolved by using holiday cards that expressed “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays” in order to be inclusive of all their clients.

The preparations for sending these company Christmas cards somehow transmitted a positive attitude through everyone on staff, making this office’s end-of-year busy season less stressful and more cooperative. In every instance, I’ve noticed that the sending and receiving of company Christmas cards is a bright way to end a business year!