With another Christmas holiday fast approaching, it is yet again up to me, and me alone, to come up with the best way to say happy holidays to our family and friends – only this year is VERY different. This year marks my 1st year of marriage to my husband Rick and I very much want to impress my new family and friends with personalized Christmas cards commemorating our marriage.
It is very important I pick out just the right card, with just the right personalization. Let’s face it, my mother-in-law never thought I was good enough for her baby boy. I’m sure there are many of you who can relate, and who are dealing with this same problem I am dealing with right now. Though my mother-in-law always seems to be criticizing me about one thing or another, I am refusing to give her yet another reason especially in regards to our Christmas cards.
The quality of the card I choose has to be of course perfect. In order to do so, there are a few steps I have to follow to find this perfect card. First step, I have to light the fireplace. We moved into our new apartment that actually has a fireplace and I’ve been waiting for this moment since moving in. Second step, find my favorite Christmas CD to play, and last but not least, make myself a cup of my favorite vanilla flavored hot chocolate to relax me for the long search ahead.
Well, I’m sure some of you are wondering how this story ended. I finally did find that one special card, with just the right wording that touched my mother-in-law in such a special way that we actually became much closer. In fact, she has even asked me to be the one to help pick out her Christmas cards in the coming year.
I could never identify with the “mother-in-law” stigma. My mother-in-law, God rest her soul, was a wonderful person. She was never one of those in-laws that people dread. She never crossed the line with me, never thought I wasn’t deserving of her son and never once made me feel anything but welcomed into the family. We had an excellent relationship and I miss her very much but expecially around the holidays.
I too cannot relate to the “mother in law stigma” Fortunately we get along well. Glad you were able to find the perfect card and use it as a way for you both to become closer.
My mother-in-law and I got to be very close when I invited her to help me decorate my Christmas tree the first year that I was married to her son. I guess when she thought I couldn’t do it myself she felt needed and felt that she could do things the way she wanted to. Now 8 years later she’s still helping me. I’m not complaining because I’m now her favorite daughter in law – she doesn’t do this with the other daughters in law!
The holidays are always a good time to try to become closer with loved ones – especially with new family! Glad your Christmas cards allowed you and your mother-in-law to bond!
Well, I’m not actually married yet but this is my first year with my boyfriend and I have already been trying to find the perfect Christmas card and greeting to give his mother. She is very picky and blount which is probably why she is still so critical of me these days. However, I’m more than confident that she will like the card I give her and hopefully it’ll help us grow closer.
Really nice way to connect to your mother-in-law. To me, the holidays always seem to bring people closer and it just so happened to be simply by picking the right card. Shows a lot and goes a long way!