Gather Your Addresses

Now that you have your Christmas Card List completed, the next step is to make sure you have addresses for everyone. Start with finding the addresses for your “must send cards to” or A group and work your way down to the D group.

Go around your house with a basket and gather up all of your address books, old Christmas card envelopes, etc. to get the addresses for your cards. Put your names and addresses either in one address book (traditional or electronic) or create a Christmas Contact Card (available to Candy Cane Club members via Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/christmascoach) for each person. 

If you choose the traditional address book, make sure you write your items down in pencil so that you can change addresses easily when people move, get married, divorced, have children, etc.  I highly recommend that you keep this address book close to your Christmas Organizing Notebook so that you can find it easily when you begin working on your envelopes. An easy way to fill in a traditional address book is to create labels on your computer and stick them into your address book. Also, be on the lookout after Christmas for an address book designed just for Christmas cards, and slip it into the front pocket of your notebook.

If you choose to use an electronic system for your address book, it will often allow you to fill in special information about the person, and it makes changes much easier. One word of caution, though – make sure you make a couple of backups with your information on it. Consider having a friend keep one copy for you, or put it in a safe deposit box! It would be terrible to lose the information after you spent so much time locating the addresses and then taking the time to put them into the computer. Once you have your names and addresses in the computer, print the list out and place it in your notebook with your Christmas card list.