The Christmas Card Conundrum

As I was addressing my holiday cards a few days back, it occurred to me that I tend to categorize my card recipients. Maybe you do, too. Maybe everyone does. It goes something like this:
"The Always Send List"
These are the friends and close family that you always send Christmas cards, regardless of your current relationship or whether they send you a card or not. These are the folks who get the good cards, written early in the process when you write actual sentiments and take real care addressing the envelopes.
"The Keeping In Touch List"
These are the folks you only communicate with once a year -- college friends, distant relations, former co-workers, and so forth. You send them a card, often enclosing one of those trite, poorly written "catch up" letters and signing just your name. (Depending on how long it's been since you last saw them, you may sign both first and last names.) If you don't hear back from them after a few years, they risk dropping to the next category:
"The Obligation List"
These are the last people on your holiday wish list. If you bought several different cards, these folks get the cheap ones. You are only sending them a card because of some real or (most likely) perceived sense of obligation. Professional contacts rank on this list, "friends of friends," in-laws neither you nor your mate particularly like, etc. You mostly send these because you fear the ramifications of not sending them.
"The Reverse Send List"
This last category isn't really a list at all, but a reaction to having received a card from someone who dropped off (or never made) one of the previous lists. Sometimes, you'll personalize these with a statement about what a nice surprise it was to get their card. (This, of course, is kind of an acknowledgment that you never intended to send them a card, but a well-intentioned thought, nonetheless.)

Of course, if you got a card from me this year, you must be on the top of my list. Really.