Thank goodness for smartphones - nothing makes Christmas easier. There are several apps now appearing on iPhones and their many cloned cousins that can make many traditional holiday activities more personal, less expensive and virtually stressless. 
After you've purchased gifts at amazon.com or bargain shopped on ebay.com, why not make every Christmas card you send this year new and original? Just download Simply Postcards (the app is free). Then take photos that are uniquely personal - that special ornament on the tree, your front door wreath, local snow, holiday activities.
The Simply Postcard software enables you to easily upload your photos (past or present) into the app and then flip the postcard to add a personal holiday message. Type in your address and that of the recipient and Simply Postcards will mail the actual card in full professional color via post.
Just think of all the application: create a host's thank-you postcard with an image taken at their holiday party, the image of a favorite holiday treat with attached recipe for a friend, the children's holiday school events, your neighborhood decorations or winter vacation destinations.
Done, easy and inexpensive! What could be easier - you can even get the children involved taking photos and sending cards to friends and family.
And if you think all this might be just too modern, just remember the first Christmas 'cards' were actually postcards, yes postcards, produced in England in 1843.
Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010