Each year, I save our holiday mail until after Christmas. In the slower, quieter week before New Year’s Eve, I sit with a warm drink and a blanket, opening the cards and letters to enjoy many happy family photos—and even a few newsy letters, which a handful of loved ones still send, the way so many of us used to do.

When I saw that today’s make something suggestion was to use postage stamps, I knew this had to be my Christmas-card-reading day. After spending a pleasant hour opening envelopes, reading messages, and snipping postage, I arranged a few of the stamps into this ultimately simple greeting:

I opted not to send a holiday greeting this year. So maybe I’ll print a few notecards from this image. I can use them on the off chance I feel inspired to write a few handwritten notes in the weeks to come.