Christmas Prep: Postcard Projects

I know I said the "C" word, please keep reading though, it was important to start some of these things so early!  I personally have a no Christmas before Thanksgiving belief system, but I had to let go of that this year. 
It all started with a postcard book and a Facebook post by one of my friends. 
I bought this Star Wars themed postcard book and decided that I would send the book to one of my friends as her Christmas present, but then I decided, "It's postcards!"

And so I am mailing her the entire book, one page at a time.  The cover will be the final surprise with a pocket and a small monetary amount gift card for a chain coffee shop she adores.  No worries, she never reads the blog, so the surprise will be still there.
But to achieve her getting all the cards sent, I had to start by mailing 3+ a week now!  I figure this will spread out the joy of receiving a great gift while making her smile.  She is in a very high stress internship right now, so any smiles I can add to her day make it all just a little bit better.

Secondly a different long time friend posted on Facebook that instead of giving her daughter gifts, she preferred I make memories with the child instead.  Examples were taking her to the zoo or stopping in for craft time and so on.  Great in theory, but what to do when she lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and I am hours and hours away from there!? 

Amazing high gloss, high detail postcards!

Well, recently, I just happened to have ordered this great Waldo collection on Amazon!  I do not have a lot of extra cash this year, so I decided to do the same project, but I am splitting the book into thirds and also sending to my oldest and dearest friend's boys and my nephews.  They will need to receive about a postcard a week to get them to Christmas.  The last mailing will be a make your own postcard kit including stamps so they can mail back to me or to somebody else if they so desire and an invitation for them to request more postcards from me.  I will try to tech them the golden rule of mailing "Send so you can receive!"  Not to forget, thank you notes are important!

Lastly I decided that the vast majority of people do not appreciate Christmas cards like they used to.  After the holidays, most of the cards are tossed, recycled at the curb, or otherwise disposed of.  So this year I am raising the bar and lowering my postage costs.  I will be sending postcards with heartfelt wishes on the backs instead of enveloped and embellished cards.

I found these Dover books fairly cheap!  I figure people may be more willing to tuck these away for the years to come as a keepsake of the season.  A few people will still get cards as I have a lot left from last year.  Who knows, maybe the postcard trend will catch on!  It will definitely curtail my after Christmas hoarding issue.  Maybe one of these years I will make a few handmade to send instead, but obviously not this year.

I am starting some other projects as well since this will mostly be a handmade Christmas with only a few exceptions.  This girl is poor right now and needs money for insulating this drafty house!  So invent-a-gift has started.  I have fond memories of all the hand made gifts of Christmas past although I am not sure my family can say the same, but they are stuck with me and the worst they can do is smile and say thank you before selling it on a garage sale later.  Muwahahaha!  The maniacal laughter of a crafty crafter with cash flow issues! 
I'm thinking I'll try ugly dolls, magazine/ newspaper baskets, and a scrapbook.
What are you making this year?  Any fab ideas to share for those on a budget?
-Becky