Merry e Christmas.

In past years I was diligent in sending out Christmas cards to friends and relatives, no matter the expense or time required. I took pride in good English along with heartfelt messages I hoped would make the string of cards in the venetian blinds or better still the string of cards across the mantle piece. Things change and nowadays I send e cards and I lament the demise of a tradition, because no matter how efficient, it's hard to string e cards anywhere.

A tradition that has been in tune with this time of year, since the first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843 featuring an illustration by John Callcott Horsley. By 1860 they were commercialised by Charles Goodall and Sons and today, according to the Greeting Card Association, still number close to 2 billion sent every year. A number that is quickly dwindling.

Like e books, I think e cards will take over the printed variety, especially if I am an example, not buying cards anymore and not spending hours agonising over the litany of verses designed to bring fond memories of Christmas to all my friends. Interestingly I don't have any more cash or time, now that I'm no longer involved in the card exercise. Seems there is always something to take over the extra time and money, no wonder it's hard to save.

Having said all that, Christmas is still a time to reconnect with friends and relatives and regardless of how you say it, the thought of good will and cheer to all, remains the same regardless of the media used. I worried at first I wasn't putting the same enthusiasm and forethought into my cards because now they were just bytes of information transmitted via the ether and surely people could just dismiss them with a click or worse, they get stuck in the spam filter.

Yet the time dedicated to finding just the right card, with just the right music, with just the right message, interactivity and the ability for personality to shine through, quickly put paid to that thinking. Where a Hallmark shop would have hundreds of cards to chose from, I now wander sites with unlimited choices equivalent to an airport hangar filled with paper, looking for just the right card. My appreciation of the e card and it's ability to make people smile and think of the sender along with being able to reply instantly, has increased to the extent I now look forward to receiving them as much as sending them.

Along with my geeky side, my inner recycler is also feeling righteous not worrying about cut down trees and wondering what to do with the piles of old cards the day after New Year.

So this Christmas, embrace the new medium of e card connection and enjoy the interactive nature because your friends have taken time to think of you as they hit the send button. The e revolution won't subside and next year, I'm sure I'll be talking about my new e presents. The e shirt, the e tie and no doubt the e underwear, all guaranteed to fit, no matter how much pudding I eat.