Are You on "The List"?

'Tis the season to be jolly.  Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-la!  Today is a better day!  I am here starting to write out my Christmas cards.  I've made a list and checked it twice and . . . what?  96 CARDS?  I am sending out 96 cards?  When did this happen?  I'll admit I added a few people this year but not more than ten tops!  When did my Christmas card list get so out of control?  So, I looked at the list again.  Ok.  Ok.  Ok.  Ok.  Wait.  Who is this?  Oh, that's right - my mom's best friend's mother.  Yeah that's right.  She's on my Christmas card list.  She sends us a card (and even a gift card for our daughter) every year.  I can't not send her one.  Then I realize.  If I can't bring myself to cut out someone I met once in my life, there's no point in even going through the list.  I try not to let it discourage me and forge on.  That's it.  The end.  There is one cousin that I got a random card from last year that I had added to the list who will not be getting a card this year.  I never talk to her.  Honestly I don't know why she even sent a card.  But outside of her, everyone stays on the list.  There are family members, friends, service providers and even a few people I haven't talked to in years but can't stop sending a card to.  But it makes me wonder - what is the ettiquette for Christmas card sending?  If someone doesn't send you a card one year can you cut them off for next year?  I've tried this before and end up getting a card from said persons the following year.   Nix that theory.  I can't possibily get a card without sending a card in return. However if there is no justified reason to cut someone off of your list, how do you keep your list from growing exponentially each year?  But I'll buck up and get my six boxes of cards addressed and signed and out in the postal system soon.  The real problem is when I think about the cost of postage - it doesn't make me feel very jolly at all.