Christmas Cards. To Send or Not to Send?

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I debate this every year. It’s too expensive, I don’t have enough time, does anyone really care or do they just toss the card aside? But then I think how much I enjoy getting a card in the mail with a personal note from a friend I haven’t connected with for 6 months or a year. It just means so much more than an email or an ecard because it means the person had to go out and pick out the card, sit down with pen in hand and actually write on paper not type on a keyboard. And instead of hitting SEND, they had to put the card in an envelope, attach a stamp and get it to the post office.

I don’t mean to insult anyone who sends their greetings electronically, I know time is short and everyone has a ton of things to do to get ready for the holidays. It certainly is better than not sending anything at all.

This year I can’t use the excuse of no time because I retired in April, even though I am surprised how little time I do have some days. And I found two whole sheets of stamps just waiting for envelopes. Stamps of Movie Cowboys,

Movie cowboys

and Winslow Homer…ooooh how Christmasy!

I have to admit I am a multi-tasker. I may have mentioned before that I cannot just sit and watch TV, so last night before I settled into my chair I gathered my pens, cards, stamps, return address stickers and wrote out my cards while CSI and The Mentalist carried on in the background. This morning I added a slip of paper to each with my blog address, hoping to connect with some of my friends and family throughout the year. Yes, of course I also type on a computer and hit send, duh!

But before you say no to Christmas cards, check your mailbox. Wasn’t it fun to find a card in there with a Gene Autry stamp? Turn the envelope over, a cool Audubon sticker with my name on it. Open it up, a short note personally addressed to you.

Christmas Cards. I vote to send.

222 thoughts on “Christmas Cards. To Send or Not to Send?”

  1. Couldn’t make out the 4th cowboy’s name.

    But, can we name the horses of the other 3: Tom Mix, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry? (no Googling allowed 🙂

    Trying to remember Hopalong Cassidy’s horse…Topper?

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  2. Perfect timing, Jeanne…I just sent mine out today (Jim still has his family to do). I know now why I type most of the time. It took me 2 1/2 hours to address envelopes, write cards (To, From, and one line under message in card), label backs of photos, and put things together for 17 packages! My hand looked like a weird claw by the time I was done, and the handwriting was not pretty at all!

    I think my friends and relatives appreciate the effort, though!

    Wendy

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  3. I definitely vote for sending cards; the more we can connect in ways that take time, the better – we’re all moving toward immediacy and convenience, and receiving a card that took time to mail is so nice, knowing the person went that little bit further to make someone’s day. Send away!

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      • I despise Xmas letters! Maybe that’s bc the only person I get one from writes about all the jolly great trips she’s been on that year. That’s the entire “letter”. I can get seriously bummed, since I rarely go anywhere, and it just sounds like bragging.

      • Well I agree about the letters, but I just write short notes that would be important to that particular person. For example: If its someone whose never met my son I won’t bother them with news about him, But that’s me.

  6. I love getting the cards, but I’ve yet to make an effort to send them. To be honest, I’d have to ask most of my friends for their address. We keep in touch, but not in terms of locations. You’re right that a letter has more umph than an electronic message, though.
    Ryan

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  9. I go through this turmoil every year whether to send or not send. A lot of it is because I’m more aware now of all the resources it takes to create cards. And the rest is pure laziness. Years ago, I sent a huge pile of cards out. Then it dwindled down each year. Now, I send some out, then invariably when others send me cards, I scramble to gets cards out to them.

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  10. I’m glad you addressed this. I enjoy sending cards to family and friends far away. No card goes out without a personal note either. I usually set up my dining room table with cards, my address book, stamps and a list. When time permits, I write a card or two. My husband sends cards to his family with a personal note also. A personal hand written card is something to be treasured. Have a Merry Christmas. Linda

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  13. Every year I have this same debate with myself. It is worth the time and the postage? Do people really care? In addition to sending xmas cards, I also send a xmas newsletter. I do enjoy getting newsletters and I like the personal photograph xmas cards. I have many old friends who I only hear from once a year. It’s a way of keeping in touch.

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  14. I’m with you on this. I look forward to receiving Christmas cards from those I don’t hear from throughout the year. I’m always disappointed if there isn’t a personal note even if it’s just a line or two. I know that some people don’t like the annual Christmas letter idea but I love receiving them & I also enjoy looking back over the year as I write ours.

    edebock.wordpress.com

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  15. Oh, I finally went out and bought cards today. I suppose I will be one of the last people to send them out. It has been a bad year, and I have been dreading it. What to say?
    But, I am going off now to get started. Thanks for the motivation!

    Like your blog!

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  17. I vote to send Christmas cards too, and no, not just because I am a postal employee, but that helps too 🙂

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  18. Each year, I face this question but act differently each time; last year, I sent no cards at all. Felt guilty about it but I would have just sent store-bought cards with no personal embellishments or notes anyway – that didn’t differ from the emailed cards much.

    I think it’s wonderful that you make your cards meaningful with a personal note. Quite a lot of my family and friends’s lives are showcased on Facebook posts/albums but a personal note at year-end becomes nostalgic and makes the card less likely to be tossed out. I will take note for next year! Happy Holidays!

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  20. I suppose, having never received a Christmas card just to myself, that I think they are a waste of money. I mean, seriously. why spend $3 on a card that I’m just going to read once and throw away? Then again, I hardly get anything with a personal note in it. Maybe if mine had a personal note, I’d better understand. 🙂

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    • I usually get a pack of 18 cards for about $14.95. Target and Barnes and Noble have great ones. And you usually can get them at a discount. That’s affordable. But I understand everyone can’t do this. Hey this could be your personal note.

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  21. Definitely having something tangible means a bit more. However, by the first week of January, I’m wondering what to do with most of them – except the ones that have very personal written notes (from pen in hand as you mentioned) in them; those get stored and are always nice to look back at down the road. Besides, cowboy stamps are cool.

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    • I usually get the “Christmas” stamps but no more. This year I just happened to have the Cowboys on hand and they have been a big hit. Next year I am going to find the funkiest stamps available for my cards.

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  24. More reasons not to send: (1) environmentally wasteful. (2) most are just as impersonal as e-mailed cards: most of the cards I get come from a box w/ a picture of a generic winter scene sometimes really cheesy looking, with just a signature on the bottom. Who needs it?

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    • You make some good points. But I think there are a lot of things more environmentally wasteful, like the billion political campaign flyers and cards I got this past election season. I got 13 in one day and most were 4 color on heavy stock paper. And not one personal note. I tossed them within 10 minutes of getting them. I sent out a total of 30 cards and I thought I picked some non-cheesy looking ones. Take care.

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  26. I am not a big fan of them, especially since “she” put me in charge of it. I didn’t want the job and did not apply for it. So we do not send them out.

    Your post was well written, I enjoyed it.

    DS

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    • That’s great, send me one ( ha ha). I buy a new box every year but I always have some leftovers from the previous year and I send those out first. I’m going to check Goodwill ( just don’t want cheesy retro cards)

      Happy Christmas, Jeanne

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  32. I usually send out Christmas cards but this year, decided to hand-make them since I had the time. However, because I couldn’t be bothered to buy the stamps, I instead drove to my friends’ places and put them in the mailbox!

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  33. I do enjoy receiving christmas cards; but this year I’m late geting them done. Usually I done sending out cards by the 1st or 2nd week of Dec. So I feel rushed & stressed out now. I have narrowed by list down since stamps keeps going up.

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  34. I’m in support of sending out Christmas cards, though for the ‘masses’ I do tend to send personalized Christmas messages via mobile text (If it starts with the recipient’s name I believe it becomes personal and not some generic message like ‘Have a Merry Christmas’. In Nigeria the postal system is a big hinderance so most people here tend to buy cards for family members or work colleagues if they’re within close proximity. But can you beat presents? Cards vs Presents…hmm, I wonder which I would prefer 😉

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  35. Honestly, I think much of it boils down to who is on the sender / receiver.

    To keep in touch, I normally send a gift over the holiday season. In one case, it’s to 2 people I’ve never met face to face. One of them I’ve never talked to on the phone before.

    In this strange world we live in where people seem to drift apart and lose the “human touch” there’s a ray of hope, too. I’ve encountered people who I consider dear friends by sheer chance via internet. The one I’ve never met face to face was a person I did business with almost a decade ago. Now we correspond 5-6 times a week with real letters. (Meaning we talk about something, not ‘Happy Friendship Day! This has been FWDed 2,000 times already!’) Not that I don’t share those sometime, too, but you get the idea. We’ve both come to feel like something good is missing in our lives when the other is out of town and can’t write.

    Another friend I talk to at least once a week on the phone but never have met her face to face (yet.) I met her on a forum for pet lizards a few years ago.

    Maybe because we correspond so much, a Christmas card doesn’t mean much to me from them. So we exchange gifts. USPS taped packages fixed with a mile of tape, stuffed with peanuts get tucked under the tree.

    We normally call friends and family since we’re on an unlimited long distance plan. Calling seems even more personal to people we haven’t seen in awhile but I know that’s not always an option. Sometime my father belts out a few lines of a Christmas carol and tries to break a window by sheer horrifying singing, but it’s out little tradition. (Unfortunately, he really does sing that bad, and he knows it. Dad’s a ham.)

    The one exception with cards is my future mother-in-law. She does hand made scrapbooking kinds of cards. (Crazy amount of dedication there!) I love her cards because she makes them by hand. Even if they are basically the same for everyone, I know she worked hard on them, and it’s like a mini-gift.

    So, from here that’s a no, but when it means so much to you and yours then a big YES! 😉 Particularly with cowboy stamps. How can you possibly go wrong with cowboy stamps!

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    • Bottomline its all about the personal connection and remembering. Your ways are great and I agree because yes, I have some friends I’ve made electronically and never have seen or will see but I will send them greetings and personal notes via my computer. Thanks so much for commenting, have a wonderful holiday. I can almost hear your Dad singing from here.

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      • My way could also be a little too expensive if you have too many people on your list. 🙂 Merry Christmas!

  38. This year is the first year I have not sent mine out in a long time. I got a phone call from an Aunt as a Christmas greeting. We chatted and caught up, it was nice. I would say it was nicer than a card. I agree we all need to connect with each other more, whatever the method.

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  42. Interesting to see how Christian faith blends in custom, tradition and fervour. Christmas cards and Santa being the quintessential symbols of it! But all this makes me wonder, given your background, how would you see alternate views of Birth of Christ in other faiths such as this one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9Yj8o9NYcQ

    Is it too controversial or do you find any familiarities to what you personally believe?

    Best wishes & happy holidays

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    • That’s a lot to reply to and could not do it justice here. But I send secular and Christian cards. Try to cater to my friends particular views. Thanks for reading.

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  45. I sent cards again this year, but it may be my last. Fewer and fewer of my friends and family send them now. It was more fun when I’d send out my tall stack and get a tall stack in return, but now I wouldn’t mind having the time back to do something else!

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  46. I vote to send also and, like you, I insist on writing something inside. I figure if I have nothing to write I probably don’t need to send a card to that person anyways.

    Congrats on being freshly pressed and Cheers for the season! 🙂

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    • Thanks for commenting. Checked your blog…On Gifting!!!! You have got to be kidding, your family and friends are unbelievable. I’ve heard of re-gifting but, well, you said it all. And your recent Decision Points (w/John Wayne), I want to print and post on my wall. I am adding you to my blogroll.

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      • sweet thanks much. Yes .. the gifts. Those really are true. True story: didn’t have room for all of the bad gifts, that might post #2 on bad gifts 😉 Cheers.

        I shall add you as well ..

        on the decision points, I’m swinging my heels up into the saddle and going for it .. whee!

  47. The card exchange tradition seems to be dying out, especially amongst my younger friends. Every year I send out about twice as many cards as I receive back. I try not to take offense, people either don’t know the etiquette or it’s the time/money thing. But I still adhere to sending out little Christmas wishes this way.

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  48. Loved your post. It’s something I struggle with EVERY year. I didn’t send any this year. Mainly, I just wasn’t motivated to –sometimes feel that many that send them don’t put much thought or time into it. It is relatively easy to have a postcard printed up with your kids picture on it with the text already pre-printed and the address labels run off your printer. People don’t even have to sign it! They don’t even have to pick up a pen.

    When I send cards, I like to write a few lines in each one to personalize them a bit. That’s what takes time, but if I don’t have time for that, I figure I shouldn’t bother. People get funny about Christmas cards–if you don’t send them one for a year, they don’t send to you the next—that tells me they don’t understand what it’s all about.

    Merry Christmas to you & many wishes for a happy, healthy new year. http://rotarydial.wordpress.com/

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    • Thanks for reading. BTW I checked your blog and loved “I never really liked Santa”. I felt the same way. Its the same with clowns. yuk and yuk. I am adding you to my blogroll. Merry Christmas, Jeanne

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  49. I never send out cards. I’m a bit ashamed of myself on this account. I receive a few, and I hang them each year on my door frame to the kitchen. Then I trash them, unless there is a photo, then I save them, unless it’s a photo of a dog, then I trash them. Nice post.

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  53. I agree. Christmas cards should be sent with care, not this mass production of repeated words.
    Great post, it inspired me to do proper Christmas cards next year (it is too late for it now).

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  54. I still believe in sending out Christmas card. It’s more personal and thoughtful, I think. I used to get a lot of cards but sadly this year, I’ve only received two. And technically, they’re not even cards – they’re the photo cards of my friends’ kids. But I will continue to send!

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  56. Honestly, I hate sending them. I blogged about this a short time after Thanksgiving. More like griped about it. Bad enough we have to buy copious amounts of gifts which is a bizarre ritual in itself, now you have to go out and buy a box of cards and then stamps? When does it end? THEN….you can either save them at the end of the season which is silly because now you’re hoarding or you just throw them out (or recycle if your community does that). It’s like garbage bags, you buy them just to throw them away.

    I don’t mind an e-card or email or even a Facebook status update of “Hope Everyone Has A Wonderful and Joyous Christmas and Happy New Year”. It’s free. It saves time. And I know the person has other things to do with $20 and a book of stamps.

    Aren’t I a ray of sunshine? 🙂

    Either way, congrats on being Freshly Pressed and have a great Christmas! 😉

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    • ryoko, I couldn’t agree more. indeed, it’s the thought that counts; not the amount of material you consume making the thought. and, thankfully, moderation is always there to give us a healthy (?) dose of both worlds. Happy Holidays!

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  57. I opted not to send this year. I appreciate your reasons – they made sense. I always make my own cards because I could never find any cards that yelled, “Hey, I’m thinking of you during the holidays.”
    I donated the money I would have spent on supplies and stamps (wow – cowboy stamps???) to my local food bank. For me, the fact that a lot more people are going hungry made my card-giving a little less of an option.

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  58. I still send out Christmas cards. I just think stopping and taking the time to hand write the envelopes and sign the cards is a small but warming gesture to remind people that why we may not get to see each other as often as we like, but you do cross my mind and you are still important to me!

    Have a Merry Christmas everybody!

    Jenn

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  59. I’m with you on sending holiday greetings through snail mail. Just yesterday I opened an email from a friend I hadn’t heard from in ages, with “Holiday greetings just for YOU!” in the message line. OK, I thought, at least it’ll start with “Dear Eli”. But no. It was addressed to about 100 people (her friends and clients), with a monthly breakdown of the writer’s 2010 accomplishments. Ouch. My holiday spirits sank about 20 notches. It took baking two batches of cookies (high butter/high sugar/high cinnamon content–most to be given to neighbors) to bring me back to my normal December peak. So, please, never stop sending real letters. BTW, each year the second week of January is National Letter Writing Week; it starts 09 January in 2011. Hope everyone writes real Thank-You letters and sends them by mail. Email NQs? Fooey!

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    • Some of my friends still send out the big “Hello all” letters but they usually do a “Dear Jeanne” on the bottom with a personal note. It means a lot. Better start getting the kinks out of my fingers before National Letter Writing Week. Jeanne

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  60. I feel you on that one. I stopped for a number of years due to money time and too many transiant people. So I thought email was better. However this year I went back to good ol postage and mailed out cards. Not as many but still mailed out cards to family that live out of state.. I may get back into it up the costs keep creeping up on cards though

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    • Good post on stamps. See, that’s why I went with cowboys. Minnesotan in Chicago suburb huh? I’m a Chicagoan in NE Wisconsin. I have a bunch of Minnesota relatives. I think I’ll pop you on to my blogroll. Cheers! Jeanne

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  63. I love sending out Christmas cards and receiving Christmas cards. My kids get excited whenever we receive one in the mail (they fight over who gets to open it up). They certainly aren’t fighting to open the latest Christmas email. I am a rarity and write a Christmas letter, but try to make it a little entertaining without bragging. I’m not sure if anybody actually reads the letter, but I enjoy writing it.

    Christmas 2010

    I put the letter on my blog site, but it was only for editing the letter from home or work. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer reading something on paper rather than online.

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    • If I got Christmas letters like yours I would want them all the time. Wonderful to read, I wish I had your gift. I consider my writing adequate. Merry Christmas, Jeanne

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  66. I enjoyed the post, and I’ll be sharing your blog! my opinion: not to send.

    cost aside, Christmas cards seem pretty wasteful. kind of like gasoline. but, thankfully, an easier habit to break. I face the same dilemma each year, and I get what you mean by e-cards not being the same; the templates we have to work with are so impersonal. I think they’ll mean more when they’re more personalized. but do we need to use them for a while before that can happen? probably.

    I posted a short but powerful TED video about the lost art of letter-writing. you should check it out: http://christopherdelatorre.com/2010/11/05/death-and-the-lost-art-of-letter-writing-video/

    I’m a writer at heart; always been consumed with aesthetic on a page, I went straight to the stationery section at the drug store whenever out with mom or dad growing up; I have a small library of Moleskine journals–all because of my love/obsession for the written word. this isn’t to say I don’t love the screen, too, because I do. But you and I and others know there’s something unique about writing in ink.

    We’re going through profound communicative changes–a transition from molecules on paper to pixels on screens. I don’t think we need to jettison letter-writing completely, at least not yet 🙂

    You can always do what my mother does around the holidays; she writes a letter on standard (thin) paper and sends in a standard envelope: what she calls her ‘annual holiday letter’ to family and close friends. If she doesn’t have enough material to fill a page, it generally means a brief phone call, skype chat or e-card is best. Christmas cards take more paper because they’re thicker and their envelopes are thicker, and have wasteful packaging. It’s less about the feeling she gets and more about the experience and transfer of information (my words, not hers).

    Thought-provoking post. I’ll be reading your site more often. best, Christopher

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    • Thanks Christopher. Yes you can argue that they are wasteful. But I just barely survived this past election season when everyday 5, 6,8,10 and one day 13, political flyers on heavy stock, sometimes glossy paper in 4 color ink would arrive in my mailbox. And everyday I cried, yelled, and screamed at the waste because they went immediately to my recycle bin. Some would say your moleskin journals, your stationery, is wasteful too. I obviously love the screen as well, otherwise why would I blog. I also skype, FB and have sent the occasional e-card. I guess my background in the visual arts draws me to the cards. Maybe next year I will make my own. I watched your video, wonderful, very moving… I may post on my blog as well at a later time. I’m thinking about writing about writing and handwriting. Check back on our site, we do a lot of food. A very moving post was done by my husband on September 20, called Chicken Chowder. Maybe take a look. Jeanne

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  67. I also much prefer to send and receive actual Christmas (& birthday) cards. E-cards, while often very funny, strike me as the lazy way out and not quite as sincere as the snail mail version. I write the envelopes 1st — also while semi-watching TV — then write the card messages when I have a little more time. Even with a very busy schedule, it’s not hard to get this done every year!

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  70. I LOVE getting Christmas cards, I send them every year and each year I hang all my cards across the ceiling! Its special, its personal and nice work for attaching a link to your blog…I did NOT think of that…! x

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  72. Pingback: happy holidays | WuMi's Weekly

  73. I still send Christmas cards and receive them. I also put a few personal notes in some and even a few longer letters in others. It’s fun to open the envelope and see what kind of card I will get or what family photo might pop out. The cost isn’t too high. And since I walk right by a mailbox on the way to work, I’m not inconvenienced either.

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    • Shoot, you are right. A missing T. My husband is usually going back and editing my posts, he missed that one. Thx. You are the first to notice or at least comment.

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  76. I always send cards because I am living across the country from my family and I want them to know I miss them. Also, I have serious love for stationary 🙂

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  78. I also wage this war with myself every year – the duty involved detracts from the sweetness in the gesture; and at a time where I am scrutinizing duties to find more time, I naturally hesitate.
    I have come to a compromise: my cards always feature my children, front and center, so if nothing else my friends from away would know my kids if they fell over them. I generate computer made cards, complete with our signed greeting.
    I know I should pen a personal note on each card, but I don’t. Pick your battle!

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  80. Pingback: Sending out Christmas Cards (2010) « Blurasis

  81. I love getting Christmas cards, particularly with unusual stamps. However, I don’t have any more than an e-mail address or facebook for most of my friends. We’re young and just out of college, or almost out of college. People are unsettled and moving around, so e-cards and electronic greetings will have to do.

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  82. i’m still on the fence because it wastes paper. but then again, it’s not that much paper compared to other stuff. and it IS so nice to get one.

    i bet a nice, thoughtful message on an e-card would make up for the lack of personal touch. i usually get pretty generic, short messages on christmas cards anyway.

    i might get my act together and send some e-cards on christmas day, we’ll see.

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  83. I vote to send! I love recieving cards in the mail just as I love to send them. It just means so much more then a quick email. IMO the actual sending of letters or cards in the mail is a dying art. It makes me sad. But Ill keep sending, trying to keep it alive.

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  85. I ALWAYS send Christmas cards! I think it is a nice way to keep in touch with people out of town and good friends during this Christmas season. I just write a little one liner about how I miss them & love them, etc. It’s a nice personal touch in this impersonal world. I try to pick out unusual cards address the envelopes in pretty colored ink & write in a kind of calligraphy script. Once I start the chore I enjoy it. Maybe it’s just the artist in me! Anyway, Merry Christmas, and Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!

    evelyngarone.com

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  86. well… 🙂 I vote to send (Christmas) cards t h e w h o l e y e a r l o n g :D!
    You are right, it is a wonderful feeling to find a funny, beautiful, sweet, colourful picture in your postbox and to read some lines of an old friend, who comes to your mind every now and then but who you do not hear very often. But… WHY does this have to be some special for Christmas time…? On the opposite: It is much more surprising just on ANY day of the year :)…

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  87. Handwritten holiday cards always win, by a landslide. For me, it also has to be a traditional holiday card with a beautiful landscape or colorful holiday still life…I am not a fan of custom printed holiday card with family photos, even that is too digital for me…my whole life revolves around digital communication, so it’s nice to find something as comforting as a heavy stock card with neat handwriting in the mail…

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  89. I debated on the same thing this year, but i just concluded that i have to big family and i just sent everyone postcards from my holiday.
    I bought gifts and all them, that shall be enough done from a 19teen year old. I really wanted to send cards as i think it’s a wonderful thought, but really do i even appreciate enough the cards i get?

    I might be rambling out just stupid thoughts.. hmm.. might be Im ashamed i didn’t…

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  90. Grats on being Freshly Pressed 🙂

    Nice post – Christmas cards are one of those fun things that I enjoy doing every year, and I always try to add a personal touch if I can. I usually only send them to close friends and family so it’s not a massive undertaking.

    This year I sent one of my own photographs (hobby of mine) printed by Vistaprint – it ended up costing me about $1 per card to have them custom printed. I kid myself that it’s something people might keep, and might even stick in a frame. Still working on the personal note thing though!

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    • I checked your blog, I would keep one of your photographs and put it in a frame. Pretty nice. I’m adding you to my blogroll.Thanks for the congrats on being “Pressed”, its a little like getting your book picked by Oprah.

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  91. Hi, just found your blog. I love sending out Christmas cards and receiving them! Although, this year I am going to buy a box of “Happy New Year” cards and send those out. I love real cards.

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  92. I send cards each year. One year I made my own cards and that was the most fun and satisfying of all. It definitely requires more time though. I’ve yet to get this year’s out but plan to work on them tonight. When I’m behind timewise, I switch to Happy New Year sentiments. I usually write a personal note to every one inside the cards. I like to help keep the post office in business too. What would life be like without snail mail cards and letters? Not as much fun.

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    • You are right, and if its not fun then don’t do it. Some people mentioned its a chore, an obligation. Well best not do it at all then. And every year I think about making my own but haven’t done that yet. Maybe next year.

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  93. definitely an advocate for sending real paper holiday cards. i narrow the list down to the people i really care about so i can spend more time on each one, instead of writing ‘happy holidays!’ and then signing my name. i love getting post and i want to do the same for my friends and family 🙂

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    • That’s what I mean. I don’t send to everyone I’ve ever met so its not like I’m sending out 60 – 100 cards. I think it was 25-30 this year and that was relatives and friends.

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  95. I love to send out Christmas cards to friends and loved ones. I used to include a photo of my husband and myself at a different worldly location each year… that is until some family members accused me of being self centered! I guess photos are only acceptable if you have kids! 😉

    Great post and thanks for the tips. I will go out of my way to find unique postage stamps for my 2011 cards!

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  96. Personally I find Christmas cards a waste, granted contacting family or friends you haven’t spoke to in a while is all well and good but if it’s been that long is there a reason for it? I think I’d prefer to send a heartfelt letter or give them a call…
    I know all my Christmas cards end up in the fire, this year I have one that means something and I will keep – this is merely because it is a follow up letter come Christmas card after a friends wedding.
    It’s difficult but all my friends know not to expect one which makes me feel easier about the situation

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  98. Somewhere deep down inside me exists a selfish, snot of a child who can’t seem to get herself together. Each Christmas I promise to send my cards early but somehow don’t manage to do so until the 20th or 21st of December. Yes my cards were mailed yesteday and I was elated to band them together in one neat stack and put them out for collection.
    You are so right; it’s delightful to receive cards from friends and family who are now so far away. I appreciate the time they take to write a short note – but I don’t like printed Christmas letters. They seem phoney to me; life can’t really be that good can it? Or maybe it’s just that snot of a child inside me who refuses to believe it.
    Merry Christmas,
    Phyllis

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  99. I love receiving Christmas cards by snail mail..every year I send a bunch out to my friends with small messages inside.

    There was 1 year that I didn’t send it out because I thought no one really liked them anyway. But in the end, everyone messaged me – “No card this year? I was looking forward to it cos you’re the only one who sends them out by snail mail still”.

    I definitely say that for Christmas Cards – send out by snail mail.

    Your receivers will love it!

    Love.
    Anto

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  100. One of my funniest friends sends out highly personalized, lengthy, hilarious solstice letters. I can’t compete with his magnificence, but I really do appreciate his efforts and I always love reading the letter every year—it’s become a great dinner-time ritual.

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  101. I sent out Christmas cards for the first time in my married life this year and the response has been overwhelmingly great. I sent letters, too. I tried the funny approach to the Christmas letter while avoiding anything too braggy or too sad. I’m glad I pulled it off this year. You can look for an idea of something to do with your Christmas cards on http://www.myselfbetter.wordpress.com. I also have a spreadsheet for tracking them to see how many to get and who to send them to next year. Merry Christmas!

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  102. i remember a long time ago, before email was even thought of…i used to get really excited whenever t a letter from my friends abroad…back then we called them pen pals. I had one from Africa, two from the USA and another one from Greece.

    this blog is very nostalgic as i remember the many interesting Christmacards they’d send and ofcourse thestamps the envelopes.

    thank you for bringing back youthful memories and Merry Christmas!

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    • I forgot all about the concept of pen pals. Now there is a blog topic. I also keep old letters and every once in awhile I stumble on them and they are just wonderful to read.

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  103. I got a few Christmas letters this year, but they were all those generic ones that my family sends out to everyone. And they were typed. But I still appreciate them! 🙂 It’s nice to know what my family is up to.

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  104. Recently I joined my wife in retirement and the first thing on her agenda for me was helping her make our Christmas cards. Interestingly the blog I did on the subject brought out more old friends than the actual cards that were mailed.

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  105. even though everything’s wired up these days, i personally still prefer to receive christmas cards with hand-written personal message. I love to keep them and right now, i still have cards of friends 10 years ago!

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  106. Nice post. It’s been years since I sent Christmas cards, and so I don’t receive too many, either.
    This post has got me thinking, though. It is so nice to give and get hand lettered snail mail, especially if they have cool stamps on them….

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    • The more I listen to people’s comments the more I think that getting cards in return would be nice but is not the reason I send. I am hoping to give the recipient a smile and have them know I’m thinking about them.

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  107. i am sort of new to the whole holiday cards business ( relatively new to the country and where i grew up, holiday cards are not as big a tradition as they are here) but i will say i have enjoyed writing out cards for the people i care about the last couple of years. (I admit i don’t have a long list i send out to so maybe that helps! )
    We hardly ever get around to telling people we appreciate them or have them in our thoughts through out the year- the holidays are a good forcing function to put those thoughts, however briefly, in words.

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  108. To send or not to send – I was diplomatic and did both… I downsized.
    I enjoyed your blog and agree it is fun to get a Xmas card in the mail –
    especially the more creative, zany cards they are producing this year.
    BTW what are you drinking???? coke, prune juice or something more
    …spiritous

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  109. I make the same debate every year….and always come to the same conclusion you do! It is a real treat to get something in the mail other than a bill of some sort. And you’re right, it is a lot of effort, it can get expensive, but it’s totally worth it. I take pictures of our pets (we don’t have children yet!), and send them out to friends and family. Each year I do a “Christmas shoot” with them both, and friends and fam keep them on their fridge the whole year! 🙂

    Great post!

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  110. I love sending Christmas cards and receiving them, but as internet and computers become more and more popular each day, each year the amount of cards I receive is lower :(. This year I won’t be able to send many cards but I feel nobody will care anyways. It is a pity nice old traditions are being left aside.

    Merry Christmas to you all!

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  111. Every year I think about sending them. And I don’t. Then I feel somewhat guilty when my friends send me cards, but not guilty enough to send out cards the next year. I stopped buying boxes of cards. Some would actually get into the envelopes, but never made it out the door to the post office. I don’t give my friends gifts either. I wonder if there is some correlation between not giving gifts to friends and not sending cards. Gift giving to friends is almost too personal, I think I have more fun giving gifts to the family.

    Merry Christmas!!

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    • I peeked at your blog and you have some photos that would make beautiful cards. Maybe you should consider selling cards to those of us who send. Thanks for the comments.

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  113. I say yes to cards as well! As a college student, there is nothing I love more than getting a piece of mail, especially if that mail is a Christmas card. I actually decided to get crafty this year and I made all of my Christmas cards. If you are worried about the expense of store bought cards, homemade is definitely the way to go.

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  114. I decided not to send Christmas cards this year. I had every intention of doing so, but you know how things get around the holidays: rushing around, so much to do, things fall to the wayside. So, my cards are still sitting on my dining room table…but….who says that you can’t send out post-Christmas cards? After all the hubbub and fussing is overwith? What if you’re able to clear your thoughts, put a little more time into each card, and be satisfied with what you deliver? I am thinking I will do this, because I still believe in traditional snail mail. Even if I just get a card with a greeting, a closing, and a signature, I cherish it. Of course, I might have to cut down my list of recipients from 100 to 20 to make it a bit more financially smart, but it’s the thought that counts!

    Kudos on FP! Happy holidays!

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  117. It depends who the person is really. If it’s me, I’m more interested in the content of the card such as a letter, gift card or picture that they stuff inside the card. I usually just toss the card somewhere and it gets lost, or I find it years later and admire it.

    If it’s my mom, she keeps it at sight all the time, she uses it as decoration and treats it like it’s gold, she wouldn’t dare lose it, I wouldn’t care if I lost it.

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    • I save the cards depending on 1) if there is a personal note inside I want 2) If I like the image. Being a visual artist the cover, like on a book, is important to me.

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