Does anyone send Christmas cards anymore?
I used to send tons of them every year – at least fifty or so. This year Nog and I bought just ten pretty Unicef cards to share between us. 😕
I don’t know when or why I got out of the habit of sending out so many cards. It also used to be quite a special thing for me. At the end of November I’d put on some Christmas music, pour a glass of wine, and sit down to write all my cards …
Then I got a computer and discovered e-cards and so started sending those instead of spending a small fortune on postage and cards. But now I don’t even do that. I just send out the minimum obligatory family ones by regular post … I wonder what happened?
casa azahar 
Do you receive a lot of cards in return? I do know a few people for whom sending out holiday cards is a special activity, not an obligatory one, and I wonder what could cause that to change.
I never really got into the habit of sending out cards, other than to people I anticipated receiving them from… and in recent years, not even that. I’d just assumed it’s because I’ve grown into such a Scrooge over the years. But I wonder if it’s a deeper thing, and if people in general just aren’t “into” it any more? The only holiday cards I receive these days come to the office, from vendors trying to get my business.
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Well, I never used to receive as many cards as I sent, but that was never the point. I just loved sending the cards.
These days I still get a few and still send a few.
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I used to send tons of cards. For several years I made them myself, and they were wonderful. There was one I made shortly after Jim and I got married that was a linoleum woodcut that showed the marriage of our lives: an underwater scene with a fouled anchor (symbol of the navy). The rope attached is unravelling into five strands that become a musical staff with the opening bars of “Joy to the World” (my musical career).
My life has become too busy for me to hand create cards, and after doing it that way for so many years I just can’t get into it any more — not to send a commercial card anyway.
But I do still send some out, and enjoy getting them. I like to write to the people I care about, I like to hear from them. I certainly do not like getting a card that only has a signature on it. Why bother?
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I haven’t sent a card for ages, and I only receive four or five in the average year.
As I get old and cynical, I find myself wondering why people send me a coloured piece of cardboard once a year when I never hear from them at all the rest of the time.
Of course, cards from people I hear fom regularly but who aren’t always around are a different matter. Those I appreciate – it’s an affirmation of a friendship, rather than a gesture inspired by some sort of twinge of the conscience.
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I love cards, although I admit I’m one of those people who always “means to send some”. But I think what’s happening over the past few years is that Christmas cards got contentious. Apparently only 1% say “Christmas” on them or have Christian imagery. I’m all for other people celebrating their festivals and I’m all for everyone sharing the holiday season, but I do wish I could find some cards that express how I feel about the season, and to me that means the words “Merry Christmas” have to be on there somewhere.
I cannot find these cards anywhere. This year I am busting out my mother’s 20 year old stash of cards.
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The ones I found were a ‘variety pack’ with four different images – two very Christmassy (tree & star) and two seasonal (snowflake & candles). They are very pretty though – thick creamy textured card with the (small and tasteful) image gold embossed on the inside and a cutout on the front bit where the image shows through.
Meanwhile, discovered that the package only had eight cards in it, not ten, so now I have to go get some more.
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We send about 40 or so. I’ve got the addresses on a data base so I just print them out on labels. The cards we’ve got this year have very dark gold envelopes and blue or black ink is difficult to read on them. I’ve posted a pic of our card on my blog.
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I like to send cards to people who I’m not in regular touch with. I’m not close to my family, but would still like to remind them that I exist, and there are old friends who I never get around to visiting since they’re scattered to the winds. I buy all my cards from Oxfam.
My wife’s office take card exchanging to extremes. This year she’s told everyone that she’s bought Water Aid instead.
I’d be extremely sceptical about this 1% figure myself. There’s a widely-believed myth that Christmas is becoming ‘secularised’ – but read this article.
OK – so I’m biased, being one of these ‘aggressive secularists’ and ‘illiberal atheists’ that Ebor has been talking about…but to take an example, the card display at Oxfam includes plenty of wise men and virgin and childs…Christian-themed Christmas cards are certainly to be had with very little difficulty.
Incidentally…it’s worth pointing out that Christmas, Christian or otherwise, is a relatively recent invention. In Scotland, Christmas Day was a normal working day within living memory (up until the early 70s), the big party being defered to Hogmanay. In England, Christmas was a largely urban phenomenon until the early 20thC. In the countryside, different regions or villages traditionally celebrated Christmas, Yule, Midwinter, Michaelmas, Epiphany New Year or Christmas.
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Just turned my casa az header into a Christmas card for everyone – hope you like it! 🙂
Took that photo of the pointsettas yesterday.
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Very nice!
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I’m skeptical about the statistic, too, but the fact is that in two years of looking I have not been able to find any cards that actually have the words “Merry Christmas.” And the cards Unicef sells here all have pictures of boats, snowscapes, etc on them, nothing religious. I expect that the pendulum will swing back eventually.
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I used to send out about 25-30 to close friends and family, but I’ve stopped, as I just can’t afford to do it anymore. I have a “stash” of cards, which I still send out (maybe 5 now, not 30). It’s the postage — $.39 now, and $.41 after Jan. 1st. If I was to send out 30 of those, the postage alone would be around $12. That’s more than the cards would cost!
This is why I do all my bill-paying on line, now. the only one I can’t do that way is my rent.
How do people feel about the “Christmas Newsletter” thingys? I like getting the ones that are personal, but the random ones with no flavor of the sender to them, not so much.
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Sending cards to North America costs 78 cents now; within Europe it’s 57 cents. It always used to cost me way more for the postage than the cards when I bought M&S charity ones. Have you ever sent Christmas e-cards?
I’ve only ever received Christmas newsletters from one of my cousins – she’s quite a funny storyteller so I’ve always enjoyed those. Probably a good idea as long as it’s done well.
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Yes, I’ve sent ecards before. Some of them are very entertaining, kind of like the snowglobe thing.
I get a little frustrated with them, though, as I sometimes wonder if giving those ecard companies my friend’s email addys will result in tons of unwanted spam for them. Not much of a happy Christmas then. 😕
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I used to like the Christmas newsletters my friend Mary sent out each year- but she is a funny storyteller and she and her family have lots of adventures.
My cousins all send out cards with photos of their kids and each year I am more and more appalled by how ugly some of those kids are. I’ve gotten three naked babies in Santa hats already this year alone…
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BTW, I don’t know where a more appropriate place would be to say this- I just wanted to say that I love the header with the poinsettas in it. Very pretty!
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Thanks, PC. I took that photo of the pointsettas with the early morning light shining on them – they looked even better in person, with droplets of morning dew shining on them (visible to the eye, didn’t come out in the photo).
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That would have been really pretty! Morning dew has a way of making everything look clean and new. You got a really great photo anyway, though- the lighting makes them so bright and cheery!
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The British Red Cross are selling a large variety of charity Christmas cards that you might be interested in. Send these beautiful Christmas cards to friends and family, starting from only £2.99 per pack. You might like to view them or order online at http://www.redcross.org.uk/shop/subsection.asp?id=83564. Thanks!
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