What Is the Proper Etiquette on 'Who' to Send Christmas Cards To?

I would usually NEVER recommend an e-card but these days, it's a growing trend. I realize proper etiquette requires a hand written card but e-cards are green and you are doing right by cutting down on paper waste.

Many relationships these days are dependent on internet communication so I see no offense on sending those people e-cards.

Keep sending the paper cards to family and close friends.

I'm going out on a limb here....have you ever thought what happens to those photos after you send them?

They go in a drawer or an album.....or they lay around for a few weeks, maybe months, & then they-quite frequently- get tossed. Sad, but true.

My husband & I have both lost a parent this year. With my MIL, we found senior graduation photos just tossed in a drawer, bent, pretty much destroyed thru lack of care. With my Father, everything that I gave him has come back to me...well-cared for, but returned to me. This just reaffirms what I've discovered running estate sales....if the family doesn't want those photos, then they're pitched.

So that makes the ???, do we really have to share yearly photos with "the world" or would just an e-card do? To that end, what about just personally writing on the cards a little note directing the receiver to "enjoy the family photos we've posted on Facebook"....or other networks? & if cost is a concern for those cards, switch to postcards - they used to be cheaper....what's the postal rate now for them?

Honestly, 20 years ago, I would have been horrified to read a posting like this. BUT, I've learned that those photos are sacred to just me & a few close family/friends!

I would agree. I am young so technology is very trendy. I would send an ecard to every one that uses email on a regular basis like friends from school and such. I usually try to limit my list to those I know I will get cards from and if I get a suprise card I send one back.

Carla,
I agree with the other 2 mamas. I'd just send to close friends and family. Ecards for everyone else, or just post something to them on Facebook. A lot of people don't even send Christmas cards nowadays and probably won't notice.

Thanks for asking, I had this question too.

I agree with Lori: So why not save the pics for friends and family members you don't see very often. ?

I always feel silly handing out my photo cards at my family celebration in early December when I'm seeing them all right there. I think this year I'll have a few extra on hand and just ask people if they would like one or don't need it.

I'm more concerned about sending the cards to people who don't use Facebook and/or email and so don't see family pictures very often. Great aunts and uncles, great grandparents, family friends and long-time friends who are separated by distance will be on my list this year.

Who to send to:
To whom YOU want to AND can afford to...
However, don't feel obligated to send to everyone.

If your friends and family truly love and care for you, they would understand if you had to limit or even avoid sending Christmas cards (and/or pictures). They can get costly.

You can help cut costs by making them yourself vs. buying them.

Hand deliver cards when possible to help cut the cost of postage.

If you need to limit your list, I would recommended sending to close friends & family only and e-cards for less close friends & family (i.e. acquaintances, distant relatives, coworkers, teachers, etc.).

Happy Holidays!

Hi Carla,

I agree with the other thoughts to think of family and close friends. But let me play devils advocate so to speak and offer another thought.

My card list is almost 150. BUT, we are at a point in our lives that we can afford the postage and it has grown to that over our 20+ years of marriage. If you are send pics to family and close friends, chances are you see them fairly frequently, right? So why not save the pics for friends and family members you don't see very often. It has been many years since we have seen my husband's Godparents, but I send them a picture and note every year. I know it makes them feel good to see how my husband has grown into a wonderful father and husband. But may not mail the pics to my brother and just hand it to him when I see him. I also will send pics to some nursing friends that I stay in touch with since I left the hospital 15 years ago.
If they truly are just "acquaintances" and I haven't received a card from them in 2-3 years I just quit sending them. You can buy, or make your own, little lists of who you send to and who you get from.

I also agree though, that especially when the kids were little friends/family/aquaintences were lucky to get something. I was busy being a mom!

In good health, and enjoy!

Lori K

hi carla, i usually send to grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles( your brothers and sisters), and great aunts and uncles( your aunts and uncles). and occasionally i will give just a family pic to one of my high school teachers. hope this helps, R.

Carla...don't make it a chore!!! Don't put your family in a bind financially by printing off pictures for people who, as someone has already said probably toss the picture when they throw out the card!!! It is a lot cheaper if you take a digital photo of the family and take it to Walgreens when they are having a special and you can run off a lot of copies for not much money.
My husband was in the military and I had to send out literally hundreds and hundreds of Christmas Cards to the men and woman who worked for him and who he worked for. I can tell you that after he retired, I practically whitteled my Christmas list down to ZERO!!!
Use E Cards...Facebook...your Blog...and like I said...don't make it a chore...Christmas is for family and for sharing our love and affection...not stressing over who to send Christmas cards to!!
RuthAnn

Hi Carla,

I think some of the other Mama's on here have great ideas! This year I cut my list from 100 down to 60. I still sent to my close aunts and uncles but, most of my cousins are on facebook so I just posted the christmas pictures there. My husbands family that we are not so close to and that never say thank you for them or send us a card I cut off the list. It just seems like there are some people that really appreciate the thought and some that just expect it. My friends that I only stay in touch with via facebook I did not send to. The handful of close friends I still chit chat with...even if it is just a few times a year I still send cards to and have sent to for many, many years. Another thing I do is have some wallets printed for Christmas Day and I can hand out to my cousins there. I am still blessed enough to have 45 people attend Christmas at Grandma's house. Good Luck! :)

Good Morning Carla, the family picture cards I would just send to family only. Your facebook friends send them a card through there. You can upload your picture and send greeting that was also.

I don't send out a lot of cards, I send email cards to school friends etc.. I don't send cards to my parents friends or their extended families. They are good friends to us also, I just don't go all out sending to everyone we have ever known I guess.

Just send what you can afford and don't worry so much if you get a card from someone you didn't send to.

God Bless you with a Wonderful Thanksgiving
K. Nana of 5