It IS a dying art. (RIP USPS) So of course, I'm all over it.
I send because that's what my mother did and it's a tradition at our house at Christmas time. Yes, it's a hassle, but I send them out because I love receiving them back. It's certainly not expected, though. I know people have little time to spare even when it ISN'T the holiday season. But it's one of the things this time of year that brings me joy.
Love getting them, hate sending them. I think they are great, but they always stress me out. I want them to be nice and personalized and pretty... and I am always scribbling away at the last minute hating it. I think they are a lovely way to show affection and I want to do them, but gosh, they are a pain in the neck!!
I love them.
We sent out about 108, including to our dentist and vet, but mainly to friends and family. People actually tell us they wait for our letter (DH does a funny one and I do a more straight one for my family).
I don't care if a long missive is written in the card. I enjoy letters and photos, but I also enjoy receiving the cards and putting them up in our kitchen so I can look up and see the different pictures and think of the people who thought of us this year.
We get between 4 and 6 packs and decide who gets the funny one, the religious one, the snowman one, etc. I really enjoy the sending, even if it does take a lot of time.
I enjoy getting family photo christmas cards. This is what we send out as well. It's fun to see how our friends and families kids have grown over the year.
People are complex. It's difficult, if not impossible, to know for sure whether they do things like cards and gifts because they have to, because they want to, or a combination of both. The only ones we can be sure about are ourselves, and not always then.
I love Christmas cards. I don't mind a "box card" with just a name on it. That person took the time to get the card and address it (and buy a stamp for it), and I appreciate that. He or she certainly didn't have to. I'm getting a lot of e-mail family letters, too, these days, which I print out and put in the card basket.
Yes, they all get thrown out eventually, but most things do.
Many people use FB or other social networks for Christmas or birthday greetings, and I don't mind that either - at least they're giving me the time of day, which (again) they don't have to do.
But I enjoy real cards best, I think, and the artwork on some of them is beautiful.
I like sending cards/family letters and have made my own for several years (I'm not particularly crafty, but I have a system). When the children were little, each had a turn doing the artwork. We put pictures in every year. Now they're grown up so I do my own thing, occasionally with a photograph enclosed. (My husband pays for the stamps - that's his contribution).
When we first married I decided I would always send Christmas greetings to all the relatives, whether they paid any attention to us or not; most of them haven't - they're scattered all over the country and have their own lives. Last year my FIL died and I met some of those relatives for the very first time - and some of them said, "I've really enjoyed getting your cards over the years!" Who knew? Life is funny.
I'm with you! Most of the Christmas cards we get are 1) signed like you said above, 2) just a pre-printed card with a picture of the children or the family, or 3) filled with a yearly newsletter, most of which info I already knew, or I didn't really care about [though that may be that most of the "newsletters" I get are from my husband's side of the family, and about family members I've never even seen]. I'm sure some people enjoy sending them out and/or receiving them, but I think it's a humbug and a waste of time.
BUT, I send them out, because it's extremely important to my husband that we do, and it's important to him, because it's important to his dad that he receive cards. It's tradition, you see. While it seems like a waste of money to do (though I get the cards for next year after the current Christmas, so they're way marked down -- still, postage gets expensive!), all things considered, it's a small thing, and important to the older generation especially, so I do it for them and for my husband.
I enjoy doing cards, although, we don't do them every year because of the time constraints involved at times! My husband enjoys photography, so he actually creates the cards and gets them printed... most people look forward to getting our cards because they are very creative and obviously have pictures of the kids. We also have a lot of family over seas and not connected to the internet, so this is our only "we are thinking of you" gesture around the Holiday's. We didn't do cards last year (we had a 6 week old baby at Christmas time)... we are doing cards this year... who know about next year... we will see... but we both need to be up for the "challenge" of card giving and we have to enjoy the process more than despise it... otherwise... what is the point? lol!
i don't know the answer to that, and i haven't read your responses...but i am with you in the "hate them" camp. to me they are insincere, time consuming, and really almost just like a popularity contest. i still get christmas cards from my best friend from k-12, who i haven't talked to in a year and a half. our last conversation? i looked her up because i really missed her and wanted to reconnect. the last thing she said to me was, "well i have your number now so we can stay in touch, i'll call you sometime!" yeah. but i get that damn christmas card every year.
i am with you, an actual statement of some kind (actually having something to say besides, "I am a responsible adult who mails christmas cards religiously!") on fb or email is much more preferable. i don't send cards.
i DO however, plan to give out cards to my team at work. because i can't afford to give gifts to 24 people. so i sat down and wrote a note in each one, personalized. i tried to think of something nice to say to each and every person.
THAT is what i think christmas cards should be about. not just signing your name 50 times.
I love Christmas cards,sending and receiving! I don't always get them out. Last year only half of them went out, this year I just sent all of them. I try to add a note in the ones to people I don't see anymore but I don't always have time. I think it is nice to be remembered at Christmas time even if it is just a card signed with their name and no personal message.
You know, I was sort of waiting for this issue to come up.
Times are changing for sure. A while ago I posted something about the lost art of writing thank you notes...basically, how no one really writes them anymore. I was sort of intrigued by how many people felt that writing a thank you note was a waste of time.
This year, I definitely noticed that I am getting fewer cards than before. I wondered if this was a sign of the times -- that, like thank you cards, people are really thinking twice about whether a christmas card is worth the time to write up a mail. I figured that, like thank you cards, no one was into doing them anymore.
Which is shame, IMO. I think that a holiday card, even if it has a simple little message, is a nice way of connecting with people in an Internet-less way. Personally, I am growing tired of Facebook and other similar media outlets (even though I am a Mamapedia addict, LOL!). I really miss that personal interaction, the little excitement of getting a card or letter in the mail from a long lost friend or relative.
I used to not be so excited about holiday cards but now I like the fun of snapping pics of my kids and creatively putting them together on tinyPrints or whatever. I would love to hold on to the tradition of mailing cards each year but I have a feeling that after a while I will be the only one sending.
I think it depends on the person - some feel like they have to & some simply want to. Personally, I'm a little bit of both (HAVE to send to some, WANT to send to others). I LOVE to receive Christmas cards, & am disappointed that this year it seems exponentially more people have given up sending them - I love to see the pictures of everyone's kids, even those I'm not especially close at this point in our lives (though my husband could care less about seeing what anyone's kids look like). I also enjoy the letters about what has transpired over the year. We have an extensive family on both sides & I know some are offended to NOT get a picture of my kids. I send (& you are right, it's all me - husband does nothing in this regard) almost 100 photocards & with addressing the envelopes, stuffing, stamping, return address labels, I simply do not include a personal note - on any of them! Not even for my mom! I talk to her & others regularly enough that I don't feel a personal note is needed, but even for those with whom I don't visit often, I feel like sending a card at least lets them know I'm thinking of them. If I don't care about sending someone a card, I don't. Some people will notice & some won't; of those who notice, some may think something of it & some won't care. Also, it is so nice to get something in the mail that's NOT a bill or advertisement!
My sister always used to get SO OFFENDED when another sibling did nothing but sign - she took it as a personal snub - I never took it that way. So I guess everyone feels differently about sending & receiving.
Regarding FB, while I'm fairly active on it, I feel that's somehow less personal as a Christmas greeting than taking the time to sit & write out an address & buy a stamp - but that's just me - I know a lot of people feel FB is more personal. I imagine you'll get a toss-up of answers regarding that -
PS: Some of the responses mention how expensive the cards can be - $8, one said! The photocards from Snapfish or Shutterfly (or any one of a NUMBER of companies) can be around 97 cents each! Sure, stamps are pricey, but it doesn't have to be a major investment, and the photocards are very easy to put together -