Christmas card for classmates, in reception

[bumpertobumper]

DS1 is in Reception, so I am new to the school thing and unsure of the etiquette...
He has received about 10 cards so far from other children, not all from the friends he plays with, a couple not even in his class. Do some people send cards to all 30, or even 60, children in their children's year? Or is he just popular
Should he give in return to everyone who has done one for him? Or is it ok to just do a few for his close friends (hopes - struggling to get the essential ones done).
Thanks for any guidance and would like to hear other's stories on this...

[SantasRooftopFanjangHoHo]

It's quite common for children at this age to do cards to all in their class. In our school the teacher will supply a class list if you can't remember all the names. IME children tend to choose who to send them to as they get older, the first couple of years all get them!

[ShrekTh3Halls]

mine tended to do thirty of their friends. and none of the writing "to bla bla" or anything but their name at that age [badmother] They signed their own names inside - mostly at the bottom in roughly the right place, and I wrote the recipient's names on the envelopes. Except for ds2, who wrote the friends names, message and envelope. But he's the exception, not the norm.

[Tommy]

some give to everyone, some don't give any.
I've always said to my DSs that I'm happy to buy cards for their friends but they have to write them - I have enough of my own to do.
I can't honestly say that any of them have suffered because if not giving cards to the whole class. My older ones are in year 5 and 6 now and DS3 is in year 1. He sent about 6 cards this year. I can't be doing with this "tit for tat" card giving

(although I am sometimes known as Bah Humbug so you may well want to ignore me

[Primrose123]

We used to send to all the children in the class, but the school asked us to stop. If there are 30 children in a class, and each child sends one to every other child, that's 30 x 29, which is 870 cards. Multiply that by the number of classes in the school and it is a ridiculous number. Our school asked if each child could just send one card to the whole class, and they would be put up in school. Perhaps you could discuss this with the teacher.

[Anja1LikesChristmas]

DD2 is in reception and has received about 5 up to date and written about 7 now - and the two list don't really match, I leave that up to her! No 'tit for tat' in this household either. I suspect some will write out all 30 though!

[cazza2878]

Dd is in reception - we've done all 30 of the children in her class and about 8 from the other reception class (we went through list and she told me who she plays with). She's enjoying her new writing skills immensely so has written them all herself including their name, her name and the envelope!

[4lovelychildren]

My daughter has chosen who to send them to. I read the list from the nativity programme to help her.

[NuzzleandScratch]

My daughter is only in the first year of nursery (children turning 3 this year), & I was rather surprised to find 7 cards in her bag last week! I wasn't sure of the etiquette either, so I've just done one to each of the children in her class of 22, plus her teachers. I hadn't expected all this to start just yet! She's also received her first party invitation for after Christmas, again not something I was expecting for a couple more years!

[givemeaclue]

At my school they take in one big homemade card for the whole class

[BringUsSomePigleyPudding]

DD1 is in reception and has handwritten 30 cards. I took a while as we've been doing them in small batches.

She has probably received about 10 so far. Was going to write to her friends but DD has insisted they are all her friends! She also has lots of older friends in the school that she's made but hasn't written cards to them.

DD2 (2.5) is in Nursery and written about 5 cards to her little friends ( well written her name that you can just about make out!) :)

[YouCanBe]

I got DD to write out her 30 because I thought it'd be good practice for her.

[MirandaWest]

DS and DD have always done their own cards - generally they do everyone although this year DS has just done the boys in his class and DD the girls in hers :) She is doing cards to any boys who send her one though.

[bumpertobumper]

thanks everyone for your comments, going to get a few more cards and get him practicing his writing...
won't manage all 30, but will do all who sent to him and a few friends

[RillaBlythe]

Dd has done cards to all her recrption class at her request. We remembered all but one name! (Forgot Kiera). I didn't mind facilitating it as I am projecting from my childhood I remembered great offence being taken over cards.