To buy and write out birthday cards for friends and some family up to a year ahead?

Oh this is so relatable. The card sits there staring at me and somehow the day still slips by. I've found the bit that actually helped wasn't writing them a year ahead (life changes too much), but a gentle nudge a week before so I still have time to write something real and get it in the post. I built a little iPhone calendar just for birthdays and anniversaries, Every Year, with reminders a month / week / day before. Free to try if that's useful: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/every-year-calendar/id6468367187 Either way, love that you're making space for this again now the kids are older.

Ah, thank you, @FinallyHere - I didn't know you could change them.

I think they offer you a small discount if you agree to a reminder, don't they? So I assumed that was effectively there for their marketing purposes rather than for your convenience; but I will look into that.

Am I remembering wrongly from last time, or is Moonpig one of those companies that tries to lure you in to a monthly subscription 'savings' scheme with dubious benefits?

Take a look at your reminders in Moonpig @OnTheRightSideOfGeography You can turn off the ones that are not useful and also adjust the number of days ahead that it reminds you.

After a lifetime of being sht at remember birthdays and my cards arriving late, I have embraced Moonpig. Everyone I send birthday cards to appears on there, with a reminder the right number of days ahead.*

It's a great system they have, but I always get irrationally and unreasonably annoyed that it also reminds me of my DS's birthday several days in advance - as we usually get him one from there. and spend time personalising it.

Very handy when it gives you the heads-up for Great Aunt Maud's birthday, but it does make you feel like a bad parent who needs an outside company to send an automated reminder to avoid forgetting your own child's special day.

After a lifetime of being sh*t at remember birthdays and my cards arriving late, I have embraced Moonpig. Everyone I send birthday cards to appears on there, with a reminder the right number of days ahead.

At some point in the quiet time between Christmas and new year, I do the year's cards and use the 'send on' feature to schedule them all at the same time. I even have a handwritten message for everyone I send to

Takes about oh less than a full hour to set them all up. Still occasionally wake up in a cold sweat that I have forgotten someone otherwise it's all good.

Only downside I now notice if we don't get one back from some people but I make the effort to 'let it go' given how bad I was for ohh decades before I got this trick.

Occasionally DH also sends a card to his side. Soo they get two that year. No biggie 😁

I have a dedicated birthday calendar (one of those long, thin ones) and do my cards once a month.

@Rockitlikearedhead I do all mine on the day I turn the calendar over for a new month. I have a specific birthdays calendar with all birthdays on. Write them, address them, stamp them, then pile in order for posting by the front door. I still sometimes lose track of time but generally that helps.

I buy cards every quarter too, and have a cute card box for them to go into. Caters for any that pop up too that aren't on the calendar.

All my nephews and nieces, and most of my family have birthdays April to June. I posted the April ones together, then did a big post box dump of all of May and June in mid May.
My reasoning was you cannot rely on the post these days.

I have to say it was SO much easier!

This is the kind of thing that I think of when I hear 'generic greeting'

I am one of those people who think cards are a waste of time, paper and stamps but have people who like to receive them . They just get a generic message though!

Or you could move with the times and just send a message via WhatsApp or similar instead.
Only the small children and elderly still get cards from us now

Seems a bit pointless to me? What happens when you'll inevitably forget where you put the cards you wrote 6 months in advance?

If it's such an onerous task that requires planning up to a year ahead, surely you can scrap it altogether? I know I'd much rather receive a heartfelt text on the day than a generic card written God knows when because you felt you had to.

My aunt does this, up to including a prewritten unsigned cheque.

We're buying sticky labels for Christmas with a blank "to" and a family greeting pre printed.

When I was overseas I used to use one of the online services like Moonpig at the start of the year and schedule cards for all birthdays, special days etc. To be sent for the correct dates. It costs a bit more, and the cards are typed rather than handwritten and you do have to be a bit more generic with the content. But if you have a family that place a high importance on you remembering their special days it can be a lifesaver if you are not great at remembering that kind of thing.

My mum does this. She buys all the cards she needs for the year but she writes in them before she sends them off.

You could use moonpig or similar, they do email reminders but the cards are more expensive compared to buying from a shop

Every so often I will buy half a dozen good quality blank cards to use for any occasion, and I buy family cards well in advance, also anniversary cards. I enjoy taking the time choosing nice ones. I don't write them until I am going to post them, same as PP.

Sometimes you just can't plan, eg friend's DD having twins and nobody knowing the sexes in advance. Although TBF when they were born I couldn't find a nice boy and girl twin card anyway!

Also if you do buy in advance, remember where you put them🤔

I buy mine a year in advance, barring a few odd special ones. I have one of those stretchy folders with a section for each family we buy for and sort them out for the year but I don’t write them until they’re due. That would feel odd!

Yes, by all means buy and 'allocate' the cards with a post-it, but don't write the actual card months in advance.

Aside from new babies who don't get a mention, and deceased family members who do, any small things could have changed in their family circumstances in the meantime.

Just as two of many possibilities, what if you'd bought them one of those 'humorous' cards based around drinking lots of alcohol on your birthday, then one of them had since come out as an alcoholic; or worse, had known somebody close who was killed or injured by a drunk driver? Or if you'd got them a 'ooh, you're so old, you probably can't remember how many candles there are on your cake!' 'funny' cards and, in the meantime, they've been diagnosed with dementia?

Also, you can plan ahead for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas and the like; but you still have to take notice and act quickly and accordingly for cards for bereavements or serious illness and similar.

In fact, you could find that, once you get a reputation for being hot on promptly sending over the cards for all the predictable annual events, it could work against you and make you look even worse and uncaring by contrast if you then drop the ball for a card for a non-predictable event. It might look like you've ignored or snubbed them terribly, whereas for Uncle Kevin who never remembers any cards, "Well, that's just him, isn't it - he's a bit hopeless but he means well!"

Also, I presume our town isn't unique in seeing the 'last collection' at all/most of the post boxes brought forward to 9am, so don't get caught out there. Effectively, first-class post has now slowed down to a minimum of two days, as you have to post it the night before/very first thing to make sure that it's collected and then hope your posties don't just stuff them through any old door at the other end, as ours frequently do.

It’s going too far to write them. Maybe pop reminders in your phone if remembering is a block. I keep a box of birthday cards, general cards and thank you cards in my house with stamps: I find it reduces the multiple steps and it’s easier to pull out what you need once they are already bought.

I also keep a collection of children’s presents and some adult presents for emergencies. Things like a pillow spray or good hand cream that I can give to anyone.

I couldn't do this. It would feel like tempting fate. But you're probably not as crazy as me, so go for it!

Buy in advance by all means, get an organiser with monthly tabs to have them all prepared, as well

but if you write so little that you can finish them a year in advance, you might as well buy a stamp.

I am grateful for any card, but I can never understand why people bother sending them when all they write is "happy birthday"