To expect Christmas cards?

[mintich]

For the last couple of years, I have received around half the cards I send out to friends. I normally get a text saying "thanks for the card but we aren't sending cards this year" I think it's sad that they aren't sending cards anymore. I get if people can't afford it but I'm pretty sure they can. It seems petty to only send a card if I'll get one back but that's how I feel!

I find it a chore tbh, but I do still send them because I think it's a nice tradition. It does get a bit expensive, but still, I feel like it's worth the effort and expense.

I have noticed that fewer people are bothering to send cards these days. I understand their reasons and respect their choice. I don't keep track of who has sent them to me and who hasn't, and I wouldn't stop sending them to people just because they didn't reciprocate - I still want to wish them well at Christmas because I like them, not because I'm expecting something back in return!

I think they're a waste of time, paper and money tbh. I'll send them to elderly relatives as I know they like to receive them. And to close family members, as I use them for a special message. But I don't see the point in a card that just says 'To x merry Christmas, love y.'

I should add, I don't bother doing cards for close family because I will see them at Christmas anyway!

I changed workplace about 2 years ago and noticed that no one sent cards. Secret Santa was still done and the boss bought everyone a present so it's not like they were miserable. I didinr get any from friends which was fine. I'd noticed the previous year that cards seemed to be dying off in my circle.
When I mention this in conversation to mum she was quite outraged and insisted that cards are as popular as ever!

Looks like I'm buying one card this year!

I love getting cards. Does anyone else get that lovely feeling of anticipation seeing that card lying on the doormat. For some reason i don't get it when it's been delivered through the post, just when it's hand delivered.

The most ridiculous thing is when you are standing talking to someone and they hand you a card and you hand them a card! Just say Happy Christmas.

My MIL will actually say ‘ I haven’t had my card yet! ‘ As if she’s ticking of a list. ( clearly is )

If I send a card its because I won’t see the people. I like the little thread of saying hello and maintaing a link that way. I send about a dozen. Some years none. It’s an enormous faff. Not about the money at all.I don’t have to have one back.

I don't even bother opening them I’m afraid sounds like a storyline from one of those brilliant made for TV Christmas films. Hard headed businesswoman throws her Christmas cards straight in the bin without opening them, unaware that one of them in fact contained a letter from a former boyfriend who mysteriously disappeared years ago... But will the festive spirit bring them together again in a heart-warming Christmas Eve reunion??

I still send cards but not as many as I used to. I don't really care if people think it's old-fashioned or don't reciprocate or throw them straight in the bin I just like doing it.

Same here, not condescending them to friends for some few years now apart from relatives who would be upset. I'm not bothered if I receive them or not.

I don’t even bother opening them I’m afraid

I knew someone once who did this. Except what she thought was a Christmas card was actually the cheque she had requested from the sale proceeds from her house. She was most put out when she had to wait throughout the entire Christmas period to the office re-opening in January to have her cheque re-issued

Hate cards, don't do them if at all possible. What an arse.

Cards are antiquated and pointless and a total waste of resources. All that card and paper to be recycled, the stamp cost, the transportation resources....in the social media age they are utterly pointless and wasteful.

I hate them, am even a bit phobic. I open them and then straight in the re cycling bin I'm afraid. Never send any and They make my stomach churn when they start plopping through the door. A reminder of all the things I still need to do for Christmas.

They’re so pointless. I got so tired of cars saying ‘to Alyson, From Jeff & Jane’. I don’t see the value and it’s a waste of paper. I spend the time doing catch up emails with friends instead.

Yes I have to say I don't much see the point if there's nothing but 'from Mary' written in them, I'm a fan of round robin letters or at least a few words of news.

Some cards don’t even have a To name on. They’re just blank then signed ‘from Jenny’ or whatever. The envelope just has the recipient’s name on. These are what I receive at work. What is the point?

Anything through the front door dh deals with.

in the social media age they are utterly pointless and wasteful

I'll tell that to my 93 year old friend who doesn't have a computer or anything other than the most basic mobile phone.

"Sorry Enid, too wasteful to write to you. Sign up to Facebook, there's a duck then I might deign to tag you once in a while"

I find them so wasteful. Do you really need a card to sit on your mantlepiece for 2 weeks then just be discarded. Think of the millions of cards thrown away every year.

I enjoy sending and receiving cards so I continue to send them. I buy them from MIL who makes and sells them in aid of the Christie hospital. I only send about 10 maximum. It’s just a nice Christmas tradition for me, I don’t mind if people don’t return them.

I think there's not much point unless you include pics or news. We send about 30 to family and to friends we don't see often. I don't bother with people I see every day. I can wish then a merry Christmas when I see them.

But I make an effort with the cards I do send. Usually a pic of the kids or a drawing and I always write a paragraph to update on relevant news. Not the typed boastful 'our year' thing, more a funny anecdote or a mention of when we might be in their area in the next few months to catch up. Takes a while but I think it's nice. And I look forward to receiving cards from friends who do the same. I don't keep tabs on who doesn't send them though. Everyone I care about (and don't see often) gets a card from us!

Jacques that’s okay then, but not all of us have elderly relatives that we need to do that for.

Haven’t sent a Xmas card for about 20 years. Anything received goes straight in the recycling. I hate them. Absolute waste of trees and money.

I only get cards for the kids to take to school now, plus a couple of older relatives who appreciate it. I don't know anyone in my circle who sends to all and sundry any more.

I like cards and do use them to keep in touch / catch up with people I don't see regularly. The cost of posting them though is now fairly astronomical so do have a bit of a think about who I send them to rather than just sending them to all the people I used to, years ago.
For people I see each week, I much prefer the 'one greeting / donation to charity' thing - we raise a few hundred each year at Church doing this, and also do it with work colleagues, for example.

We stopped sending cards about 5 years ago - and what a blessed relief it was.

Gradually, most people we know have followed suit.

We still get a few, from elderly neighbours and relatives. They get put in a drawer and thrown out after christmas.

Christmas cards are definitely on their way to being a thing of the past.