To think Christmas cards are becoming a thing of the past.

[Star4120]

Hi all, bit of a random one.

I have fond memories of my grandmother (she is 80 and still does it now) writing hundreds of Christmas cards for friends, relatives, colleagues (now old colleagues) amongst others. She would literally have piles of them and equally she would have hundreds of cards around her front room at Christmas. She’s always laid them out so neatly but so many 😅

The only cards I seem to have in the house at Christmas are either from older relatives, immediate family and for the kids from the kids friends at school!

I don’t really exchange cards with any of my friends! I write them cards but many of them just don’t do it themselves (which is fine of course!)

So is it becoming more of an old fashioned thing to send cards to everyone you know?

I will be sending out cards to immediate family and a few elderly relatives or family friends as I know they really like it but other than that I probably won’t bother?

Aibu?

I work for a multi charity card organisation and we are definitely seeing a resurgence this year as people are feeling the need to keep in touch personally. Even younger people!

Most of our cards are glitter free and packed in cardboard boxes or plastic free wrapping.

I buy charity cards, direct from the charity, and I wonder how much charities will lose out if people stop sending cards altogether

Massively; especially in a year where charities have been very hard hit. It's also about raising awareness of the work of smaller charities.

If you are still sending cards, please make them count. If you buy charity cards, please get them from the charities or from a non profit making multi charity card organisation (ahem)

www.cardsforcharity.co.uk

'This year of all years, I want people to know I care about them and remember them.'

That's lovely. I think people need them this year more than ever as a lot of ppl say. Keep the cards and tradition alive I say!

@StickTheKettleOnAlice

Also people seem to still send birthday cards

Well that's just wrong. They should donate the money to charity instead...

😁

I send two cards, one to an elderly person who I know appreciates it and one to someone who doesn't understand not sending cards (different cultural expectations).

I ask my Sister to not send cards, but she still does, which I think it rude. It goes straight in the bin. She bought my card in front of me yesterday, while out shopping for Christmas bits. Everyone else respects that I don't want cards. Most of them don't want cards, themselves. We send Gifs on WA, or voice recordings instead.

@TheNationsFavourite, thank you for the link, I've been looking for an advent candle everywhere.

I'm happy exchanging texts. I can't remember the last time I wrote out a Xmas card.

Mil was always big on them and used to start writing them out very early. She needed help at the end and it was a bit of a strain tbh because she was fixated on getting them all right and proper and she did faff a lot.

I still send a few. Mainly to extended family and a few friends who are not on FB as a way of keeping in touch.

@StickTheKettleOnAlice

Also people seem to still send birthday cards

I don't really do birthday cards either! Only immediate family who expect one get one. I don't really care about getting cards from others on my birthday either. But then my birthday is just before Christmas so people don't tend to send them anyway

Until this year I'd have said that cards are dying, we only really send to older relatives. However, this year sending cards to everyone you know as you haven't seen them for ages seems to be a Thing.

I have reduced the number I send and only send them to close friends / family now. This is mainly as stamps are so expensive. I’m looking forward to hearing from people that send them this year having not been able to see many people. I’ve bought ones direct from a charity that I want to support and always wonder why people say they are cutting cards and donating to charity as it’s the only / one of the few things that charity benefits from at Christmas. I’ve yet to hear of anyone donating the bits of Christmas that don’t require as much effort or are primarily for their own enjoyment. How many people are giving to charity the cost of their real Christmas tree or Christmas dinner? Always seems to be cards that get the chop!

I like receiving them and consider them part of my Christmas decorations.

Having said that I haven't sent many for the past few years, out of sheer laziness (I buy the cards and stamps and then don't send them). I have since noticed that I receive far fewer cards when I don't send any myself, so assume most of the ones I used to receive are just sent out of reciprocal duty!

I get maybe 5 or 6 every year. I love receiving them and always display them with much appreciation & affection for the sender. I keep each year’s cards for at least several years, & then I’ll slowly clear out & only keep my favourites.

And rightly so. A xmas card is only right when sent from someone far away and it has some personal words in it. The xmas card given to you by your work colleague with only their aignature is frankly on the same league as the clice of cake wrapped in tissue paper that you always find under the seat of your car three weeks later.

Pointless and a waste.

I like sending a few cards, mostly to people I'm not going to see over Christmas, but I forgot last year and won't bother this year due to Covid.

They will logically become less common over the coming decades, as the younger generation are less likely to send them.

I'd rather people sent Xmas cards than made tedious announcements about which charity they're donating to. Why are you telling me about it? I don't care!

One of my fondest memories was putting a the cheistmas cards we got into this holder on the wall, there was so many spilling out that it would fall off the wall. I got cards from all my school friends, parents got cards from all the family and every person they'd ever met!
Now we get maybe 10/15 from school friends and 1/2 from neighbours!

I hate the bloody things. I'm in my late 50s and as elderly relatives have died off I only send a few. Wasteful, expensive, and pointless. I got sick of it being solely my responsibility!

Considering covid lives for 24 hours on cardboard its prob okay and just wise to take the same precautions as with other post. I've actually bought an extra nice box of fancy Christmas cards this year as my go to ones have finally ran out. I'm in my 30s incase that matters so not young but not too old either.

I hope they are! And it certainly does seem that way. When I was a kid, it was the thing to exchange cards with every relative, every friend, every acquaintance, every neighbour, every classmate... Not doing so was really poorly viewed. It seems daft looking back.

Bar humbug....

Or baaa

bah*

I had slowly whittled it down over the years to grandparents, because they would be upset not to get them. This year I’m also going to send to my closest friends because I miss them and we’ve taken to sending each other little notes this year throughout lockdown.

@TheNationsFavourite, thank you for the link, I've been looking for an advent candle everywhere

We do proper old fashioned advent cards and calendars too, no gin or chocolate in sight!

www.cardsforcharity.co.uk