To think less of people who send these Christmas cards

[Bananacup]

... to have absolutely no interest in Christmas cards that say 'Merry Christmas from [Sender]'

And that's all

Literally no other message.

You've taken the time to post me a picture of a tree, but you've written no personal message whatsoever? Makes me feel like I'm a box on your to-do list, like the worst kind of business networking. It would have been better to send nothing at all. Just don't bother if you literally have nothing personal or interesting to say.

And about 90% of the Christmas cards I receive are like this!

I am totally with you OP. This is a pet hate of mine.

Makes me feel like they’re doing it because they’re meant to, not because they want to.

How much detail are you expecting? I'll always write something like "Hope you have a wonderful Christmas and all the best for 20XX!" but nothing especially personalised. I have a huge family, if I wanted to write a personalised message to each person I send a card to I'd have to quit my job to have the time!

...about 90% of the Christmas cards I receive are like this

What a shocker!
Hope you're not inconvenienced further by such dreadful tree pulp from people you think less of...

I appreciate any card that I receive, and enjoy them. I even like the "bragging holiday letters" that people scorn so much. Love receiving anything in the post.

I send about 30-40 cards and generally just write "All the best for 2024!" or similar, unless it's a closer person and I might add "sorry to report Fido died in June" (my dog) or "Went to France for my birthday in May; really enjoyed Lyon; thanks for the recommendation. How is Vince doing in school?" or other little tidbits that they relate to.

As an aside: For several years I was receiving a "bragging holiday letter" from a complete stranger, who apparently had this address noted incorrectly. We loved it! I got invested in these strangers' lives and was sorry when they stopped. (there never was a return address so I couldn't correct them, but wouldn't have anyway.)

My mother and i used to pool the holiday letters we received and on Christmas Eve after a few drinks she might do a dramatic reading of him; we were in stitches.

I send a diminishing number of cards each year. They fall into categories: to people I would spend time with over Christmas if it was possible - they get an individual card, my best calligraphy, about ten lines of chat, and we always speak on the phone/Facetime at some point as well; people I like but not enough to talk to at a very busy time of year - packet card, two lines in decent handwriting, and a ‘let’s catch up early next year’; people who expect cards/or whom I feel obliged to send to (distant family, work colleagues, random neighbours, etc) - cheap packet card, and a hastily scrawled jMerry Christmas.

So maybe you just get a lot of ‘sorry, I’m not that into you’ cards. ’.

Surely you're showing that you care and wish them well by sending a card in the first place?

Just because something is a tick box exercise, doesn't mean it's not also done out of love and care.

What I can't stand are the cards that are nothing but family photos.

Give me a snow-covered tree, robin, Santa or whatever any day over a collage of pix of little Sage, Olivia and Angus playing football, swimming at the beach or posing with their new puppy. Save those for Facebook and send proper Christmas cards!

I agree with @Bananacup . I hand carve an individual stencil for each of the 236 people on my list with an image that has personal resonance for them. I then hand print the image in organic ink on Italian water colour paper and wrap in hand crafted silk envelopes (that fall within the Royal Mail “LARGE” letter stamp bracket) and write individual poems using a 24carat gold nibbed fountain pen in the format below.
I work full time 80 hours a week and have 17 children so do this from 2am -6am for all of March to November.

I send first class obvs but research the vagaries of each recipients postal service to ensure everyone gets theirs on Christmas Eve.

Isn't it likely to be both?

People send cards because it's expected, but that doesn't mean they don't also care about the people they're sending them to.

I think you’re being unreasonable, but your post
has reminded me of my nan getting updates from extended family in Christmas cards, which she’d then make sure we all read because she enjoyed them so much! I think now that most people have social media, it’s not necessary to write big spiels in cards, but elderly people do appreciate it.

It's a chore isn't it? Just stuff to do. And some people send loads. There's enough for everyone to do at xmas with thinking what to get family/close friends as presents, planning what people are going to do and eat etc. An expectation of picking out a unique card and writing an individually-crafted message would just make more for everyone to do.

I mean, bully for you if you do that but a lot of people are already stressed with everything else.

I wouldn't want anyone to have any excess work/stress on my account at Xmas.

I always write a message for the person and really appreciate it when others do the same. It seems odd, if it's the only contact you have with someone from one year to the next, to not say something more than just Merry Xmas. I don't send cards to people I see regularly, so it's a nice way to keep in touch.

I'm on both sides. I have any to stop Christmas cards entirely because I don't have a huge amount to say to most of the people who I send them to. If I stopped, it'd cause huge offence to some so unfortunately it continues. The others have a personal message or inside joke that I put in and are more special.

I hate receiving "to colourchanger, from relative who I don't see". I hate having the faff of having to recycle a crappy bit of card.

I hope someone starts a cancel Christmas cards movement.

When I was a child, these were called Round Robins. My Mum would read the more bragging, obnoxious ones out loud for a laugh.

In answer to your question, I don't think less of people who don't write a message, but it's appreciated when they do.

Got a gigantic card from SIL this week that DH had to go to the delivery office to collect (£1.50 owing, because SL hasn't heard of Large Letters)

Perhaps you should put a note in the Christmas cards you are sending back to your friends / relatives @Bananacup . Then next year they'll save on the price of a stamp.

I think quizzically rather then less of those who use Christmas cards as a vehicle for passive aggression although with the effort and expensive it seems a pointless exercise. DH had a card from a ‘ friend’ who wrote ‘Dear X happy Christmas, assuming that scrawl says X.’ Well clearly they could read it enough to write address and post a card. Wasn’t humour, he was and probably still is a rather unpleasant chap. Or my dear in-laws enclosing a separate card to me rather than include me on a card with DH. Or DFIL and his brother who hated each other but went to the effort of returning the same card to each other every year just to score points, a waste of stamps, ink and envelopes. No other contact. Ending when one died.

Cards are an effort but it keeps older family happy or occupied in their little battles.

I don't know why you're getting so much flack. If I write a card I'll at least bother to make it personalised beyond "Dear X", e.g. "Hope Teddy likes the present we sent him"/"Can't wait to see you all on the XXth of [insert month]"/"Have a wonderful time with the family in YYY" etc. It takes all of ten seconds to add something.

a) I'd much rather this than one of those dreadful 10 page tomes (typed and printed obviously, not handwritten) detailing every aspect of the sender's year to the 'nth degree that turns up in the odd Christmas card!

b) with the ever-increasing cost of a stamp, I am genuinely thrilled to bits to receive a Christmas card through the post. The fact that someone has taken the time to write it, address it and post it is more than peronal enough for me.

If you are the recipient of any of the Christmas cards that I’ve taken quite a bit of trouble to find, write in, walk 1 hour to the post office in the rain, to send.

Well bah humbug to you!

Couldn’t agree more op. I’d rather they didn’t waste the trees/postman’s energy.

The problem with Christmas is everything is all about consumerism. We have stopped sending cards and donate the money to charity. The run up to Christmas instead of a card, we call the person or FaceTime. Much more personalised and donation to charity

Or that Grandad has joined a biker gang and is off cross country on his Harley Davidson !!

We have a family member who insists on producing a ‘family newsletter’ every year at Christmas. Duly photocopied and included in every card. They’re excruciating to read and we usually don’t get past the first few paragraphs !!