Sanctimonious card non-senders

[SoldTheMovieRights]

If you don't want to send Christmas cards, because you can't be arsed/ think it's bad for the environment/ just don't fancy it/ find it meaningless, absolutely fine.

But please don't go on social media declaring that the reason you're not doing it is so you can give to charity, and act all holier than thou about it.

Especially if you're constantly showing off your spending on nights out, clothes etc, so maybe some of that could be used for charity donations, and you're definitely affluent enough to afford a few stamps as well as a couple of quid to Save the Children.

I do the bare minimum when it comes to cards, 3 in the post for elderly relatives and another 2 needed for my child's teacher and TA to take into school. In years to come I might not need to buy any, nobody else in my life is bothered about cards.

Can't help thinking that people who don't do them for environmental reasons would have to if they still had elderly people in their lives like me that would be upset not to get cards.

I've sent/handed over about 80 cards this year and so far have received about 40. I love Xmas cards, even alhtough it's a bit of a chore to write them and quite expensive to buy stamps. It's a great way of keeping in touch with people and the cards look lovely displayed in the living room.

That's the cheekiest I've heard on this theme today.
One was someone moaning about not getting a birthday card (when they didn't send xmas ones, and yes everyone in the situation does celebrate xmas).
Another was an example like OP's saying xmas cards are bad for the environment. Fair enough, except she has a ton of plastic tat, buys lots of bits for xmas that are thrown away each year (decor, bows on presents, xmas plates etc).

Years back a colleague said coolly to me ‘oh I don’t send Christmas cards, I give money to charity instead,’ and I replied ‘I do both.’ This shut her up effectively.

One of the most spot on posts I’ve read on here for a while! 👌🏻

I agree.

Yes, consdiering other bad environmental things we do, buying an eco xmas card for someone who really wants it is surely a good thing. It does seem mainly to be older people-but also kids. Every kid in our primary school, no matter their family's economic background/beliefs seems to send them. and love putting them up. So who knows, maybe card will continue. Shops like Card Factory always seem to be as busy as they were a decade ago. Compared to a lot of the other bits of Christmas, cards don't seem that wasteful.

I HATE writing Christmas cards, but adore to receive them, so i dutifully write them every year.
And receive a dwindling amount back.

But this year, even i, who loves them, blinked at the cost.

I think the Royal Mail has killed this.
I won't do it next year.... fuck me.... 50 quid on stamps alone.

I send about 60 cards by post but have stopped sending to the whole street and to people I see all the time and can say ‘Merry Christmas’ to. I chose two charities in the Big Give last year as the donation is matched but this year I’ve donated the money I’d have spent on extra cards to two local organisations. I do let people know so they don’t think I’ve forgotten them but hope they don’t feel I’m ‘virtue signalling’. Loads of my friends do the same……I had no idea people were at all negative about it 🤷

A first class stamp costs £1.70 now. Second class is 85p, but you'd better be bloody organised about when you post them because the postal service is so slow and crap these days (especially at Christmas).

The stamps cost way more than the cards.

I think Christmas cards are a pile of crap anyway. I only send them to people I don't normally see, especially elderly relatives (along with a catch-up note and maybe a family photo so that they can see how the kids are growing).

Everyone else gets an e-card. They may well not like e-cards, but in that case they can just delete them, I guess.

I donate to charity but that has bugger all to do with Christmas cards.

I’ve spent this evening writing cards for colleagues. I’ve done one for every person I’d stop to chat about non-work stuff too. I’ve spent some of the time thinking about conversations we’ve had and it’s been lovely. I’m 100% behind writing cards. Charitable giving ought to be completely private and is unrelated to the time / effort it takes to write a 10p card.

I love my Christmas cards. I keep some favourites every year and they become part of the decorations. The one with the six sheep wearing Christmas hats is my best atm.

I guess I'm one of these "cant be arsed, holier than thou" people

I do post about not doing cards and I do give to charity. My beautiful twin babies died 2 years ago at Christmas out of the blue. Worst week of our lives. Stillbirth and my second died in the NICU at 3 days old. We are still reeling from it, Christmas is so bloody hard.

A well known volunteer group here in Ireland the equivelent of SANDS in the uk took care of us when we were at our lowest trying to arrange funerals, make memories. They took the difficult planning out of our hands.

Since then I've always posted this because I wanted to give awareness to them also, many friends of mine donated to them after our twin boys died, and still do. A lot of people who have never buried/lost a child probably aren't aware of them. And they need the exposure

I donate and explain what money covers. I'm probably in the demographic too of people who never sent cards, my motivation is purely awareness of this group and doing something positive for my boys and families who are in similar circumstances.

Not at all of us are idiots as some poster wrote.

What you might not see is that some of us get a lot of shit for not sending cards (even though we almost certainly don't receive that many). I'm not one for sanctimonious 'we'll be donating to homeless orphans posting', but frankly, DH and I have been ill for a month, are now incredibly busy with work and it's just not important to us. We send cards to the (mostly older people) in our family who we know value them, but I definitely don't get out the pen or the money to send 30-60 cards the way my mother did when we were growing up.

I've literally been lying there with a full-on, bed bound chest infection to get a call reminding me to send a card to one or more older person in my social sphere. Honestly? I bite my tongue, but the urge to say 'fuck off' is strong. I can see why some people try to get ahead of the game & hopefully do some good in the process.

I don't send cards - I spend the money on gin instead. 😊

I do this every year in memory of my mum. When I was on social media I did post to say as most of you know I don’t do Christmas cards I’ll be giving £100 to <name of charity> in her honour.

i do do the donation. I’m actually thinking I probably need to up it given the cost of stamps

i miss her and it’s like she’s further away every year and I want to talk about her. It’s always accompanied by a funny story about her. I did things for the charity when she was alive as well.

she got out of the hospice just before Christmas to die at home.

if you don’t like it, scroll past or delete me as a friend.

I can’t afford to do the donation and send cards.

I’m not on Facebook any more so I don’t do it now.

It pisses me off because its yet another thing that some people enjoy but others get on a moral high horse about because they don't enjoy it... yet you can bet your bottom dollar there's things that they do prioritise that they enjoy.
They act like they don't do cards out of care for the environment but in reality they never liked it that much so it was a convenient excuse. Which is fine, don't send cards if you don't want to.. but leave out the judgement of others.
There's loads of stuff like this that grinds my gears.. men mocking women caring about fashion then going and literally crying over some men running round kicking a ball. We've all got things that are meaningful to us that might be silly to others and vice versa.
People do it with wrapping paper too.. oh I put the gifts in big reusable bags, wrapping paper is a waste! But they'll do things like buy packaged sandwiches instead of making them, buy cut flowers.. whatever it is that they like or is convenient for them. And again that's fine but don't judge others for choosing different wasteful yet enjoyable stuff. We ALL make these choices. If someone really likes cards that's up to them. I personally think they are lovely and they mean a lot to me when people have put thought into them.

I am happy for anyone to make social media posts promoting charities or causes that are meaningful to them.

I don’t see how this has any relationship to the decision to send or not send Christmas cards. I love sending and receiving Christmas cards. If someone doesn’t want to reciprocate, fine, no problem. But making a post explaining why they don’t do cards is something that mildly grates on my nerves because it seems subtly judgmental of people who do send them. I don’t need to know your reasons or excuses.

I use the money I’d use for Christmas cards to go to the charity - that is where the link is (I can’t afford to do both)

I don’t send any cards and I wish people wouldn't send them to me. Especially if they spell my name wrong. Or call me Mrs [husband’s initial] our surname. Or even worse husband’s name – this is sometimes from my friends.

We got one today with a first class stamp on. That’s £1.70. Honestly just PayPal me the cash and send me a text. Much better.

I don’t post about giving to charity tho. Tho tbf those who say cards are £2 a pack – yes but even second class stamps for 20 cards would cost £17.60. And you need to have posted them about two weeks ago. if it's at all close to Christmas you need £35 for the stamps fgs.

But do you wish people a Merry Christmas another way? I know I wouldn't so I send cards.

I know I’m not the person you quoted by I do.

I make a point to ring my elderly relatives at least once a month (I usually do this on a Sunday when I’m doing the ironing - there’s only 3 of my aunts left now). I ring them through the year, not just at Christmas.

Edit to add I also send a happy Christmas text/whatsapp on the day to all my friends and family.

I'm incredibly difficult to buy for, I get myself the things I want or need throughout the year. My (small) family aren't big on Christmas.

My partner's family is huge and they make a huge deal of it, presents all day etc. I got the idea one year to just ask for charity vouchers. Two problems solved!

I don’t do cards because I can’t be arsed.

You could remind them that charity shops produce their own Christmas cards.

yeh I also message people, or text them or ring them. If I see people (friends in meet-ups before Christmas, work colleagues) I say Happy Christmas in person; text or ring family (not many people as I am old) and email a couple of people as well.