& the boys

[No1YouKnow]

Ok, this got me thinking over Christmas and really irritated me so I’m interested to know what other people think!

I have three children - all boys - and lots of people sent cards to me, DH & ‘the boys’. If they used their nicknames (which they are usually referred to as, shortened version of their name) it would literally be 4 characters extra to ensure every name was wrote.

It’s SO annoying! I can’t really articulate why, just feels like they aren’t being addressed but lumped into a group.

If you have ‘girls’ do you have the same thing? Is this a 3+ children matter?

This is quite lighthearted, I mean I’d never say anything & I’m not sat seething about it, just pondering whether I am being unreasonable to be highly irritated & wishing people would write their names…

Who is sending the cards are they people who can definitely remember all 3 names? We send "and family" cards to some of DHs half brothers and sisters as we are not overly close and they have quite a few kids and step kids between them and I would rather do that than get a name wrong or miss someone off.

But I have only two boys and they get "the boys" a lot as well so I think when you have all of one sex they do get lumped together unfortunately.

Some people really have too much time on their hands...

Perhaps they can't remember all the children's names??

Often times the envelope is addressed to Tarheel Baby or Mrs Baby and Family or The Babies which is fine but inside all our names are written (sometimes mispelled) - not Tarheel '& the girls'.

If they know you well enough to know 'the boys' they should be writing the boys' names or nicknames too.

Both my sister and I are over 40, our parents still Cristmas Cardd with ' ...and the girls'. No biggie.

Yeah we get cards to ‘…and the family’ and it doesn’t bother me. Other people don’t give a shit about your kids as much as you do. Why don’t people get this?

Be grateful that someone has even bothered to send a card - so many cba these days…

I sign our Xmas cards ‘and the gang’ and I only have two!

I come from a large family and it was highly unusual for anyone to write all our names on a Christmas card . . . it was always "To Mary, John & family"

I usually write "Mr & Mrs Jones and family" on the envelope but always write all the childrens names in the card

@Gahr I wasn’t criticising their grammar… but thanks for the education 😊

If you are writing tons of cards then using contractions like ‘and the boys’ or ‘and the family’ saves time.

or they might not remember your kids names.

I get ‘To ‘blank canvas, DH, DS and the girls’, it drives me mad

Yeah I got cards like that and my 2 boys are in their twenties 🤣. Doesn’t bother me

To X, Y, and whatever your kids are called.

We get “ and family”

I don't remember my friends kids names of they aren't children I see regularly. I would often say " yours lads" when asking about their children. Lads is used as gender neutral here frequently.

@blankcanvas3 noooo!! I honestly thought it would be an ‘all the same sex’ issue. That would be even worse!

I'm the youngest of three boys and Christmas cards were always addressed to my Mum 'and the boys'. It's how it was. We were all ginger and all looked vaguely the same. I suppose they could be forgiven for not remembering our names...my Mum couldn't always remember which one was which either! 🤣

I have a girl and a boy and we get our names '& kids' or '& family' so I guess if they were the same sex it would be the girls or the boys. Tis whatever, doesn't bother me.

I have 2, both boys, and we do tend to say the boys quite a lot. I dont know why now I come to think of it, it just happened. Theres no actual reason.

edit me and my sister were "the girls" when we were kids so maybe its that.

This. Completely normal thing to do. But op would rather focus on that instead of the person actually taking the time to send a card. Ungrateful.

I do send cards and what I do is write down the children’s names in my address book, so I make sure I don’t forget. Or I’ve even gone on to somebody’s Facebook page and had a good stalk to find their child’s name as obviously sometimes you don’t remember!

Interesting how it doesn’t bother most people.

Doesn’t bother me. I really do narrate to people it’s me and the girls. So I’m just as bad.

I refer to my children as 'the boys' all the time and would sign off any cards that I sent this way.

I frequently call them the wrong names though, but they are tolerant souls.

My sister and I were 'the girls ' well into our 40s with one uncle! We found is amusing and endearing.