No one's sending Christmas cards anymore!

[popserinis]

I just think it's so sad. We donate to many charities throughout the year but also enjoy the joy of writing traditional handwritten heartfelt messages to friends in Christmas cards. Now it seems most can write one generic email on facebook to all. I wish all the charities well and donate all year round to seven different charities as well as volunteer. Many local charities would benefit more from your time than your money and true festive charity spirit should be giving your time not opting out of christmas cards. If you can't afford stamps, fair enough - if you can, put a bit of time into charity and still send your friends a christmas card (ducks prepared for the onslaught!)

I don't give a toss what people do at christmas- and I'm certainly not taking this personally- so don't sweat on that score.
I am simply pointing out that christmas cards can be a lot of fun- especially for children and I think it's nice for kids to be shown how to take pleasure in simple things that don't need to be plugged in or downloaded.

I think it is an old thing, young thing type thing!

I detest Christmas cards with a passion and refuse to send them, why, its because I worked in a card shop for years I used to have to price them in June put them out in October tidy and sort them til Christmas and then two months of putting them away and ordering more for the following year. The last thing I wanted was to see them at home.

I open them, note the name, say "that's nice" and put them in the bin. Unless they have a pic of kids on the front - then they go on my "photos of other peoples kids" windowsill so my mum and sister can come and go "ooh is that Anna's brood? Doesn't that one look like her father" etc. we like seeing how kids change, especially if they are abroad and we haven't seen them for a while.

Other peoples kids go in the bin after Christmas I'm afraid.

I still like them, both sending and receiving and do as many as ever. I also use FB, but that's different as you are in contact all year round anyway.

I like getting my fountain pen and address book out and sitting with a glass of wine and writing, makes such a nice change from the computer. I also like getting cards through the letterbox, guessing who they're from, saving the stamps for charity, putting the cards on display. I keep a list in an old notebook. I also like seeing the DCs exchsnge them and we do the walking out after dark to hand deliver local ones and look at the lights. One year it snowed and I pulled the DCs round the streets in the dark on a sledge to deliver them, they sang Jingle Bells all the way round, that's one of my happiest ever Christmas memories.

I've seen several Facebook statuses saying "We're not sending Christmas cards this year and donating money to X charity instead. Happy Christmas" It does feel a bit like the donating money is actually a cover for "can't be arsed to write to you all" - it is actually much much less effort to make a one off donation to charity than it is to write and send the cards. I'd rather people just said "We're not sending cards this year" or gave a donation to charity without broadcasting it. Christmas is about giving not receiving yes, but isn't there a saying "Charity begins at home" which to me means care for the people you care about. And a Christmas card is one lovely albeit small and slightly time-consuming way of doing that. And I bet most of those donating to charity are not donating the same amount of money as the cards and all the stamps and the cost of their time would total to.

I send cards. I love receiving them. It's a sign you're thinking of someone and have put a minute or two of effort into your relationship with them at a busy time of year. I don't send them to every Tom, Dick and Harry I've ever met, just to the family and friends who are important to me. It takes time and it's a pain sometimes but I do love that feeling of Christmassiness when I drop them in the postbox.

My DCs school and nursery have post boxes and the children send cards to their friends. The kids all love sending and receiving them. Just because I'm in my 30s doesn't mean I'm immune to that feeling of joy at Christmas and I think it's sad that people seem to be turning away from it because it's more convenient for them not to sit and write cards with a mince pie and a glass of wine one evening, and then dress it up as "well I'm donating to charity so that makes me not being arsed okay".

I handmake mine each year. This year there are 20 on my list, mostly friends and family who are too old/old-fashioned to have e-mail (yes, really!) or fb.

It doesn't hurt anyone, brings me pleasure, brings them pleasure. What's not to love?

We don't go nuts at Christmas, so it's not a great expense, even though cards are sent all over EU, one to Australia and a couple to the US.

Why can't we all do what we want without a snide backlash? Cards don't mean I haven't donated to a charity blah blah blah.

Yes, I think we probably know Christmas can be a lot of fun, thanks anyway, msmiggins !

I'm so glad people don't bother any more - I haven't sent any for years .

I do christmas cards. Not a huge number, probably about 30. I haven't received many this year but the ones I have are up and I am grateful.

I agree it is sad that less and less are sending cards now.

I remember as a child my mum and dad would have close to a hundred cards from friends and relatives. Nowadays I'm lucky if I get 5.

DS doesnt get any at school now from friends and therfore he doesn't want to give any out. Same with both mine and DH Colleagues.

It's just close relatives for us now.

I stopped sending after folk stop sending to me.
I used to spend £20-£30/yr on postage alone (yowza).

I much prefer Facebook.

Another happy card sender here! I love writing them, receiving them, and stringing them up to form part of the Christmas decor. The kids love opening them as they arrive - all adds to the excitement of the build up. And they enjoy the traditional wander round on Christmas Eve, posting all the local ones.

I love christmas cards, they are such a personal way of sending thoughts of love and good wishes to people you care about - friends and family. Personal because you take the time to write them out to each individual family, sometimes adding in a wee note if not in regular contact for whatever reason.

I have had several messages in response to my christmas cards this year all along the lines of "Thanks for your card. We are not sending cards this year instead donating to charity. Merry christmas".

I have to admit it leaves me feeling cold because you know that is being cut and paste to every person who sends them a card - no genuine feeling or care. I would rather people didn't do anything rather than a knee-jerk response to my card. If they didn't care enough to have us on their list in the first place then fair enough but when I know we received a response only because we sent a card makes me feel a little cold. That's how we perceive it anyway.

Also, one of my favourites things about sending cards is that I'm sure people like to receive nice mail through the post. A lovely hand written card full of positivity flying through your letter box can add a lot to somebody's day and isn't that the whole spirit of christmas - being loving and giving?

Anyway, I will continue to send cards until I become, old and frail. Some traditions are worth carrying on and I think this is one of them.

For those of you who don't send cards - do you receive any? And do they just go in the bin ? Surely the least you can do is to take them to one of the recycling bins in the supermarkets or is even that too much in your busy lives?

Bonsoir - what exactly is it that you loathe about Christmas cards?

my dd who is 4 got tons of xmas cards from her friends/class so ive sent cards back to them ive sent a few cards out to distant friends but tbh i really dont send many at all mostly i call friends or text them

seems very divided!

We dont send cards (we buy a goat for oxfam unwrapped instead) but that doesnt mean we dont donate at other times of the year too (infact this month we have donated to pdsa, battersea, and the toy appeal). We just reached the point that trying to fit in card writing inbetween looking after the children, sorting the house, home edding, visiting family etc etc didnt make logical sense. Most friends live locally and I see regulalry enough to wish happy christmas in person, we will catch up with most family members over the festive season, and tbh anyone else isnt really part of my life and sending a card would feel a little bit false. I send to my grandparents only as I know it means a lot to them to recieve them. The donation to charity seemed a better use of that extra money than bits of card that go in the bin within a week or so.

My kids still get to have fun making cards, they are making them for friends and family as they aren't in a position to buy them gifts. i think this is perhaps a happy balance :)

I don't bother with cards, never have, but surely no one's stopping you making or sending them if you enjoy it. Why do you care what other people do though?

I have had seven cards through the post today, all hand written with jolly christmas stamps on them. I will let the kids open them when they come in from school- it's the first thing my DD asks when she come in- "any Mail today?" She loves opening them.

We have only got two cards this year and I miss them! I am hoping for more.
We live outside the UK and sending cards home cost me aprox 10-15 quid in pounds

They do tend to be more older family,but I enjoy sending them and putting in our news, and my kids make ones for their GP's and they love them.

I am sure for some its all twee and naff, but I like them and I miss handwritten things in general.I think I was born in the wrong generation!

I used to sit for two hours every Christmas writing them out and licking envelopes then spend another two hours delivering them. It brought me no joy whatsoever. The cards were always generic and I didn't write out any special message- it was literally "Anne, Merry Christmas, love Hyenafunk" in each one. I probably got about a quarter of them giving me a card in return and less than half even acknowledging the card.

Then one year I just couldn't be arsed anymore and haven't been ever since. I've always sent a personal one to close relatives and still do, now with picture of DC which they love because we don't see them much. But other than that, no. I don't really care for them very much, they're a pita and waste of paper.

Elderly & overseas relatives and thank you Christmas cards and that's it. I hate writing cards, would rather type an email. I don't like shop bought birthday cards....dcs make one from a4 printer paper, same for Mother's Day or any other hallmark celebration. It's very low key, stick figures. My DM is 82 and every year she dreads the cards, she'd stop but worries about offending people.

I have a plan to drop a piece off the Christmas to do list every year - that way I have less tasks and more fun!